Tripwire appoints new CEO after tweet

Tripwire quickly appoints new interim CEO

John Gibson is no longer CEO of Tripwire Interactive after his support for the Texas Heartbeat Act enrages employees, business partners, and most of the internet.

Tripwire stated that Gibson's remarks “are of his own opinion, and do not reflect those of Tripwire Interactive as a company.”. The senior leadership at the company is “deeply sorry”, and hopes their various development partners will keep working with Tripwire.

• John Gibson no longer CEO “effective immediately”
• Company co-founder appointed interim CEO
• Tripwire disavow Gibson's politics
• Senior leadership wants a “more positive environment”

Townhall: Co-founder and vice president Alan Wilson has been appointed interim CEO, and will call a “company-wide town hall meeting” to assuage staff's worries about the controversy.

Divisive: Gibson's support of the US Supreme Court's decision not to block the Texas Heartbeat Act immediately caused a public protest, and Shipwright Studios declared that it would cancel contracts with Tripwire.

What controversial game was pulled from the 2007 Slamdance Guerrilla Games Competition?

a) Super Columbine Massacre RPG!
b) JFK: Reloaded
c) The Punisher
d) Invaders!

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today's issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.

Remedy announces Alan Wake remaster

Remedy Entertainment's creative director Sam Lake has penned an open letter announcing that Alan Wake Remastered is indeed “nearing its completion,” and is en route to PC and consoles.

Epic Games Publishing will be handling distribution, and that means Alan Wake Remastered will be an Epic Games Store exclusive on PC, but on the bright side it will be Alan's literary debut on PlayStation.

Love letter: “This is for you,” writes Lake. “You have told us again and again how much you love the game, the story, the characters, and the lore. And that matters a lot to us.”

4K upgrade: The remaster is the “original experience you fell in love with all those years ago. We did not want to change that.” That aside, the visuals have had an overhaul and Alan himself is looking sharper than ever. Alan Wake Remastered will launch later this year, hopefully in time for Halloween. 

Shigeru Miyamoto added a touch of whimsy to Donkey Kong Country Returns

Former Retro Studios developer and senior Metroid Prime designer Mike Wikan recently reminisced about the studio's long collaboration with Nintendo, and remembers a particularly odd moment during the development of Donkey Kong Country Returns.

None other than Shigeru Miyamoto was visiting the studio to test the game and proceeded to spend around 20 minutes making Donkey Kong move back and forth, crouching in a dusty corner while the development team grew more and more baffled.

Eye for detail: “It turns out that… he was looking at the particle effects on the dust,” recalled Wikan. Miyamoto-san then suggested using these particle effects to make Donkey Kong visibly breathe out.

Goofy gorilla: The team was pretty much done with the game, but “it was missing whimsy, it was missing that playful sense of the character.” In other words, Shigeru Miyamoto coming up with ways for the leading man to exhale was just what they needed.

Mass publisher sale madness rages on

Can nothing stop Humble Bundle’s ceaseless price war!? Hopefully nothing short of an even pricier war. The Techland Publisher Week offers up to 75% off, and if that's not enough then the Merge Publisher Sale goes all-in with up to 80% off.

Graffiti Games Publisher Sale is no less impressive, matching the 80% discount but is left in the dust by the D3 Publisher Sale which slashes prices by up to 90% for its catalogue of Japanese games.

• Fan-made Switch UI redesign sparks discussion about usability versus aesthetics
• LEGO seems to have a mysterious question for us, and the short teaser clip hints at a Mario Mystery Box
• Paradox Interactive are giving out free Steam codes for Surviving Mars, but you only have until 6pm BST to claim it
• Nintendo introduces Legend of Zelda smartphone ring that adds some Hylian flair to your phone
• WarioWare: Get It Together! cutscenes and gameplay leaked online just ahead of launch
• Iron Gate shows off new Valheim weapon tweaks in the latest video about Hearth & Home before release

What controversial game was pulled from the 2007 Slamdance Guerrilla Games Competition?

ANSWER: Super Columbine Massacre RPG!

Not many games have managed to cause quite as visceral a reaction as Super Columbine Massacre RPG, a tongue-in-cheek interpretation of the Columbine shooting. It garnered both praise and disdain, but ultimately the controversy proved constructive and Super Columbine Massacre RPG was to appear in the 2007 Slamdance Guerilla Games Competition alongside games like Braid and Castle Crashers.

The success would prove short-lived, as Slamdance later dropped the game due to concerns about music copyright and possible sponsor withdrawals. In response, several other developers pulled their games from the competition – including Jonathan Blow and The Behemoth – and soon the entire awards show had collapsed and was cancelled.

Today's issue of DailyBits was written by Gavin Herman, Erlend Grefsrud, Simon Priest, and Jamie Davey. If you have any feedback or news tips for the team, please email us!