Cecilia D'Anastasio

Teen Dominates Smash Tournament Using 6 Different Fighters

Seventeen-year-old Smash Ultimate prodigy Sota “Zackray” Okada clutched out his first No. 1 placement at a U.S. Smash tournament using—count ’em—six separate Smash fighters. Based in Japan, Okada is known for two things: his majorly terrifying Wolf play and being very, very young. At Okada’s second U.S. major tournament, his friends had to hoist him…

I Did Not Expect Untitled Goose Game To Trouble My Conscience

It was his last rose. I was waddling around the nice man’s garden in Untitled Goose Game and passed by this meager rose garden, with just one rose pushing above the soil. Maybe he was growing it for his wife. It wasn’t even on my to-do list; I impulsively waddled over, plucked it, shuttled it…

Rick Fox Files Lawsuit Against Business Partners Alleging Fraud, Drug Use, Racism

A civil complaint filed by Echo Fox co-owner Rick Fox on Monday details new allegations of fraud, deceptive business practices and racism against Echo Fox business partners that, he believes, merit over $10,000,000 in damages. Lawyers representing the complaint’s defendants claim that it contains numerous falsities and unsupported accusations. The complaint is the latest burst…

Union Accuses Game Studio Of “Union-Busting”; Studio Denies Employee Was Disciplined For Activism

The UK’s Independent Workers Union accused Monument Valley and Assemble With Care studio Ustwo Games of “union-busting” in a statement today. Threatening legal action, the report alleges that senior Ustwo programmer Austin Kelmore—also the branch chair and founding member of the union’s Game Workers Unite branch—suffered “victimization” and “unfair dismissal” because of his union actions.…

We have updated our article about Gearbox’s decision not to sign a union contract to bring back Troy Baker as Rhys in Borderlands 3 Readers had questions about why other union actors are voicing Borderlands 3 characters and whether Gearbox’s excuse valid, which Baker’s union, SAG-AFTRA, responded to.

Goose-Related Crime Up 2000 Percent After Untitled Goose Game Release

In a clear example of video games directly spurring real-life violence, a Nottinghamshire, England, goose wreaked havoc on an unsuspecting taxi driver and his now-ravaged car. After its September 20 release, Untitled Goose Game, featuring one goose who terrorizes gardens, storefronts and taverns, inspired a mass appreciation for heinous acts of goose crime. Amid an…

Cecilia is streaming a Throne of Eldraine draft in Magic: The Gathering Arena right now on Twitch! Come join the battle here.

Overwatch‘s Bastion Moonlights As Aerial Circus Act

It’s unlikely that, before yesterday, anybody used the words “trapeze artist” to describe Overwatch’s turret hero Bastion. One hype play at the Overwatch League grand finals revealed the hero’s potential as an aerial circus act. Early on in the San Francisco Shock’s 4-0 sweep of the Vancouver Titans, Bastion player Minho “Architect” Park was helping…

Troy Baker Says He Didn’t Voice Rhys In Borderlands 3 Because ‘They Wouldn’t Go Union’ [Updated]

Earlier this year, Borderlands fans were devastated to learn that actor Troy Baker would not be reprising his role as Rhys in Borderlands 3. At the time, publisher Gearbox’s co-founder Randy Pitchford said Baker “turned it down,” but a recent interview with Baker makes things sound more complicated. Baker is a beloved voice actor who’s…

The San Francisco Shock took the 2019 Overwatch League grand finals, $1,100,000, and the Vancouver Titans’ dignity with a 4-0 sweep today. The superfast win comes off the heels of a 23-5 season, which includes their completion of the league’s first-ever perfect stage. “We knocked on wood, for sure,” said season MVP Jay “Sinatraa” Won…

We’re in Philadelphia at the Overwatch League Grand Finals match between the San Francisco Shock and the Vancouver Titans. Tune in at 3pm ET on Twitch to watch the league’s two best teams go head-to-head for a chance to win $1,100,000.

Magic: The Gathering Arena: The Kotaku Review

Magic: The Gathering Arena isn’t the same as ripping open Magic packs with your childhood best friend on a sunny park bench, but it is the next best thing. The digital card game, available on PC, smooths down the coarser aspects of paper Magic games, making for an easy landing pad for newbies and a…

Video Game Companies Vow Action On Climate Change, But Critics Say They Need To Do More

Within a couple generations, after climate change has more visibly ravaged the Earth, the easiest way for humanity to interact with lush forests and icy glaciers might be video games. It’s a bleak, maybe science-fiction potential future, but not an improbable one; according to some analyses, we have just 12 years to suppress catastrophic climate…

Studio Trigger’s New Movie Promare Is So Much More Than Sexy Firefighters

Studio Trigger’s first feature-length anime movie Promare is a cart ride through a futuristic funhouse on lots and lots of drugs. Known for their over-the-top animation and absurdist humor, Studio Trigger is a hot name in Japanese animation right now. They’re the muscle behind hits like Kill la Kill, Little Witch Academia and Darling in the…

Cosplayer Constructs Stunning Shield For Overwatch‘s Brigitte

Now that Overwatch players have stopped complaining about how overpowered the hero Brigitte is, perhaps we can all guiltlessly enjoy some fantastic Brigitte cosplay. On Saturday, Melbourne, Australia-based cosplayer AltF4Cosplay posted her completed shield from Brigitte’s “Shieldmaiden” skin. Here’s what the shield looks like in-game: And here is AltF4Cosplay’s brilliant shield. It even lights up:…

Person Naruto Runs Through ‘Storm Area 51’ Newscast

In what started as a joke and is now our manifest reality, thousands of people are expected to storm Area 51 today. Today, we witnessed just one of many on camera running through the desert like characters from the popular anime series Naruto “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us” began as a…

Player Spends $62,000 In Runescape, Reigniting Community Anger Around Microtransactions

“At this point, it’s no longer pay-to-play,” said a commenter on Runescape’s subreddit. “It’s pay-to-pay.” Controversy over microtransactions is rocking the community of 18-year-old fantasy online role-playing game Runescape. Criticism of the game’s allegedly predatory microtransactions bubbled over after a recent UK Parliament report referenced disordered levels of spending in video games, specifically flagging Runescape…

How A High School Smash Bros. Joke Became A World-Famous Saying

In 2014, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, beloved among the Super Smash Bros. competitive community, formally blessed the group before that year’s EVO fighting game tournament. It was the first year that Nintendo had officially sponsored the event. “Today, you’re all showing your abilities at Super Smash Bros. Melee,” he said in a video…

Twitch Suspends Streamer After She Wears Chun-Li Cosplay [Updated]

Last night, Twitch suspended art streamer Quqco after she livestreamed herself wearing cosplay of Chun-Li from Street Fighter, Dexerto first reported Quqco is a small streamer who often draws pictures from her favorite gaming franchises live on Twitch. Yesterday, she was wearing Chun-Li’s signature blue qipao and bun covers, and soon after, she received notice…

Dragon Quest‘s First Three Games Coming To Switch

The first three games of famous Japanese role-playing game series Dragon Quest are coming to the Switch, Square Enix announced this morning. On September 27, 1986’s Dragon Quest, 1987’s Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line and 1988’s Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation will be available on the Nintendo Switch. Originally, when…