Culture

The First Video Game Convention Hosted Entirely On Steam

Video game conventions have their upsides; you get to play all the latest games and meet people who are interested in the same stuff as you. But big conventions are also a reminder that human beings are loud meat megaphones that constantly emit a dying bouquet of foul odors. Playing video game demos while overstimulated…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for taking up running again, or at least plodding around the park cursing myself for saying “I’ll just start again when it’s warm out” last winter. It’s also for video games. The Long Dark got a cool-sounding update this week, which reminded me how long it’s been since I’ve spent time with…

Dota 2‘s New Battle Pass Has Some Unwelcome Changes

I’m playing Dota 2 again following the release of the game’s 2019 battle pass. There are new treasures to collect. Big tournaments are just around the corner. And I’ve spent another $10 on that battle pass. I can’t tell if this game is actually exciting again or if I just feel compelled to play because…

Track: Satisfy My Soul | Artist: Bob Marley & The Wailers | Album: The Complete Bob Marley & The Wailers 1967 To 1972 Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

The Most Beautiful Tank In The World

Daniel Joustra is an artist at Guerrilla Games, the developers of Killzone and Horizon Zero Dawn. He’s also worked on games like Star Citizen You can see more of Daniel’s art at his personal site and ArtStation page

Track: Genesis | Artist: Devin Townsend | Album: Empath Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Barotrauma is a game where up to 16 players cooperatively pilot a submarine—in space. You play as a captain, engineer, mechanic, medic, or security officer to help your teammates survive or, ominously, “make sure no one does.” Along the way, you’ll explore alien ruins and the darkest corners of the deep space-sea. There’s a Sunless…

Taiwanese Game With Art Insulting China’s President That Was Pulled In February Is Still MIA

Back in February, the makers of the P.T.-inspired Steam horror game Devotion experienced a haunted house horror story of their own. The game came out, and at first, everything seemed to be going all right—great, even. Reviews were unanimously positive. Sales were good. Then players discovered a piece of in-game art that seemed to disparage…

Both Democrats And Republicans Agree: Loot Boxes Bad

Earlier this week, Republican senator Josh Hawley announced a bill that would regulate the use of loot boxes and microtransactions in “games played by minors.” But aren’t Republicans typically against any type of regulation on the free market? On this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen, we talk about the idea of politicians seeking out the gamer vote,…

The Sims Changed How I Think About Moving Apartments

My brain is so poisoned by video games, that while I was recently moving my furniture into my new apartment all I could think about was The Sims My move, from one New York City apartment to another, was expensive and complicated ordeal. I’m so, so close to finally being finished with it. I’ve got…

Track: My Body (Louie Vega Expansions NYC Remix) | Artist: Luther Vandross | Album: My Body (Louie Vega Remixes) Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Our Favorite Cosplay From PAX East 2019

PAX East was a few weeks back now, but we’ve just got all our footage and pics together to run this gallery of what was an amazing cosplay showcase. All video and photos were shot by Dave Yang, while the clip below was edited by Mineralblu. You’ll find each cosplayer’s credit, site link and the…

The Witcher 3’s Creators Have Imagined Geralt As A Samurai

CD Projekt Red have opened a new online store, and while that’s not usually something we’d pay much notice to, there’s one item launching alongside it that caught my attention: a very fancy statue of Geralt that was designed by some of the artists who worked on The Witcher 3 Because of that direct involvement,…

The GTA V Role-Playing Scene Has Lost Some Of Its Biggest Streamers

Stream long enough, and you become mercurial. Either that, or you watch the passion you once felt for your favorite game slowly fade into a hazy silhouette of duty. Over the past few weeks, big streamers who helped turn Grand Theft Auto V role-playing into a Twitch phenomenon have started to burn out even as…

The Division 2’s Developers Walk Back Planned Loot Change That Inflamed Fanbase

Citing fan feedback, player data and “intense internal discussions,” the makers of The Division 2 will not be introducing 515-level gear in the game’s big update coming next week. That decision that may seem granular to outsiders but is actually a significant acquiescence by the game’s creators in an ongoing drama around the game that…

‘I’d Have These Extremely Graphic Dreams’: What It’s Like To Work On Ultra-Violent Games Like Mortal Kombat 11

Mortal Kombat 11 is a brutal game. That’s what you come for—sensational, over-the-top violence that’s inventive and gratuitous on a level that doesn’t exist anywhere else. It can be shocking in its detail and funny in its execution, but it’s always arresting. It’s also short. Fatalities, gory, physically improbable finishers that usually involve cartoonish dismemberment,…

I Got Caught In A Silent Pokémon Go Battle With A Stranger A Few Feet Away

Like many people, I played Pokémon Go for a few months when it first came out in 2016, then I abandoned it for three years. Since I work from home and the game’s leveling mechanics revolve around a pedometer, I could never seem to level up my Pokémon fast enough. For the past six months,…

Track: A Guy Called Gerald | Artist: Voodoo Ray | Album: A Guy Called Gerald (single) Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Found Something. Tambuli, Cebu, Philippines. By Martin Tan. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

There Were Plans For A Metroid Cartoon, With Samus As A Man

An estate sale for a former DIC Animation City employee has turned up promo art for four old Nintendo cartoons (like the Mario and Zelda ones) that never actually made it into production, including California Games, Castlevania and a very different take on Metroid There’s nothing else to go on other than the art itself,…