Corona Labs, makers of the Corona SDK, has been acquired by Appodeal, an ad mediation company. Corona uses Lua on top of C++/OpenGL and variety of third-party tools and services to deliver a game production solution for mobile and desktop developers.
It seems like Corona Labs will keep chugging on!
Source: https://coronalabs.com/blog/2017/03/16/corona-labs-joins-appodeal/
Built by educators, PixelPAD is a web-based 2D game engine designed for classroom and personal projects. It uses Python but doesn't support the entire language yet. It is free to sign up and use but there's also a subscription available to gain access to educational material as well as a la carte options for individual courses.
The engine currently exports to the Web but based on its disabled options, mobile and current-gen console export could be around the corner. I'm curious to see how this engine gets developed!
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/5z7yve/new_webbased_2d_game_engine_pixelpad_beta/
YoYo Games has just launched GameMaker Studio 2 with rich new features that make 2D game development accessible to beginners such as its trademarked Drag and Drop system (DnD™). Advanced users can use a powerful programming language (GML) and export their games to mobile, desktop and console platforms.
Personally, I can't believe a drag and drop system can be trademarked but I guess, anything's possible. Also, it's difficult to say at a glance why anyone should upgrade from GameMaker to GameMaker Studio 2.
More info here: http://www.yoyogames.com/blog/413
Platforms. Services. VR.
Lots of VR! At the Expo, Facebook and Google have a huge presence with Oculus and Daydream respectively. Is VR still just a fad? Only time and consumer demand will tell.
Developers using Construct 2, Unity, Xenko and MonoGame can now integrate some Xbox Live features into their games without going through a rigorous approval program.
Microsoft really wants their products everywhere. This includes Xbox Live. We might see Xbox Live exist on Androids and iPhones before long!
Learn more here: https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/games/xbox/xboxlive/Creator