Nathan Grayson

Overwatch‘s Big Sombra Update Is Now Live

Professional advocate for every shade of purple (and also hacker) Sombra is now available to play on Overwatch’s live servers. Update 1.5 is now live on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. In addition to Sombra, it adds a slew of new modes as part of a new Arcade feature, a new map, Ecopoint: Antarctica, to…

Blizzard Says Overwatch Leveling Changes Aren’t About Making People Buy More Loot Boxes

Overwatch is about to roll out a big change to its leveling system, and that has some players feeling uneasy. Blizzard, they fear, wants people to pony up for more loot boxes, so they’re turning freebies into rarities. According to Blizzard, though, that’s not really what’s happening at all. Let’s break it down: the new…

Conor McGregor Rules The UFC, For Better And Worse

Over the weekend, Conor McGregor became the first UFC fighter to ever simultaneously hold belts in two different weight classes. He is, without a doubt, a legend-in-the-making, a star we should appreciate while he’s still around. But he’s also hotheaded and petulant, and I worry that both the UFC and other fighters are learning the…

Driving Survival Is A Car Chase Horror Game

Sometimes you come across a game premise and think, “Why aren’t there already tons of games like this? It’s such an obviously good idea.” As soon as I saw footage of Driving Survival, my imagination flew into overdrive. Driving Survival (via RPS) takes the instinctive, primal terror of Bad People Chasing You In Cars and…

Minecraft‘s New ‘Exploration’ Update Adds Maps, Mansions, And Llamas

Minecraft just got a big new update on PC and Mac. Titled the Exploration Update, it adds maps that lead you to special (and perilous) treasure locations, an evil counterpart to Villagers called—not joking—“Illagers,” woodland mansion dungeons, and llamas that’ll transport your loot. Here’s a trailer: If you want to know more, check out our…

Gone Home Is Free This Weekend

This weekend, Gone Home is completely free. “For people that need something about hope and love right now,” wrote Fullbright’s Steve Gaynor.

Track: Burning Finger Theme | Artist: G Gundam | Album: G Gundam Soundtrack Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Don’t Sweat Tyranny‘s Daily Rewards

Tyranny is an RPG that hearkens back to the good old days of games like Baldur’s Gate and Planescape Torment. It’s weird, then, to see it offering mobile-game-like daily rewards for regular play. Turns out, Obsidian and Paradox are offering “daily rewards” if you play while logged into a Paradox account for consecutive days. These…

Overwatch Player Uses Sombra Glitch To Go Skydiving

Sombra is a free spirit, a rebel. You can’t put her in a box. I mean that literally, by the way. So, for the uninitiated (or those who’d rather not venture to the unruly Wild West that is Overwatch’s PTR), Sombra can teleport. She has a translocator device, which she can lob pretty far. Wherever…

Overwatch‘s Pharah Can Fly Forever Now

Forged in the blue (plate) flames of the Tribes series, I am a Pharah main. You may not come across many of us, but that’s because we have better things to do than play in the dirt with all the worms and Reaper mains. Things like owning the damn skies In a recent update on…

Tyranny Makes It Fun To Be Evil

I usually play good characters in RPGs, but in Tyranny, I’ve found myself drifting toward the most diabolical path possible. Tyranny, the latest classic-style RPG from Pillars of Eternity and Fallout: New Vegas developer Obsidian, takes place in a world where evil won. Overlord Kyros (a name that falls just below “Adolf Sauron” on the…

Blizzard On Overwatch‘s Sombra, Roadhog’s Hook, And Gay Characters

Between hacker hero (and boop monster) Sombra, Overwatch League, and a new selection of Arcade modes, Overwatch is about to change a lot. At BlizzCon, I spoke to lead hero designer Geoff Goodman and artist Rachel Day about what the future holds and also Roadhog’s goddamn hook, damn it. Nathan Grayson: People’s first impression of…

The Future Of Leveling In World Of Warcraft

By now, you probably know the drill: a new World of Warcraft expansion comes out, and the level cap soars to new heights. In the past couple expansions, though, focus has shifted from traditional leveling to alternative forms of advancement like Keeps, Order Halls, and Artifact Weapons. Zones have also become non-linear. Blizzard told me…

Valve Revamps Steam’s Front Page

Valve just rolled out what they’re calling “The Discovery Update 2.0″ on Steam. It revamps the front page of the store and (slightly) changes the role of curators in Steam’s broader ecosystem. The new front page is similar to the old one, but with a few key differences. Handily, game listings are now accompanied by…

Blizzard Won’t Remaster Old Warcraft Games Because They’re ‘Just Not That Fun Anymore’

With the original Diablo getting the necromancy treatment (not to be confused with the Necromancer treatment) in Diablo III, fans of other Blizzard series are wondering when they’re gonna get theirs. The answer for Warcraft? Not any time soon, unfortunately. During a Q&A at BlizzCon (via Eurogamer), Blizzard co-founder Frank Pearce fielded a question about…

Blizzard, On Overwatch‘s Sombra: ‘We’re Not Very Good At ARGs’

Before Overwatch’s latest character, Sombra, was unveiled at BlizzCon over the weekend, she was the focal point of an alternate reality game (ARG) that lasted months. It was like a hydra. Fans would reach the end of one countdown, only for the belligerent beast to sprout two more. At BlizzCon, I spoke to two of…

Sombra is now available to play on Overwatch’s public test servers. I got to try her out at BlizzCon over the weekend and found her to be extremely powerful and fun, but potentially frustrating to play against. Go hack the planet and let me know what you think.

World Of Warcraft‘s Most Popular Legacy Server, Nostalrius, Is Returning

Shortly before BlizzCon, the people behind recently shut down World of Warcraft legacy server Nostalrius put Blizzard on notice. “If Blizzard doesn’t make an announcement to honour their own core values, be sure that we will,” they wrote. BlizzCon’s come and gone, and Nostalrius is coming back. People miss older versions of World of Warcraft.…

Blizzard’s Plan To Get Rid Of Gaps Between World Of Warcraft Expansions

After more than a decade of expansion cycles, Blizzard is changing their approach to World of Warcraft. Step one? Take players to a new planet. During a BlizzCon panel, World of Warcraft game director Ion Hazzikostas made a surprise announcement: the game is about to venture to a whole new planet, Draenei homeworld and demon…

Overwatch‘s Play Of The Game Feature Is Gonna Get An Overhaul

Overwatch’s Play of the Game feature is iconic as it is infamous. On one hand, it gives big moments a few seconds of fame and encourages friends and foes alike to say, “OK yeah, that was pretty cool.” But it goes against the grain of Overwatch’s team focus, and it misfires. A lot. In the…