Hearthstone game director and longtime Blizzard developer Ben Brode has announced that he is leaving the developer to “take a crazy risk” and help start a game development company of his own.

Brode, who has worked on Hearthstone for 10 of his 15 years at Blizzard, shared all of this in a heartfelt post on the Hearthstone forums, tracing back the path his career has taken and thanking his coworkers and the Hearthstone community for their support.

“I was 20 years old when I started here. My first role was ‘Night Crew Game Tester,” wrote Brode. “Since then, Blizzard has been good to me. I got to cast esports events, announce BlizzCons, play in Rock Bands, write raps, and work with incredible people. But the biggest opportunity came in 2008 when I joined ‘Team 5.’ The Hearthstone Team.”

Brode notes that, while he has enjoyed his time with the Hearthstone team, he is looking forward to stepping out of his current role and getting back to hands-on development like programming, designing, and “actually creating things again” with the studio he is helping to start.

While his post doesn’t mention who will be at the helm of Hearthstone development following his departure, Brode shared that he isn’t worried about the future of the digital card game he helped put on the map. 

“I get too much credit by virtue of being a public face, but the 80+ people on the development team are still there, and they are the ones actually making the cards, brawls, events, missions, and features,” said Brode. “I am confident the game is in the best possible hands, and I’m excited to see where a new generation of leaders takes Hearthstone from here.”

Screaming Villains has announced that its anniversary edition of the 1992 FMV game Night Trap will be headed to the Nintendo Switch later this year, just one year after it released the remastered game for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

The revival of the infamous game itself calls back to early discussions about violent and sexual content in video games since Night Trap was one of the specific games called out in a 1993 Congressional hearing on the subject, alongside titles like Mortal Kombat. 

But devs well versed in the turbulent history of Night Trap will note the ‘never say never’ tagline attached to the announcement trailer as a dig at former Nintendo senior vice president Howard Lincoln’s oath from those very hearings that the once controversial game would never appear on a Nintendo platform.

At the time, Howard criticized the game and its developers in front of a government committee for doing little to prevent children from consuming the controversial violent and sexual content found within the FMV game, saying that Night Trap wouldn’t appear on a Nintendo system since it would not pass Nintendo’s own guidelines. 

Never say never!

Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition is coming to the Nintendo Switch this Summer both digitally and physically!https://t.co/j1ZxEqvV8L pic.twitter.com/ZbsXKWvkn1

— Limited Run Games (@LimitedRunGames) April 20, 2018

Night Trap first released on the Sega CD in 1992 after plans to release the game on Hasbro’s scrapped VHS-powered “Project NEMO” console fell through. The game would go on to appear on other platforms despite the congressional hearing controversy and was the subject of a failed Kickstarter campaign from co-creator Tom Zito for a high-definition remake in 2014.

The big return to the spotlight for Night Trap came in 2016 when Screaming Villains posted a video of a Night Trap Android prototype that attracted the attention of the game’s co-creators Rob Fulop and Tom Zito, eventually resulting in a partnership with Limited Run Games to release PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC versions of Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition. Now, with Limited Run Games at its back once again, the game is headed to Switch both physically and digitally this summer. 

We know you’re busy and might miss out on all the exciting things we’re talking about on Xbox Wire every week. If you’ve got a few minutes, we can help remedy that. We’ve pared down the past week’s news into one easy-to-digest article for all things Xbox! Or, if you’d rather watch than read, you can feast your eyes on our weekly video show above. Be sure to come back every Friday to find out what’s happening This Week on Xbox!

Inside Xbox Episode Two News Recap
Earlier today, we aired episode two of Inside Xbox, as we continue to pull back the curtain on Team Xbox to celebrates our games, our features, and our fans. This episode was jam-packed full of everything you could want from a show like this, including the latest on our Xbox Backward Compatibility offerings, exciting news about Xbox FanFest at E3 2018, the debut of new console features, and an appearance from a very special guest. So, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at some of the biggest news coming out of this month’s episode of Inside Xbox. Watch the whole show in the player above or on our YouTube channel. Xbox Backward Compatibility Bill Stillwell came on the… Read more

Robocraft Infinity is Available Now Exclusively on Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass
Hello, Xbox fans! I’m from Freejam, makers of Robocraft Infinity, and I’ve been tasked to introduce the game to the lovely Xbox audience. Robocraft Infinity is the second game to launch straight into Xbox Game Pass, following a trail blazed by Sea of Thieves (hey, Rare!) and our unique multiplayer shooter allows players to build awesome-looking highly customisable robots and then take those creations into fast paced 5 vs 5. battles online. Our game retails for $19.99 / £14.99 / €19.99 on the Microsoft Store and active Xbox Game Pass subscribers can play the game as part of their subscription starting now! Pretty cool, right? If you’ve never heard of Robocraft Infinity,… Read more

More Original Xbox Games Coming to Xbox One Backward Compatibility
Today we’re excited to announce even more additions coming to the Xbox One Backward Compatibility catalog this month, including 19 new Original Xbox games and six Xbox 360 games with Xbox One X Enhancements. Starting today, fans can play Sonic Generations for the first time on the Xbox One family of devices alongside other Xbox 360 favorites that will receive Xbox One X Enhanced updates such as Darksiders, Gears of War 2, Portal 2, Red Dead Redemption, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Later this month, we’ll release two batches of Original Xbox games – the first on April 17 and the second on April 26. All of these Original Xbox games will take advantage of the power of… Read more

Overgrowth is Now Available for Skyforge on Xbox One
The time has come for a new era in the sci-fi fantasy world of Skyforge. The Overgrowth update has arrived and brought with it a brand-new class: the Grovewalker, along with a whole host of new features and changes. The Grovewalkers are fierce protectors. Summoning their powers directly from nature, they can easily protect their allies from harm. With the use of roots, they hold their foes to the ground while scattering seeds across the field of battle, sprouting carnivorous flowers to finish them off. If their foes get too close, the Grovewalker can become the living embodiment of… Read more

Play The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition for Free This Weekend with Xbox Live Gold
If you haven’t already experienced the snowy splendor of Skyrim, now’s your chance. Winner of more than 200 Game of the Year awards and remastered in stunning detail on Xbox One, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition will be free to play this weekend for all Xbox Live Gold members. From 12:01 a.m. PDT on Thursday, April 12, through 11:59 p.m. PDT on Sunday, April 15, Xbox Live Gold members can check out Skyrim Special Edition for free. That includes the base game as well as all the add-ons Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn. In addition to the free weekend, all Xbox One players will have a chance to pick up Skyrim Special Edition for 50% for a limited time. And for you… Read more

Shocking Upsets Dominate Gears of War Esports Pro Circuit Las Vegas Open
Last weekend, Gears Pro Circuit returned to Sin City for the Gears Pro Circuit Las Vegas Open with teams from around the world all vying for a share of the $200,000 prize pool. In a weekend filled with upsets, Ghost Gaming emerged triumphant to claim their first Gears Esports title. Going undefeated throughout the tournament, Ghost defeated Fable, the top European team, to secure their victory. The event had a large international representation with teams from Europe, Australia and Latin America all finishing in the top 12 – the best showing by international teams ever. However, the most surprising moment of the weekend was OpTic Gaming, reigning champ and the most dominant team in… Read more

Announcing More Details on Xbox FanFest: E3 2018
Today, on the second episode of Inside Xbox, we revealed brand-new details on Xbox FanFest at E3 2018. When we started doing FanFest a little over 4 years ago, we not only wanted to create global rally venues for Xbox fans; we also wanted gamers everywhere to know how deeply important they are to our past, present and future. This year, we’re looking to do even more. Xbox has two fantastic offers at this year’s E3. First, you can win a chance to be one of the 400 lucky people to experience Xbox FanFest from June 10 through June 11, or win one of 1,000 brand-new Xbox Briefing-Only Fan Tickets! All winners will be able to enjoy the Xbox E3 Briefing in-person on Sunday, June 10 at 1:00… Read more

Calling All Xbox Adventures to Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs
Prepare yourselves for an experience inspired by JRPG classics mixed with good ol’ adventuring, with a vast and vibrant story, skippable battles, an outstanding art style, and unexpected plot-twists! When we started working on Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs, we knew it was going to be much more than a tactical RPG. It’s a game about the restoration of your kingdom, bonding with spirited characters met during your journey, and embarking on the most peculiar quests possible. We also wanted to create a game of unforgettable, rewarding encounters and well-thought tactics… Read more

Inside Xbox One X Enhanced: Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Many of gaming’s most compelling stories come from those who’ve helped to create our favorite Xbox One games. In our Inside Xbox One X Enhanced series, these creators will share the behind-the-scenes accounts of the work involved in enhancing these epic games for Xbox One X, how they’ve helped chart the course of the world’s most powerful console, and what that means for the future of gaming. Today, we’ll be chatting with Ninja Theory’s Dominic Matthews, Commercial Director on the epic adventure game Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. What specifically is your development team doing to enhance Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice for Xbox One X? We’ve put a lot of work and care… Read more

Tune-in Tomorrow to the Halo World Championship 2018 Finals
In less than 24 hours, the biggest Halo esports tournament of the year – the Halo World Championship 2018 Finals – will kick off, where the very best professional Halo teams will battle at CenturyLink Field Event Center in Seattle, WA to compete for a $1 million prize pool and the prestigious title of Halo World Champion! The competition kicks off tomorrow at 12 p.m. PDT/3 p.m. EDT with Str8 Rippin vs  Fable Esports on the Main stage, streaming live on Mixer.com/Halo, Twitch.tv/halo, Twitter and Facebook. Also, back by popular demand is the Bravo stream on Mixer.com/HCS, Twitch.tv/HCS, and MLG.tv/Halo, so all tournament matches will be broadcast in their entirety with the finest… Read more

Team Up with Sam Fisher During Ghost Recon Wildlands Free Weekend, April 12-15
Ghost Recon Wildlands begins its second year of post-launch content starting April 10, when the first of four major free updates, called Special Operations I, goes live for players who own the game on Xbox One. Adding new items, missions, and features, each Special Operations update will bring a substantial amount of new content, both for the campaign and for the Ghost War PvP mode – and the first update includes an appearance from Splinter Cell’s Sam Fisher, which you can try for free this weekend along with the rest of the game. Voiced again by series veteran Michael Ironside, Sam appears during a new mission in which the Ghosts help him infiltrate an enemy camp at night,… Read more

Wargroove’s Classic Strategy Sandbox Coming Soon to Xbox One
Wargroove is a light turn-based tactics game inspired by classics of the genre but updated with modern features and drawn in a charming, light-hearted pixel art style. Soon after Starbound came out of Early Access on PC and had its official 1.0 release, Chucklefish started an internal pitch process where everyone in the office brought forward their ideas for what games we should start working on next. Everyone in the office was a big fan of light tactical games like Advance Wars, Shining Force, and Battle for Wesnoth, but we found that there hadn’t been many games in that genre in several years. We really wanted to play a modern game like that, so we decided to make it… Read more

Drop in to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds During Free Play Days Weekend, April 19-22
Get ready for a free trial of PlayerUnknown’s Battlgrounds (PUBG) during Xbox Live Gold’s Free Play Days, beginning Thursday, April 19 at 12:01 a.m. PDT to Sunday, April 22 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. Once the event begins, download the game by clicking on the Gold Member feature area on the Xbox Live home dashboard, or search for the game on the Microsoft Store via the Xbox Dashboard. Developed by PUBG Corp, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is the multi-award winning battle royale experience that drops players into a competitive survival battle where you’ll engage in a heart-racing fight to be the last player left alive. Loot for supplies and weapons, gear-up to take on the competition and… Read more

Starbound’s Story Within a Sandbox is Coming Soon to Xbox One
For those of you unfamiliar with Starbound, it’s an open-ended sandbox game with a strong focus on building and crafting, like Minecraft and Terraria. It presents a whole universe of procedurally generated worlds that you can travel between at your leisure. A strong design principle of Starbound during its development was “a story in a sandbox,” which presented the team with some interesting design challenges to overcome! We had several goals that we wanted to reach so that Starbound would live up to its aim of presenting a typical video-game storyline with progression, without the… Read more

Save Big on Xbox and PC Game Add-ons
The Microsoft Store Spring Add-on sale starts today, April 10, so save big on Xbox and PC game add-ons! Freshen up your gaming options and take advantage of savings on add-ons and season passes for select Xbox and PC games. Save up to 67% on Xbox game add-ons The Spring Add-on is the perfect time to upgrade your games with over 240 deals on popular Xbox One and Xbox 360 game digital add-ons. Save on Xbox One season passes for Assassin’s Creed Origins, Call of Duty: WWII, Shadow of War, Witcher 3, and more. Discover savings on an array of game add-on content for Xbox from Rise of the Tomb Raider, Gears of War 3, BioShock Infinite, Far Cry 4, and more. Save up… Read more

5 Tips and Tricks to Saving Humanity in Extinction
Extinction is launching today and we’re extremely excited for people to get their hands on a video game that gives players a true experience of going toe-to-toe against enemies of tremendous scale: the Ravenii. Ravenii are a monster race only previously mentioned before in fairytales, legends passed on throughout generations. No one really believed they were still in existence…until now. These bloodthirsty beasts were once close to ending mankind, and only a specialized group of warriors known as Sentinels could hold them back. Unfortunately, the Sentinels, much like the Ravenii, are a rare breed that has long been absent in society. Only one man carries on the Sentinel name, a… Read more

Welcome to The Un-Halloween Horror Spectacular, April 17 – 23
Step right up and welcome to the Un-Halloween Horror Spectacular Sale! In honor of Friday the 13th and, near halfway point to Halloween, the ID@Xbox team has curated some of our favorite horror games and discounted them by up to 70%. Whether you prefer to play as one of the world’s most prolific horror characters or enjoy a subtler scare with ominous figures and plotlines we have something for you. Starting Tuesday, April 17 and lasting through to Monday, April 23, turn off the lights, close all your blinds, turn up the sound, and terrify yourself with these exciting thrillers that are discounted for a limited time. Friday the 13th: The Game (60% off) – Play as Jason Voorhees, one… Read more

Nintendo Switch is getting a new indie puzzler next month in the form of Perfect Angle, an usual little curio from Ivanovich Games that uses perspective and optical illusions to solve some fiendishly challenging 3D conundrums. It’s due to arrive on the Switch eShop on 3rd May.

As the title suggests, it’s all about finding the perfect angle as you maneuver the camera so its 3D shapes form a familiar object or log. Some start out relatively easy, but expect to have that grey matter well and truly tested as you move through its artistic locales.

Check out the trailer above and let us know if you’ll be lining up the best angle come May…

Last week was a quiet week for Nintendo Switch in the UK charts, but that doesn’t mean the plucky little handheld didn’t have its fair share of familiar titles mingling with the multiplatform fare. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe dropped a couple of places to number five, while Super Mario Odyssey made the jump from eight to six in a single week.

Best of all, launch game extraordinaire The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has fought its way back into the top ten, leaping from twelfth place to ninth. You can’t keep a good Hyrulian down, it seems…

1(NEW)  God of War
2(1)  Far Cry 5
3(NEW) Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
4(2) FIFA 18
5(3) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
6(8) Super Mario Odyssey
7(7) Fallout 4
8(5) PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
9(12) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
10(4) Grand Theft Auto V

What do you make of the multiplatform UK charts from last week, and how well do you think Labo will perform when it launches later this week? Let us know below…

© 2018 Valve Corporation. All rights reserved. All trademarks are property of their respective owners in the US and other countries.

Signups now open for college esports tournaments featuring Blizzard Entertainment’s Heroes of the Storm®, Hearthstone®, and StarCraft® II

This year’s programs offer more opportunities—and scholarships—for college gamers across U.S. and Canada than ever before

IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Student gamers everywhere can now matriculate in a full schedule of college esports programs, as Tespa, Blizzard Entertainment’s college esports network, has revealed its lineup of tournaments and events for this year, including the fourth edition of Heroes of the Dorm™. With programs for Hearthstone® and StarCraft® II in addition to Heroes of the Storm®, Tespa will award more than $1 million in scholarships and prizing by the end of the 2017-18 academic year.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180122006267/en/

Now in its fourth year, Heroes of the Dorm is introducing regional play. More than $500,000 in scholarships and prizes are up for grabs in this premier collegiate esports competition. Regional winners and other top teams on the national leaderboard will be seeded into the 64-team National Championship bracket. The battle for the Heroes of the Dorm National Championship—and for the scholarship money each player receives for the remainder of their college careers—will be fierce. Fans can watch all the action on both www.twitch.tv/blizzheroes and www.mlg.com.

In a one-of-a-kind broadcast partnership with Raycom Sports, Heroes of the Dorm will have a dedicated, nationally-syndicated program during a five-week period of competition. Raycom will produce the weekly, one-hour Heroes of the Dorm program, featuring schools competing in the tournament’s Atlantic Coast Region. The original series, which will cover competition as well as spotlight player and team stories, will be broadcast across Raycom Sports’ syndicated network of affiliates in more than 50 markets in the United States.

“With intense student competition and an epic tournament bracket featuring schools across the United States and Canada, Heroes of the Dorm showcases the kind of excitement that can only come from college esports,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We look forward to cheering on all of the talented players who will be competing in Heroes of the Storm, as well as Hearthstone and StarCraft II, for their share of Tespa’s biggest scholarship prize pool ever.”

Starting today, eligible college gamers in the United States and Canada can sign up to compete in Heroes of the Dorm at www.heroesofthedorm.com. See the full schedule below:

Hearthstone Collegiate Championship

Teams vying for the 2018 Hearthstone Collegiate Championship will have their hands full as they battle for their share of $150,000 in scholarship prizing. Each team of three will have to battle through a seven-week regular season and the regional playoffs to make it to the single-elimination championship bracket. Fans can watch the tournament live on www.twitch.tv/playhearthstone.

Eligible college gamers in the United States and Canada can sign up to compete in the Hearthstone Collegiate Championship at compete.tespa.org starting today. See the full schedule below:

Tespa Collegiate Series—StarCraft

The first ever Tespa Collegiate Series—StarCraft will award $35,000 in total scholarship prizing to the top performers in the 16-team league. Teams of three players will battle it out in StarCraft II twice a week during the eight-week regular season, with four teams joining the tournament via the open qualifiers. Matches will be broadcast on www.twitch.tv/starcraft and www.mlg.com. Eligible college gamers in the United States and Canada can sign up for qualifiers at compete.tespa.org starting today. See the full schedule below:

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft®, Hearthstone®, Overwatch®, the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, and the multi-franchise Heroes of the Storm®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes twenty-one #1 games* and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Blizzard Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.

*Sales and/or downloads, based on internal company records and reports from key distribution partners.

About Tespa

Tespa is the premier college gaming network in North America, dedicated to creating a home for gamers on every campus. Recognized as the leader in college esports, Tespa cultivates student communities that host epic gaming events on campuses in the United States and Canada, and plans to distribute more than $1 million in scholarship prizing in 2018 through intercollegiate leagues. Tespa has had more than 5000 teams from more than 1400 universities compete in its college tournaments and has empowered student leaders to become entrepreneurs in the gaming industry.

About Raycom Sports

Charlotte, N.C.-based Raycom Sports is a leader for compelling storytelling, production, and content distribution across all platforms. With an award-winning production team, Raycom creates original feature programming such as Football Saturdays. Raycom is the syndicated rightsholder of Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball and football since 1982, and manages live television broadcasting, original programming, archival footage, mobile applications, social media, the official ACC website and the ACC Official Corporate Champions program. Raycom also serves as the digital content, marketing, video and broadcast production partner of The Basketball Tournament (TBT). Raycom manages client activations and hospitality at ACC FanFest at the ACC Football Championship and ACC Basketball Tournaments.

Raycom Sports’ parent company Raycom Media, owns and/or provides services for 65 television stations and 2 radio stations located in 20 states covering 16% of U.S. television households.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the dates and features of Heroes of the Dorm 2018, the Tespa Collegiate Series—StarCraft, and the Hearthstone Collegiate Championship, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180122006267/en/

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Christy Um
Director, Esports Communications
949.955.1380 x61251
christy.um@blizzard.com
or
David Gordon
Global PR Manager, Esports
949.955.1380 x13506
dgordon@blizzard.com
or
Sara Zaidi
Global PR Manager
949.955.1380 x61091
szaidi@blizzard.com

Source: Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

News Provided by Acquire Media

We’re currently battling winter here in the office, but we managed to sneak out this small snapshot a little later than usual.

A full changelog for the Snapshot can be found on Minecraft.net.

• Added underwater ruins!
• Added new coral blocks!
• Phantoms no longer spawn in the end
• Phantoms despawn in the daytime
• Optimized particle rendering slightly

UNDERWATER RUINS

We’ve ruined the game. Again.

• Come in many different shapes and sizes!
• Cold ruins can be found in cold, frozen, ocean biomes – regardless of depth
• Warm ruins can be found in warm, lukewarm, and deep lukewarm biomes
• Can generate alone or in a big ruined village
• You can also sometimes find them slightly underground or slightly above sealevel
• They can contain mysterious treasures! So mysterious that we haven’t even added the real treasure yet.
• A few more things to come in a future snapshot…

CORAL

Pretty blocks! Or should they be mobs? I’m not entirely sure.

• Comes in 5 colors: blue, pink, purple, red, yellow
• Requires water to stay alive
• If it dies, it dies. Sorry.
• Currently only obtainable in the creative inventory
• World generation to come in a future snapshot…

FIXED BUGS IN 18W09A

• MC-118324 – One of magenta dye recipes is unlocked via getting Ink Sac
• MC-118416 – Recipe for bowl not unlocked until bowl or mushrooms are obtained
• MC-126111 – Furnaces don’t award recipes or experience when output is taken after a reload
• MC-126150 – Furnaces don’t account for multiple recipes with the same output when giving experience and smelting recipes

To get snapshots, open your launcher and go to the “launch options” tab. Check the box saying “Enable snapshots” and save. To switch between the snapshot and normal version, you can find a new dropdown menu next to the “Play” button. Back up your world first or run the game on in a different folder (In the “launch options” page).

Please report any and all bugs you find in Minecraft to bugs.mojang.com.

Snapshots can corrupt your world, please backup and/or run them in a different folder from your main worlds. 1.13 will have a lot of experimental snapshots that may break everything and smell funny. This may be one of those snapshots. This is what happens when Mojang are changing all the things! 

Share your thoughts on how 1.13 is shaping up in the comments below!