Culture

Report: Harry Potter Game Devs Distressed Over J.K. Rowling’s Rampant Transphobia

Developers on the upcoming Harry Potter game have privately expressed concerns over series creator J.K. Rowling’s transphobic comments, according to a new report from Bloomberg Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was first published in 1997, eventually spawning a mega-popular series of young adult fantasy novels, movie adaptations, and various other merchandising. But as fans…

Twitch Suspends Donald Trump For Hateful Conduct

Today, Twitch temporarily suspended the official channel of Donald Trump, the President of the United States, for hateful conduct. Trump’s account is generally used for online broadcasts of rallies and other events, not Trump’s nascent career as a racist Valorant player. After Twitter accounts that monitor Twitch reported that his channel had been suspended, Twitch…

How’s It Going?: Good Enough Edition

Alas, it’s Monday. Welcome back to our daily open thread. I spent all weekend cooking, then not wanting the thing I cooked and cooking something else. Halfway through all this cooking I decided I was sick of my own cooking and really wanted pizza, but getting pizza would be the first time I’ve eaten out…

The Week In Games: I Am Iron Man VR

Thanks to Iron Man VR releasing this week on PS4 you no longer need to be a billionaire to fly around in a suit of armor and fight bad guys. After playing a bunch of Half-Life: Alyx not that long ago, I’m a bit nervous about going back to my PSVR headset to play Iron…

NBA 2K20 And Rise Of The Tomb Raider Are July’s PS Plus Games

Today’s PlayStation blog says PS Plus has been around for 10 years, which sure is a lot of years! July’s games are available July 7 to August 3, and they’re only “free” if you have an active PlayStation Plus subscription. July’s PS Plus games are: NBA 2K20 Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration…

She’s Like A Bird, She’ll Only Fly Away

Bryan Sola is a Filipino artist who in addition to a ton of Magic cards has also worked for companies like CD Projekt Red and PUBG Corp. You can see more of Bryan’s stuff at his ArtStation page

PS2 Hack Runs Games On Burned DVD Discs, No Mod Chip Required

Building on an idea he’s had since he was a kid, security software engineer CTurt has developed a way for people to play unofficial games on a PS2 console by burning them onto a DVD alongside an exploit. If you are down for a very technical explanation of how it all works, please check out…

Japanese Football Team Has A Thomas The Tank Engine Shirt

Japanese football side Kawasaki Frontale have released images of their new training kit for the upcoming season, and it has a British theme. In case the plaid didn’t spell that out clearly enough, a sleeve badge reveals the whole thing is actually a homage to Thomas The Tank Engine The idea behind the team’s training…

Track: Aries | Artist: The Gorillaz ft. Peter Hook & Georgia | Album: Almanac

‘Shop Contest: Vault Boy From Smash

Vault Boy is being added to Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Well, not actually as a full-on new character, but as something called a “Mii Fighter.” I don’t understand what that means, but hey Vault Boy seems like a fun ‘Shop Contest! Your challenge this week: Add Vault Boy from Smash into other games. I’ve taken…

Fans Are Digitizing And Translating A Persona Trading Card Game From The Late ’90s

Dedicated fans are digitizing an entire Persona card game that was released back in the late ‘90s in Japan and was never released in the West. They’ve already scanned over a thousand cards and all the rule books. As spotted by VG 24/7, weaK_willO over on the ResetEra forums posted that they had bought up…

How’s It Going?: Pool Edition

Hello, hello, hello! I’m so happy to have you here today for another open thread. Come on in! I’m extremely lucky to have access to a pool during the summer. My girlfriend’s parents, who live only a couple blocks away, have a nice, big pool and it just opened. Because her and I both work…

Sunday Comics: Is This True?

Hello! It’s time for Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published June 25. Read more of Corpse Run Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published June 22. Read more of Awkward Zombie Clueless Hero by…

‘Shop Contest: Summer 2020, Winners!

Summer is finally here. Turn on those fans, jump into a river, or go buy some ice cream. In honor of the hottest time of the year, I asked you folks to show how video game characters are enjoying the summertime. Our winning image this week comes from Badonkagronk who shows how handy it is…

I Saw A Spider In My Bedroom

This week on Snapshots: Some more (non-spoiler) Last of Us 2 photos, one of the coolest Spider-Man pics I’ve seen, some lovely plants, a creepy tree, a nice sit on a bench and a flamethrower. A moment after reading the comments on a YouTube video. Kotaku Snapshots is a weekly look at some of the…

Mixer’s Sudden Shutdown Has Streamers Scrambling To Reboot Their Careers On Twitch

Earlier this week, Microsoft abruptly announced that its game-centric livestreaming platform, Mixer, is not long for this world. After paying top dollar to scoop up household names like Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek last year, Mixer will be no more as of next month. Suddenly, streamers who’ve staked their careers on the ocean-blue…

Shiftry Is Over A Thousand Years Old And Can Read Your Mind

Every Pokemon is interesting and worth talking about. I don’t play a ton of Pokemon, but I do enjoy the universe and I love learning more about the creatures in it. So, Here’s Another Pokemon! It’s Shiftry! Shiftry Details Type: Grass/Dark Average Height: 4′ 03″ Average Weight: 131.4 lbs First Added In Generation III Shiftry…

Shakedown: Hawaii Is Being Released On The Wii And Wii U This Summer

The original Nintendo Wii was launched all the way back in 2006. And now, 14 years later, indie developer Vblank Entertainment is releasing Shakedown: Hawaii on the old console and also bringing the game to the WiiU too. The Wii port of Shakedown: Hawaii is being released only in Europe while the Wii U port…

How’s It Going?: LEGO Edition

Welcome back to another Kotaku open thread. Come yell about stuff or (preferably) come calmly chat about how things are going. Recently, my GF and I have been packing up in preparation for our move next month. And while I was working she began the process of taking apart and boxing up all my Star…

How We All Feel Six Months Into 2020

This week we meet a cool old guy, listen to a bunch of “Hurt” covers, check out a creepy Jar-Jar Binks toy, see more Keanu in Cyberpunk and watch a pretty pancake die. Great Kotaku Content From The Past Week Dude has a super old prototype Karakoke machine that still works and meanwhile, my PS4…