Valve, the Bellevue company behind the Steam video-game platform and hit games such as Portal and Half-Life, is developing a new educational game to help middle-school students learn physics. It’s an outgrowth of the company’s Learn With Portals initiative, and it’s slated to debut in about six weeks… Read more:

via Valve has high hopes for its ‘non-sucky educational game’ – GeekWire.

Riffing on social gaming mobile applications such as FarmVille and FourSquare, San Francisco wants to reward you for disaster preparation – not with money, but with digital satisfaction.  Employing a motivational method known to tech industry aficionados as “gamification,” The City’s Department of Emergency Management said a new app called SF Heroes will be available for the iPhone on Friday, with an Android version coming in spring. The game allows users to connect with friends and complete tasks through games and in real life, earning them “badges” that rank them against online counterparts…  Read more:

via San Francisco to release game-based disaster preparedness app | Dan Schreiber | Local | San Francisco Examiner.

PBS KIDS just launched over 40 new learning games for children ages 2-8. Read more about it:

PBS KIDS Sets New Bar in Educational Gaming Space with Launch of over 40 New Skills-Based Games – MarketWatch.