Kotaku: Posts

Kotaku

What To Expect From Steam And Valve In 2022

It’s shaping up to be another record-breaking year for Valve-owned digital storefront Steam thanks to massive games like Elden Ring and_Starfield_, and new hardware like the Steam Deck. Last year was a sleepier one when it came to PC blockbusters due to covid-19-driven game delays, but 2021’s loss is this year’s gain.…

Read more...

Kotaku

Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ New Monsters Might Have Already Leaked

Although Pokémon Legends: Arceus is still more than a week away, some of its Pokédex compendium already seems to have leaked online. The apparent data mine gives us a great look at all the new, returning, and remixed monsters that are set to show up in the upcoming game.

Read more...

Kotaku

Dark Souls II X 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin Crossover Is Very Funny Actually

While professional wrestling is known for occasionally creating intriguing crossovers with other promotions, this _Dark Souls II_YouTube video of Stone Cold Steve Austin stomping a mudhole out of a huntsman copse might give real-world wrestling a run for its money.

Read more...

Kotaku

Halo Infinite’s Shimmery Nail Polish: The Kotaku Fashion Review

Everyone’s talking about Microsoft this week, with the massive megacorp’s big moves in the gaming space setting everyone’s tongues wagging. But everything you heard is true: Yes, Microsoft just debuted a very weird collaboration with cosmetics manufacturer OPI consisting of 12 Xbox-branded nail polishes. As Kotaku dot…

Read more...

Kotaku

Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard Purchase Isn’t Great, But Isn’t An Illegal Monopoly Either

Yesterday’s announcement of Microsoft’s plan to purchase Activision Blizzard King for nearly $70 billion immediately sparked discussions about antitrust laws and monopolies, financial terms that pop up whenever a high-profile company purchases another high-profile company. While the merging of Microsoft and Activision…

Read more...

Kotaku

Call Of Duty: Warzone's Flying Car Problem Is Back In Latest Map

If you’ve played Call of Duty: Warzone recently, you might’ve seen flying objects in the sky that appear to be aircrafts like helicopters or planes. Well, you’re wrong. They’re actually regular old vehicles such as motorbikes and SUVs that cheaters have hacked to take to the skies…again. Yes, again, as this isn’t a…

Read more...

Kotaku

Halo Infinite Players Can't Unsee That The New Cyberpunk Visor Is A Few Pixels Off-Center

The generalpoliticalheadwinds of Europe aren’t the only thing disconcertingly swinging right-of-center. Halo Infinite recently received a new visor that’s_juuust_ slightly askew. Fans are split here. Many think it’s a crime against the cosmetics gods, while others regard such complaints as yet another item in a long…

Read more...

Kotaku

‘BioWare Magic Is Bullsh*t,’ Says Former Dragon Age Producer

BioWare is mainly known for large, sprawling RPGs with unique characters and worldbuilding. However, it’s also recently garnered a reputation for troubled labor conditions. Anthem, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and Mass Effect Andromeda were made under immense amounts of crunch hours. All of that hard work was supposed to…

Read more...

Kotaku

Japanese Internet Reacts To Microsoft's $70 Billion Proposal To Buy Activision

The biggest news this week—probably this year—is Microsoft’s proposed $70 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard. Online, people have opinions about this massive event and its ramifications, and in that regard, Japan is no different. The way Microsoft’s flagship console is viewed by many in Japan, however, is…

Read more...

Kotaku

The Real Reasons Activision Blizzard Was Sold, Without Bobby Kotick's PR Spin

As you probably already heard, Microsoft is looking to purchase Activision Blizzard for a whopping $68.7 billion. But why Activision CEO Bobby Kotick suddenly decided to give up control of the company and where that leaves the beleaguered executive after the ink dries changes depending on who you ask.

Read more...

Kotaku

Meet The ‘Lesbian Skip,’ An Essential Deltarune Speedrunning Strat

Apparently if you want to be a pro speedrunner in Deltarune, it’s imperative that you utilize a technique called “Lesbian Skip.” What’s the deal with that? It’s very straightforward actually.

Read more...

Kotaku

This Was Inevitable

Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard has been momentous news today, as much for the scale of the deal as its shock value. But we shouldn’t be too surprised. This was inevitable. A handful of companies have always wanted to own everything, and nothing is going to stop them.

Read more...

Kotaku

Shonen Jump Gives Fans Heart Attack Over Suspected NFTs

Earlier today the American Twitter account for storied manga anthology Shonen Jump got very excited about some upcoming news. Problem being, they phrased it in a way that got fans very upset, very quickly.

Read more...

Kotaku

Twitch Star Ninja Threatens Pokimane With Legal Action For Alleged 'Harassment'

In an unnecessary turn of events, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is threatening fellow streamer Imane “Pokimane” Anys with defamation of character charges. Welcome to 2022, yall. Things are about to get wild from here on out.

Read more...

Kotaku

Everyone Else Can Get Lost: This Fortnite Dino Is My New BFF

Every time I feel like my relatively newfound passion for Fortnite is starting to wane, Epic Games drops some cool new thing that I instantly fall in love with. For example, now the battle royale game features dinosaur-like beasts that suck up scenery and shoot rare weapons out of their mighty blowholes. They are…

Read more...

Kotaku

Everything You Need To Know About Halo Infinite’s Neon-Retro Event

Halo Infinite’s “Cyber Showdown” event kicks off today, adding a new mode called Attrition, plus a raft of neon-soaked cosmetic options, many available by way of a free 10-level battle pass. It’s all pretty cool. It’s also not quite what (some) players expected.

Read more...

Kotaku

Final Fantasy VII Porn Interrupts Government Meeting

Italian lawmakers who gathered yesterday for a discussion of data transparency in political decision making got more than they bargained for when someone started playing a CGI video of Final Fantasy VII’s Tifa Lockhart having sex in the middle of the digital proceedings. The hentai went live just as the Zoom call was…

Read more...

Kotaku

Xbox Game Pass Kicks 2022 Off With Two 2021 GotY Contenders

The big news out of Microsoft today is, obviously, its acquisition of Activision Blizzard for the nominal fee of, oh, a small country’s GDP. The immediate impact here means major Activision-published behemoths like Call of Duty and Overwatch will become first-party games under Microsoft’s ever-growing purview, with…

Read more...

Kotaku

The Anacrusis Might Be A Worthy Successor To Left 4 Dead's Legacy

Zack and I were sprinting through a field of head-high flowers, and we were very afraid. Ahead of and behind us, two hordes of semi-zombified humans with alien entities clinging to their faces closed in. I fired my rifle, piercing shots driving them to the ground in droves. Earlier in our trek through the…

Read more...

Kotaku

Netflix's Cuphead Trailer Is Slightly Easier Than The Game

The official trailer for Netflix’s The Cuphead Show! just dropped and, much like the visually stunning (and brutally difficult) game it’s based on, it’s bursting at the seams with all of the charm and whimsy of a ‘30s cartoon.

Read more...

Kotaku

Creator of PS5 And Xbox Scalper Subscription Claims To Be A Jobs Creator

PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles are still notoriously difficult to acquire. This is partially because of the chip shortage that affects the availability of the components inside the machines, but also because of scalpers who can buy consoles and sell them for a much higher price. One guy named Jack Bayliss is…

Read more...

Kotaku

The 13 Best Games For The Xbox Series X And S

A new console generation usually means a new library of games. That’s not exactly the case with Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, at least not yet. So far, there are few true next-gen exclusives. Instead, Xbox games are often released in both last-gen and next-gen versions.

Read more...

Kotaku

Microsoft Is Bringing Activision Blizzard Games To Game Pass

Alongside news that Microsoft is preparing to acquire Activision Blizzard for $70 billion, the Xbox console maker has confirmed that games from the recently troubled _Call of Duty_and Warcraft publisher will make their way to Xbox Game Pass.

Read more...

Kotaku

PlayStation’s Best-Selling Series Of 2021 Could Become Xbox-Exclusive

The NPD Group released its annual tally of gaming sales for 2021 today, pretty much at the very second Microsoft announced it would buy mega-publisher Activision Blizzard for approximately the GDP of Luxembourg. The top-selling console game for 2021 was the same as it is as it is nearly everyyear: the latest Call of

Read more...

Kotaku

Undertale Fan Prequel Six Years In The Making Almost Done, Looks Fantastic

Undertale Yellow is a fan-made prequel to the indie RPG that tells the story of Clover, the seventh human who falls into the game’s Underground. Given the go-ahead by Undertale creator Toby Fox back in February 2016, the labor of love is close to achieving its final form, with a new animated teaser trumpeting (or…

Read more...

Kotaku

Head Of Microsoft Says He’s ‘Grateful’ For Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick's 'Commitment to Real Change'

Microsoft revealed a bombshell today: it’s buying embattled Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard in the largest gaming industry acquisition ever. That means a lot of things, including that the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, will soon be veteran CEO Bobby Kotick’s new boss. But what that means for the man currently…

Read more...

Kotaku

Report: Live-Action Lost Judgment TV Series In The Works

Japanese actor and pop star Takuya Kimura made his video game debut with Judgment and its sequel Lost Judgment. Apparently, there are unconfirmed plans to adapt the budding franchise into a live-action TV series.

Kimura was previously in a boy band called Smap, but has also been one of Japan’s biggest TV celebs,…

Read more...

Kotaku

Final Fantasy VII Writer Doesn't Want To Talk About His Games On Twitter

Kazushige Nojima is one of video game’s most famous story and scenario writers. Some of his past credits include Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts I and II, and even Super Smash Bros. Brawl’s Adventure Mode, among many others. Recent credits include Final Fantasy VII Remake, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin,…

Read more...

Kotaku

Hold! Hold!

Sasha Beliaev is a veteran concept and matte artist who has 25 years of experience in movies, games and even opera, something I don’t think I’ve ever typed out in 10+ years of running this feature.

Read more...

Kotaku

Sailor Moon Becomes Sailor Witches

Back in 2019, in the Before Times, Ukraine-based illustrator Kutty Sark celebrated Inktober with a range of Sailor Moon images that depicted the girls as straight-up witches (this is not the blog to be entertaining discussions on whether using wands and magic means Sailor Moon is _already_a witch, thank you).

Read more...