Jason Schreier

Stardew Valley is coming to Switch on October 5, developer Eric Barone said today. It’ll be $15 and give you a healthy dose of farming on the go. Next up, Animal Crossing?

Overwatch Director Says Speaking To Fans Is ‘Intimidating’ For His Team

How many of the people who make games fear some of the people who play them? That question drove conversations last week among quite a few game developers, and over the weekend, Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan offered his own take: Lots. On the Blizzard forums last Wednesday, a fan wondered if the team behind the…

Nioh Is Coming To PC

Nioh, a beloved samurai action game that came out earlier this year for PS4, is coming to PC this November complete with all the downloadable content that publisher Koei Tecmo has released so far. The PC version will also have “enhanced graphical modes,” Koei Tecmo says. Nioh came out on February 7 for PS4, and…

A Video Game Writer Explains How Technology Can Make Stories Better (Or Worse)

Every writer knows that the best work comes from writing, rewriting, and rewriting again until you’ve gotten so sick of your story that you can’t imagine looking at it anymore. But for video games, sometimes that’s not possible, as discussed on today’s Kotaku Splitscreen with special guest Tom Bissell. Kirk and I start things off…

The SNES Classic Launch Seems To Be Going OK

One might expect, after the Great SNES Classic Pre-Order Debacle of 2017, that launch day would be a disaster. But it actually seems to have gone pretty well. You might not be able to just stroll into a store and snag one of the slick, limited-edition retro consoles, but it seems like people who put…

SNES Classic Games, Ranked

It’s Super Nintendo Classic day, which means it is time for us to crack open the console, take a long hard look at the list of games that comes with it, and RANK THEM ALL. Here, separated by tiers, are the 21 SNES Classic games, ranked from worst to best. GAMES THAT HAVE NOT AGED…

SNES Classic: The Kotaku Review

The Super Nintendo Classic is a miniature blast of nostalgia, a sleekly packaged piece of hardware that will transport you back to the days of Dunkaroos and denim jackets. Although one could certainly complain about some of the choices Nintendo has made here, this is a mostly great package that highlights how well the 16-bit…

Super Metroid‘s Creators Want You To Save The Animals

At the biannual Games Done Quick speedrunning marathon, there’s always an ongoing contest: In Super Metroid, should the runners save or kill the animals? Super Metroid’s creators say… SAVE THEM. After defeating the final boss of Super Metroid, you, as protagonist Samus Aran, must escape from the exploding planet of Zebes. Along the way, you…

Red Dead Redemption 2 Is A Prequel About Dutch’s Gang

Here’s the new trailer for Red Dead Redemption 2, which stars a new character named Arthur Morgan and is set before the events of the first game, as has been rumored. In the trailer—which, as you might expect from Rockstar, looks wonderful—we get our first glimpse at young(er) Dutch and his merry band of outlaws,…

Big Layoffs Hit Agents of Mayhem Developer Volition

Volition, the studio behind Agents of Mayhem, laid off over 30 people this week including general manager Dan Cermak, three sources tell Kotaku. The studio previously had around 200 employees. These layoffs come one month after the release of Agents of Mayhem, an action game set in the same world as Volition’s longrunning Saints Row…

Game Designer Says Developers Would Be More Candid If Gamer Culture Wasn’t So Toxic

Video game enthusiasts often muse about the secrecy surrounding game development, which is at times treated as if it were operated by the NSA. Over the weekend, one developer offered an interesting take: Game developers are secretive because being open can lead to too much toxicity. Designer and programmer Charles Randall, who has worked for…

How An NFL Joke Slips Into A Japanese Game

Danganronpa V3, like previous entries in the excellent humor-horror series, is full of pop culture references. But how did an NFL joke get stuck in there? As a longtime New York Jets fan who has nothing but bile for the New England Patriots, I very much enjoyed seeing the above line, a non sequitur delivered…

Why People Love Metroid So Much

Samus Aran made her grand return to video games last week following a seven-year absence, and if you’re wondering why that’s such a big deal, Kotaku Splitscreen is here to help. First we jump right into the news of the week (2:39) which includes Steam review bombing, Fortnite accidentally getting cross-play, and the Nintendo Direct.…

The Four-Year Journey Behind Madden’s Great Story Mode

Longshot, the interactive drama this year’s Madden, tells the story of a man who tries to beat the odds to accomplish an impossible dream. The tale behind the making of Longshot is similar. Mike Young started working as an art director on Madden in 2007, and even then, he was dreaming of adding a story…

Rockstar had promised Red Dead Redemption 2 news this summer, and the company delivered, just six hours before the autumnal equinox (which hits at 4pm ET today). Too bad it’s an announcement of an announcement. Look for a trailer and/or release date on Thursday, September 28, at 11am ET.

Battlegrounds Developer Attacks Fortnite For ‘Replicating’ Game

Earlier this month, developer Epic Games announced a Battle Royale mode for its game Fortnite, and as it turns out, the makers of that other Battle Royale game aren’t too thrilled. In a press release this morning, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds developer Bluehole took a shot at Epic Games, calling out Fortnite for cloning the 100-man PVP…

Ubisoft says that Sony has fixed the issuesthat were causing Rainbow Six: Siege PS4 players to get hard crashes while looking at their friends’ lists.

Thimbleweed Park, a hilarious old-school point-n-click adventure from the designers behind Maniac Mansion, is out on the Switch eShop today. Check out our review of the game here

Here Is A Thing That Happens In Destiny 2

Destiny 2, a video game in which players travel through space trying not to get their raids ruined by glitches, is full of fun easter eggs. Here’s one of them. Spoilers for Destiny 2‘s main campaign follow — don’t watch the video unless you want to be spoiled: Sometimes, you see enjoyable things in video games…

The excellent puzzle game The Witness is out today for iPad and iPhone. Ten bucks gets you one of our favorite games of 2016, a game that’s best described as a Metroidvania where all the tools are in your head