◆ There is a game jam happening in Hamilton from January 16-18 (this weekend!), called The Arbitrary Game Jam. There is no one set theme but instead a number of random ones that participants will have 72 hours to design a game around. There are prizes, and entry is open to everyone. The winner gets to host the next gamejam. More info here.

◆ Early Access survival exploration game The Long Dark has sold more than 250,000 copies.

◆ The release of Resident Evil Revelations 2 has been pushed back a week. The first of four episodes will now drop on February 25 on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Vita, and PC.

◆ Sign-ups are open now for the closed beta of Snow, “the world’s first free-to-play open world sports game”.

◆ A new documentary, Minecraft: Into the Nether, will look at the lives of Minecraft streamers and Let’s Players. It’s coming to iTunes later this month.

◆ People who play FPS games are better able to multitask and perform cognitive tasks such as rotating objects in their minds, and they can also focus and retain information better than nonplayers, according to this study from the University of Rochester in New York.

◆ A The Simpsons content pack is coming to Minecraft on Xbox 360 and Xbox One in late February 2015 for US$2.

◆ Twitch has announced a new free-to-use library of royalty-free and globally-cleared music which is available to all members. There are currently 500 songs available.

◆ Escape from Durgesh Prison, the Far Cry 4 DLC that tasks you with escaping Yuma’s prison is now available to download.

◆ Telltale Games is working on an original IP, says the company’s newly appointed CEO Kevin Bruner (who is also the company's president and co-founder).

◆ Fat Princess: Piece of Cake, a match three title, is out now on PlayStation Vita, iOS, and Android.

◆ Microsoft Studios creative director Ken Lobb says the company will eventually resurrect classic Rare franchises. "Will there ever be another Banjo, Viva, Blast Corps, Battletoads? Yeah, someday," he said, speaking on the Inner Circle podcast. "We know there's value. We have a lot of passion internally for each of the games. And we have surprises in store in the near and long future."

◆ This week the Xbox One won an Emmy for its "industry-leading television-on-demand and media centre capabilities".

◆ Some dude has allegedly pre-ordered more than a hundred Rosalina & Luma Amiibo figurines because he hates those characters and their fans.

◆ Annual speedrunning event Awesome Games Done Quick raised more than US$1.5m during this year’s event.

◆ Check out this live action Dying Light vid, there are some pretty sweet parkour stunts:

◆ The Sims 4 Outdoor Retreat is out now and adds a new destination, new objects, activities, and a new skill to the game.

◆ Narrative-driven roguelike Sunless Sea will leave Early Access on February 7. If you purchase the game while it is still in Early Access, you’re guaranteed to receive all game expansions and story DLC for free.

◆ Award-winning sandbox prison escape game The Escapists will launch on Xbox One and PC on February 13.

◆ 5v5 team-based online first-person shooter Block N Load now has an Oceanic server.