Vancouver will be home to a mobile game tournament this fall, video games are great training for drone pilots, getting a Steam Deck at a discount.

Vancouver will host Marvel game competition this fall for Battlerealm Brawl players

Marvel Contest of Champions is a free-to-play mobile game developed by Vancouver’s Kabam that is features arcade-style, one-on-one fighting and featuring the ranging pantheon of Marvel superheroes and supervillains.

First released in 2014 and available on Android and iOS, Kabam has kept Contest of Champions fresh with seemingly unending updates, adding characters and game modes.

In celebration of the game’s success, Kabam is hosting an event in Vancouver this October.

The two-day event starts on October 20 and will include early looks at future game updates and an opportunity to meet the developers.

Battlerealm Brawl also includes a tournament which culminates in a best of five finals competition between two top players.

The tournament kicked off today, August 9. Players of Gladiator’s Circuit of Battlegrounds: Season 10 are in competition and the top eight players will be invited to Vancouver to participate in the final brackets.

The top four players will be the first to get a new champion added to their roster.

Tickets for Battlerealm Brawl are free and the entire event will be broadcast on Kabam’s Twitch channel.

Ukrainian soldier credits video games with ability to pilot drones

Reuters reports on a Ukrainian soldier who is a drone pilot and credits playing video games.

From the article: “Every time I put on my goggles and take the joystick, I think about my mother telling me those video games won’t do me any good,” he says with a smile. “Well, if this isn’t useful, then what is?”

Valve is selling refurbished Steam Decks

The Steam Deck is Valve’s a portable gaming computer. First released in February 2022, you can now get your hands on one for at decent discount.

Valve’s been refurbishing units that have been returned to the company, and is now selling them.

Here’s what the pricing looks like:

• 64 GB: $499 new, $399 refurbished
• 256 GB: $659 new, $529 refurbished
• 512 GB: $819 new, $659 refurbished

Valve says the decks meet or exceed “the performance standards of new units” although they may have “minor cosmetic blemishes”.