Today, Valve announced that development on the Artifact reboot, previously known as Artifact 2.0, has ceased. That beta version of the game is now available alongside the original artifact for free. Since these are two different games, with Artifact 2.0 having a multitude of changes, players can elect to download and play either game at this point for free. The original can be played as Artifact Classic, while the newer version is known as Artifact Foundry. Both can be found on Steam.  Players can no longer spend money on either game (like on card packs or the classic client, for example), since they are both 100-percent free at this time. In an official blog post today, The Artifact team commented on the reboot:

"While we're reasonably satisfied we accomplished most of our game-side goals, we haven't managed to get the active player numbers to a level that justifies further development at this time. As such, we've made the tough decision to stop development on the Artifact 2.0 Beta."

No further game updates are planned for either version of Artifact.

I was quite smitten when I first saw Artifact at PAX years ago, and I had a blast with Artifact 2.0 (Foundry) during its beta session as well. My review of the initial classic release was also quite positive. The online digital card game market is highly competitive, and I do wish things would have ended differently for this game especially. I believe that serious issues with the game's monetization plan and other aspects of the game including lack of updates and content rollouts put it on a path that was incredibly difficult to course correct, and it's a shame to see the game's potential languish.

Oh well, at least I can still pop into Artifact Foundry for a draft. I think they did a bang up job on that new draft format, and played quite a few hours with both friends and randoms. Artifact captured Dota's characters (and even some new ones!) in card form and gave players another fun way to engage with that universe when they weren't trying to six-slot Anti-mage in a 50-minute melee in Dota 2. It's sad to see that the revitalization plan for the game won't see a real release, and looks instead condemned to live as a historical example for other online collectible card games to learn from.

"We're grateful to all Artifact players, and particularly to those who were able to help us tune and refine what would become Artifact Foundry," the Artifact team posted. "The team feels this is the approach that best serves the community. We're proud of the work we've done on both games and excited about delivering them to a much larger audience of gamers."

You can check out the entire post here. Did you ever play Artifact? Did you play the rebooted version? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!

Lo-fi is one of my favorite music stylings to listen to throughout the workday, so when Square Enix added some chill Final Fantasy lo-fi sounds to Spotify, my heart got really happy really quickly. The company recently just added a ton of new tunes to the music streaming service, including a "Chill Out" tracklist specifically designed to help relax and unwind. 

"Introducing new chill-out arrangements of music from Square Enix’s popular game titles," says Square Enix about the Spotify "Chill Out" album. "This album features a selection of classic tracks, mainly taken from Squaresoft’s 1980s releases, such as Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy Legend, Final Fantasy Legend II, Final Fantasy Legend III, and Final Fantasy Adventure."

Square Enix

The lo-fiesque tunes takes music from Squaresoft's '80s releases and arranges them in the best way possible. Games like Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy Legend, Final Fantasy Legend II, Final Fantasy Legend III, and Final Fantasy Adventure. 

The arrangements for this album are a product of talent from all over the world, including DJ Lord Echo from New Zealand, Oval's Shingo Suzuki and Shingo Sekiguchi from Origami Production, Kylie Minogue's director (and pianist) Chris Gulino, and more. 

"Bundled with mellow music perfect for a relaxing time, this album will unquestionably bring a moment of peace to all game enthusiasts and relaxing music lovers alike.," Square adds. 

You can also listen to the Final Fantasy VII Remake original soundtrack on Spotify as well below. You're welcome: 

For those that want the physical version of this soundtrack, you can buy it here for $29.99. 

I don't know about you, but the Final Fantasy lo-fi music makes me feel so completely dreamy and calm. I love it! Hopefully it helps you in your day-to-day as well, lord knows we could all use a little more chill in our lives. 

[Source: Square Enix via PC Gamer]

Before Your Eyes is a unique narrative adventure that you control by blinking your eyes. Yes, as in with your actual eyeballs. You're probably asking yourself "How the heck does that work?" Read on to find out what this eye-catching indie title has in store. 

The game is described as a “personal tale of self-discovery” as players embark on a journey guided by The Ferryman, a feline (or canine?) boat captain who shepherds departed souls to the afterlife. The debut trailer shows off various stages in one’s life, such as playing games with loved ones, traveling to other countries, and, eventually, death. To relive these memories, players must physically blink and those movements are detected by your webcam and registered as inputs. 

Blinking can move time forward by a few days or a few years. Certain interactions are also triggered by blinking, shown in the trailer when the Ferryman instructs players to blink over his hand or when viewing a photo album. The idea is that life is literally flashing before your eyes, and I can’t think of a more immersive and organic method of getting that point across. 

Before Your Eyes is the debut title by GoodbyeWorld Games, and was born from a 2014 prototype called Close Your, which won an Indiecade Developer’s Choice Award. The project is the brainchild of Will Hellwarth, founder and director at GoodbyeWorld Games. He and his team have spent the last several years expanding the intriguing premise into a full-fledged title, with Skybound Games of The Walking Dead fame handling publishing duties. 

“We’ve been working on this game since college—for the better part of a decade—so it’s really the definition of a labor of love,” said Oliver Lewin, game director and composer. 

If you want to know what it’s like to control a game using your peepers, keep a lookout for Before Your Eyes when it launches for PC via Steam on April 8. Meanwhile, you can click here to learn about Skybound's recent partnership on upcoming horror game, The Callisto Protocol. 

What do you think of Before Your Eyes' inventive approach to storytelling? Let us know in the comments!