Good news, N++ fans! We’re ready to debut the new and improved Race Mode and we’re going do it at PAX (August 29-September 1), in the Indie Megabooth. Come check it out, and say hi!

You might remember Race Mode from N+ on XBLA — it was a great party game that where you could play against your friends and enemies. And sometimes some of them would switch over from friends to enemies in the process 😉

Well it’s back, and it’s better than ever, with a bunch of fancy new modifications. We’ve changed the rules completely so it’s more exciting, more competitive, and fits better within the N++ world. You’ll need to employ your entire bag of ninja tricks as you collect gold and strategically speed towards the exit against up to 4 other people.

Plus (plus), we added a few new fun surprises as well. Seriously, we can’t wait for you all to try it.

Even better news: we’re rolling out the first Contesque (n., a delightful term we coined for a “contest-esque event”) for N++. We’ll be holding a tournament at PAX and giving away awesome prizes!

It’ll be a three day tournament, two days of qualifiers and then one thrilling battle for the top spot. And you’ll want to be in that top spot — we’re giving away something fantastic! Plus (plus) a copy of N++ when it’s out, of course.

Finalists will also get a beautiful new limited edition N++ t-shirt specially designed just for this tournament, and the distinct pleasure of being one of the best N++ players in the world.

————————————- The details:
Spots are limited in this tournament, so if you’ll be at PAX and you know you’d like to be in the tournament, email us at metanet AT metanetsoftware DOT com, subject line: “N++ PAX Tournament sign-ups”. We’ll add your name to a list, and will email you details. You must play in a qualifier on one of the first two days (Friday and Saturday). If you win in your qualifier, we’ll need you to come back on Sunday for the finals. Please make sure you can commit to this before you sign up! If you aren’t sure or have any questions, email us for more details.

(You can also sign up at our booth during PAX.)

Each day’s tournament should last about an hour (each round will be 15 action-packed minutes or less), and we expect the finals to last about an hour as well. So get excited, and get ready, ’cause it’s going to be awesome.

If this goes well, we’re hoping to hold other tournaments in other cities; in fact, there will be an N++ tournament at Fantastic Fest! We don’t know much about it yet but there should be more details soon — we’ll let you know as soon as we do. Keep an eye on this blog for updates on more ways you can play N++!

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Segue! The elephant in the room is, of course, the release date.

We still haven’t announced a release date, but we’re getting close to determining when it will be. We’re really sorry to keep you all waiting, but we promise you it will be worth it. This game is coming together beautifully, and although that’s taking longer than we thought it would, we are so pleased with where it’s going. We know you will be too.

While you wait, don’t forget to check out our tumblr, where we’ve been posting gifs of gameplay, and twitter, where we’re trying to decide what to call a plurality of evil ninjas. We’ve gotten some great suggestions so far — our favourites are a slip (by @EltonsKuns), an intrigue (by @henryfaber), a silence (by @nsuttner), a whisper (by @j00zt1n) a disturbance (by @andrewtraviss) and a stealth (by @zusty). Very atmospheric! If you have a suggestion, please post it in the comments!