Jason Schreier

How To Get Into Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds may be the best game we’ve played this year, but it can be tough to get into—allow us to offer some tips on this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen We start off the episode with some ranting and raving about Outer Wilds before talking Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, the Xbox Elite controller, and Bloodstained. Then…

David Kushner’s fantastic book Masters of Doom, about John Romero and John Carmack founding id Software, is getting a pilot on USA, to be produced by the Franco brothers and executive produced by prolific writer Tom Bissell (who, full disclosure, is a good friend of mine). Here’s to video game books turning into TV shows!

The Human Cost Of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

One Friday afternoon a few weeks ago, the developers at Treyarch held a happy hour event to welcome the summer interns. There was pizza, beer, and jubilation for everyone at the studio behind Call of Duty: Black Ops 4—except the quality assurance testers, who had to leave shortly after they got there. “QA was told…

Full Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Demo Shows Off More Of Its Metroid Influences

Anyone who saw the glimpse of Respawn’s upcoming Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order at E3 earlier this month and thought it was disappointingly linear may be far more interested in this new footage, which demonstrates more of the game’s Metroidy influences. On June 8 during EA Play, Respawn showed off a live demonstration of Jedi…

Outer Wilds Is One Of The Best Games I’ve Ever Played

If you put me in a room with ten executives and asked me to pitch Outer Wilds, here is what I would say: “It’s got the exploration of a Metroid game and the structure of Majora’s Mask crossed with the interstellar wonder of No Man’s Sky and the narrative framework of Return of the Obra…

The smart moves for Destiny 2 continue. Starting this fall, Bungie will be converting all of the Eververse armor (the stuff you buy with real money) into Universal Ornaments that can be added to the armor you earn, allowing you to customize gear without worrying about Eververse perks. More on that (and other Eververse changes)…

The Ranger Class Is Getting Some Changes In D&D (And Baldur’s Gate 3)

How is Baldur’s Gate 3 going to implement the modern rules of Dungeons & Dragons? Last week in Los Angeles, we sat down with creative director Swen Vincke and D&D head honcho Mike Mearls on a bonus episode of Kotaku Splitscreen to discuss. One thing you can definitely expect: the ranger is getting some changes.…

Breath Of The Wild Is Getting A Sequel Because The Team Had Too Many DLC Ideas (And Other Info From Zelda‘s Producer)

Breath of the Wild is getting a sequel because the team had too many ideas for downloadable content, Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma told me last week in Los Angeles. We also talked about how the Link’s Awakening remake came about, why Zelda games haven’t offered button remapping, and work conditions at Nintendo. Aonuma spoke…

How One Large Game Studio Avoids Crunch

How does the Chicago-based studio Iron Galaxy maintain a healthy work-life balance for all of its employees? On Kotaku Splitscreen, we talk to founder and Giant Bomb jokeman Dave Lang about his leadership philosophies and how Iron Galaxy avoids crunch. Last week in Los Angeles, I sat down with Lang to talk about founding Iron…

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has thoughts on the video game industry: “The video game industry made $43 billion in revenue last year. The workers responsible for that profit deserve to collectively bargain as part of a union.” Come on Splitscreen, Bernie.

Mana Series Producer: We Want To Bring The Glory Back

One of the most surprising announcements at E3 last week was Trials of Mana, a remake of an older entry in Square Enix’s once-popular series of action-role-playing games. It looks to be the first proper Mana game in a very long time. The hope, the developers say, is that this will lead to a resurgence…

The Outer Worlds Is An RPG About Controlling The Narrative

If you fall into the category of people who believe that 2010’s Fallout: New Vegas was the best game in the series, then The Outer Worlds might be for you. Last week at E3, I spoke to the game’s co-director, Leonard Boyarsky, for a bonus episode of Kotaku Splitscreen digging deep into this cyberpunky role-playing…

Amazon Lays Off Dozens Of Game Developers During E3

Yesterday, as the video game industry’s attention was focused squarely on the final day of the E3 convention in Los Angeles, Amazon’s video game division quietly laid off dozens of employees. Amazon Game Studios, which is currently developing the online games Crucible and New World, told affected employees on Thursday morning that they would have…

CD Projekt Red Boss Again Promises That Cyberpunk Devs Won’t Have To Crunch

Following an impressive showcase from Cyberpunk 2077 this week at E3 in Los Angeles, CD Projekt Red boss Marcin Iwiński joined Kotaku Splitscreen to talk about crunch, recent controversy over transgender issues, and whether GOG is in trouble. A few weeks ago, CD Projekt Red had reached out to talk about their “non-mandatory” crunch policies…

Breath Of The Wild Sequel Producer Won’t Say If You Can Play As Zelda

When Nintendo teased a sequel to Breath of the Wild at the end of yesterday’s Direct, it left everyone with one big question: Can you play as Zelda? Legendary series producer Eiji Aonuma knows the answer. He’s just not saying. “A lot of people have been asking that, and so I want to ask you,…

Destiny 2‘s Next Year Will Depend On How Players Like This One

It’s safe to say Destiny 3 won’t be coming next year, but what about a new expansion? Or new seasons? On this bonus E3 episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, we ask the people behind Destiny about that and a whole lot more. (Apologies for the background noise—I had to use backup audio!) I sat down with…

Final Fantasy VII Remake Feels Great To Play, But The Project Might Not Be Finished For A While

This afternoon at E3 in Los Angeles, I watched an extended demo of the Final Fantasy VII remake and got my hands on a build for about 15 minutes. Here’s the good news: It could be really special. The bad news: We have no idea when the whole project will be completed. “We can’t reveal…

Nintendo Teases Breath of the Wild Sequel

Zelda: Breath of the Wild is getting a sequel, Nintendo said today, slipping in a last-minute surprise teaser trailer at the end of its E3 Nintendo Direct. The trailer features Link and Zelda venturing into what appears to be an ancient tomb, possibly under Hyrule Castle, where a long-dormant being awakens. It ends with a…

Animal Crossing Switch Delayed To March 2020

The next big Animal Crossing game is called New Horizons, and it won’t be out until March 20, 2020, Nintendo said today during its E3 Nintendo Direct. Nintendo had previously announced the new Animal Crossing for 2019. There haven’t been a lot of major Switch delays in the past, but this year is already pretty…

Collection Of Mana Comes To Switch, Including An English Seiken Densetsu 3, And It’s Out Today

Twenty-four years after its release, Seiken Densetsu 3 is coming to the U.S. for the first time, as part of a new Switch package called the Collection of Mana. This newly localized version of the Super Nintendo role-playing game will be called Trials of Mana. And, surprise—the collection is out today Also in the package…