It looks like that clandestine photo of a Gamestop computer replete with entries for Android devices has proven to be accurate, at least as far as tablets are concerned. Rather than stocking Samsung products exclusively, however, 1,600 Gamestops now carry Android tablets from Acer, Asus and Samsung; specifically the Asus Transformer and Transformer Prime, the Acer Iconia (both 7 and 10.1 versions), and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Each tablet comes pre-loaded with "a hand-picked selection of free games, like Sonic CD and Riptide, the Kongregate Arcade gaming app and a free issue of Game Informer Digital," according to the PR available after the break. Naturally, trade-in credit can be applied towards the purchase of one of these devices. Find out if one of your several dozen local Gamestops is a member of that 1,600-store collective by entering your zip-code here, and don't forget to do your research before plopping down several hundred clams on an iPad alternative.

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Minecraft's ability to churn through the bank accounts of all the cosmos continues unabated, having sold six million copies on PC to date, according to a tweet from Mojang mogul Markus Persson. Factoring in XBLA, Android and iOS sales, the figure is "around nine million," according to Persson, a number that Mojang's Daniel Kaplan puts a tiny bit more specifically as "maybe 9.2" million.

If you've been affected by Minecraft's unwavering grasp on the gaming universe, make sure to listed to the Mailbag portion of this week's Super Joystiq Podcast, wherein Joystiq's feature content director Xav de Matos, managing editor JC Fletcher and editor in chief Ludwig Kietzmann discuss various methods for breaking Minecraft addictions.

Google Play (formerly Android Market) now supports in-app subscriptions, so developers can optionally accept recurring payments for their apps. Subscriptions can be monthly or annual, and ... are all auto-renewing by default. Good news, developers! You'll get at least one accidental payment from a user.

First out of the gate to support this is Glu Mobile, which appears to be using it for recurring conversions of money to in-game credits in games like Frontline Commando. There's even API functionality allowing developers to use in-app subscriptions to determine access to non-Android-based properties, like websites – allowing an Android app to serve as the subscription system.

The sudden firing of all 379 employees at 38 Studios and Big Huge Games today was a blow to the industry, even for those of us who expected it. Soon after news broke, many developers, artists, designers, PR people, journalists and fans took to the Internet to express frustration and anger -- and to help.

On Twitter, the hashtag "#38jobs" rose to trending in the US, with people shouting out which studios were hiring and generally sending support to those let go today. A Facebook group titled "38Jobs" popped up around the same time. Freelance games journo Alex Rubens gathered all of these jobs tips into a Google Doc that currently sports 84 studios with openings, including Irrational Games, Bungie, Activision, Klei Entertainment, Rockstar and other major and indie companies.

Access the full list here; it is still in the process of being updated and refined, courtesy of Rubens and The Side Of The Gaming Industry That Proves We're Not All Trolling Douchebags.

Outside of workshopping "challenge maps" for Canabalt, creator Adam Saltsman has been pretty mum on any kind of updates or changes for the free-runner ... until now. Rather than do a sequel, Saltsman is considering a free update that would add local multiplayer for up to two people, eight new hardcore game modes with corresponding leaderboards, and achievements for Game Center.

Saltsman also kinda joked about Canabalt without rooftops, as seen in the image above – sounds great to us because maybe then we'd stop jumping into walls. This was more of a hypothetical than anything, though Saltsman hasn't officially ruled it out. Maybe it'll be the most hardcore mode of them all: You spawn and then immediately fall to your death.

During the week of E3, on June 6, Video Games Live will take over the Nokia Theater L.A. Live arena. Being E3 and all, and L.A. being one of the most frequently played venues for Tommy Tallarico's live video game concert, this year he wanted to add some special scores – like Austin Wintory's Journey score, conducted by Wintory himself.

It's just one of the more recent audio accompaniments added for the June 6 show. There are also select tunes from Skyrim, which will be handled by a secret guest conductor; composer Russell Bower will conduct some Diablo 3 tunes. Donkey Kong Country, Star Fox and even a Street Fighter segment – to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Capcom's fighter – are planned. Akira Yamaoka will also play guitar at some point.

Finally, there's Earthworm Jim to consider, a game that Tallarico himself worked on. Apparently folks have been asking him to add it to Video Games Live for quite some time now, which we're totally in favor of – as long as we get that thrash metal remix of "Use Your Head" we've been waiting our entire lives for.

GameFly is moving forward with its plan to "help good games get made" by not only publishing said games on both iOS and Android platforms, but by opening its own "expertly curated" marketplace on Google's mobile operating system.

GameFly's "GameStore" for Android is set to debut sometime this holiday season and will cater to both smartphone and tablet Android users, supplying games for both formats. The app will also support social discovery mechanisms such as friend recommendations and ratings/reviews from other users. Whether GameStore will exclusively stock GameFly-published titles is still unknown, but considering that the app will reportedly house "thousands of the best games," we expect content from other publishers to be present.

As far as GameFly's in-house publishing prospects are concerned, the company expects to release its first game sometime this summer. Mobile developers interested in being published by GameFly should send an email to GameDev at GameFly dawt com.

Johann Sebastian Joust developer Die Gute Fabrik deliberated over its response to inquiries about the similar iOS app Papa Quash for more than a day, delivering a comprehensive response on its blog last night. "To be clear, we've never given anyone permission to make a derivative version of any of our commercial products – existing or forthcoming," DGF said. "That said, the definition of 'derivative' is elusive. We generally don't believe that game mechanics themselves can or should be copyrighted or otherwise protected."

"We've also never requested any studio to pull any of its products," the studio added, referring obliquely to Papa Quash's removal from the App Store. "We believe that game developers have the responsibility to decide for themselves what is "over the line" in terms of cloning vs. innovating (separate from legal obligations regarding copyrights, trademarks, patents, and other intellectual property rights)." As for the specific case of Papa Quash, Die Gute Fabrik demurred from outright calling it a clone – while still expressing disappointment about cloning in general.

In an email to Joystiq, Die Gute Fabrik lead game designer Douglas Wilson provided clarification about the email conversation that took place between Papa Quash creator Sam Pepper and DGF.

"Sam Pepper did email me back in January," Wilson said. "However, I never gave him 'permission' to develop Papa Quash. In his emails, he told me about his general plans to make a motion control game, which he indicated was different from J.S. Joust. He never provided a well-formulated game/design, and as such, there simply was nothing to 'approve.'"

According to Wilson, the decision to pull Papa Quash was not his. "I spoke with Steve Bittan from Ustwo last night, and I made it clear that the determination was theirs (and potentially Sam Pepper's) to make as to whether the game is "different" enough (separate from legal obligations regarding copyrights, trademarks, patents, and other intellectual property rights). I don't harbor any animosity towards Ustwo or Sam Pepper."

Mass Effect: Infiltrator – developed by the same team responsible for the mobile version of Dead Space – is now available for download in the Google Play store for $6.99.

In Mass Effect: Infiltrator, players take on the role of Cerberus defector Randall Ezno as he attempts to flee from a Cerberus base with intel for the Alliance. Progress in Mass Effect: Infiltrator affects your Galactic Readiness level in Mass Effect 3. And if you've been meaning to go back to the portable game, the latest update (version 1.0.3) added a new character and mission.

Peter Molyneux's new studio is going to create his greatest game ever, but first it plans to make 22 of the almost greatest games ever. 22 Cans, Molyneux's studio, is rolling out a project called 22 Experiments, a series of digital releases leading up to the "final product," Molyneux told Beefjack.

The first experiment could drop in as few as six weeks for undisclosed platforms. Molyneux said the projects are "very very different, unusual, I think very intriguing things," probably because that's his thing. During a talk at Imperial College London's GaME12 event, Molyneux provided a vague vision for the direction of his studio, saying he wants to use current technology in ways no one else has, and sharing the following idea:

"I love this one thought, and I have experimented with this in previous games, that you find out more about yourself while being engaged with this experience than [you would] with anything else. And we all love finding out about ourselves – whether it's through personality tests, or someone turning around to you and saying X, Y and Z."

We look forward to a seriously introspective game of 22 Questions starting in six weeks.

The Game Bakers' mobile, PC and Mac RPG title Squids is getting a rough 'n rowdy update this summer with a new chapter: the Wild West.

To prepare players for the Wild West, Game Bakers launched a free update on the App Store today, featuring three western-ized levels in Seawood, a new Squid hero named Cleef and a new enemy, the Buffalo Shrimp. The update also brings a higher level cap, a new Game Center achievement and improved social media functionality.

We hope it also demonstrates how tumbleweeds blow across a dry dirt street in a fully underwater environment.

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Devolver Digital has teamed up with Cube Roots to publish the indie puzzle RPG Dungeon Hearts on PC, Mac and mobile in early 2013. Before any of you smart alecks ask: No, it's not a mashup of Dungeon Defenders and Kingdom Hearts.

Dungeon Hearts features a "nostalgic" blend of classic RPG elements and match-three puzzle mechanics for a "wholly unique experience," Devolver promises. It has 99 character levels and 16 unique environments, and players will use the matching game to perform powerful attacks in the game's mystical world.

At GDC in February, Cube Roots founder Chris Pavia got on a bus with Devolver Digital's Fork Parker as part of the Pitch Fork Parker Project. Pavia pitched Dungeon Hearts, left the bus, and by the end of the night his game was signed.

"The original pitch was for Dungeon Hearts to be a medieval brothel simulator," Parker said. "I recommended we shift development toward the puzzle/RPG hybrid because medieval brothel simulators just don't sell anymore."

Former Rockstar bossmen Mark Washbrook and Mark Lloyd are helping establish Activision's freshly announced UK studio. The studio, based in Leeds, will focus on mobile development and is led by Team17 co-founder Martyn Brown. Brown hopes to eventually have a staff of 40 at Activision Leeds.

Washbrook established Rockstar London, which worked on mobile aspects of Manhunt 2 and online features of Max Payne 3. He left Rockstar in February 2011 and worked as game director at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe for six months.

Lloyd was studio head of Rockstar Lincoln for 12 years, but left in March 2011 to found his own games consulting service, Titanium Consultancy, which has since been voluntarily dismantled.

Activision Leeds was established in November, but is just now blipping on public radar. Washbrook and Lloyd could be at Activision Leeds for the long haul or as initial consultants; Activision hasn't clarified.

Subatomic Studios had one of the first iPhone hits in 2008 with the tower defense game Fieldrunners, which was then ported to many other platforms. Four years later, Subatomic is back, and so is Fieldrunners.

Fieldrunners 2 is due on iPhone "at the end of June" with an iPad-optimized version following. It expands on the gameplay of the first one with more, and more varied, maps, over 20 upgradeable towers, and more than 30 enemy types trying to ruin them. New features include puzzle and "sudden death" maps and air strike and powerup attacks.

Check out the first screens and art in our gallery, and enjoy the feeling of nostalgia for an iPhone game for the first time.

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Johann Sebastian Joust, the game of players attempting to jostle one another to set off accelerometers, would work great on iPhone (if a bit dangerous), and in fact it looks like it does work great. Too bad developer Die Gute Fabrik wasn't the one to put it there.

Papa Quash by developer ustwo looks exactly like Joust. Players walk slowly, deliberately around a space, trying to slap, push, or otherwise put each other off balance until only one winner is left unperturbed.

It's just on iPhone instead of a computer using Moves, and has "wacky characters" and dubstep. Oh, and in-app purchases (it's otherwise free on iTunes). We've placed a video of Joust after the break for comparison. Either two people had the exact same incredibly creative idea, or some "inspiration" was taken from Joust.

Of course, this isn't the first time an iOS clone has beaten an official indie game port to market. Radical Fishing developer Vlambeer found Ninja Fishing on iOS ahead of its own mobile version, and one game, One and One Story, was cloned on iOS from the original code.

Update: Developer ustwo explained to Gamasutra that it was commissioned by Sam Pepper to develop that game. "We told him about J. S. Joust and he emailed them to OK it," marketing director Steve Bittan said. "After we got that assurance we did service work on it."

JS Joust co-creator Douglas Wilson told Joystiq that the developer is "working on an official response." Die Gute Fabrik tweeted that "we have never and would never approve, give permission, or encourage anyone to clone of any of our games."

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Fruit Ninja might not really need updating – it's pretty feature-complete if there is fruit for you to slice, and you can slice it – but Halfbrick is adding content to the mobile game anyway in honor of its two-year anniversary. The new update will be live May 24.

Gutsu and Truffles join the cast (in other words, Sensei), bringing with them a shop where you can purchase powerups that add time, deflect bombs, or explode, in exchange for Starfruit, a new currency that you earn in-game.

Speaking of currency, Halfbrick is handing out the iPhone game at no cost right now on its anniversary website. The offer is limited, but we'd be surprised if this Starfruit update weren't leading into an optional microtransaction-based system like that in Jetpack Joyride.

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After shutting down Bizarre Creations last February and restructuring DJ Hero studio Freestyle Games, Activision's reach in the UK was recessed for the past year. But with a renewed mobile push at Activision, the publisher is now looking to build a new studio across the Atlantic – and Team17 co-founder Martyn Brown is in charge of building said studio.

Develop confirmed the news with Activision, who only allowed this vague statement: "We are investing in mobile initiatives and that includes a UK studio." For Brown's part, he's staying mum, but the job description falls right in line with Brown's, following his departure from Team17 last year.

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP will make its Japanese debut on June 21, in both iOS and PC iterations. Localization firm 8-4 is partnering with Capy and Superbrothers, to handle localization of the idiosyncratic dialogue along with promotion.

Even if you're not personally interested in playing Sworcery in Japanese, you can reap the benefits of this new collaboration. Concurrent with the game's release, a new remix album will be available online, featuring interpretations of Jim Guthrie's Sworcery soundtrack by Akira Yamaoka, Michiru Yamane, Baiyon, and more.

It seems that GameStop plans on offering AT&T data plans for mobile devices under a service called GameStop Mobile, according to information posted on their website. The information has since been pulled, but not before our friends at Engadget reported on it.

So, as long as GameStop Mobile continues to not be a reality, we will continue reporting the information we've yet to learn about the service. Hypothetically-speaking, GameStop Mobile would require AT&T-compatible or unlocked devices. The service would probably include pay-as-you-go five dollar plans and $55 monthly plans, which would include unlimited voice and text and 500MB of data, or 1GB of data for data-only device users.

The someday-news of GameStop Mobile would make more sense out of the company's recent addition of Android devices to their trade-in lists.