Culture

The Creators Of Into The Breach Came Very Close To Giving Up On It

The strategy game Into The Breach is elegant in its simplicity, but that’s because its designers had to scrap several huge sections of the game that just didn’t work. Matthew Davis and Justin Ma, the minds behind FTL and Into The Breach, came on Kotaku Splitscreen during GDC 2019 to tell Jason and me how…

The Division 2’s Tree Crates Are A Good Idea

Your average video game puts loot in boxes that sit on the floor or on the bodies of enemies who drop it when you kill them. The Division 2 does all that, but they are raising the game, folks, by also putting loot in trees. I support this. I was maybe 20 hours into The…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for saying this is the weekend I’m going to make bread, again, and then for getting too intimidated to do it. Again. It’s also for playing video games. I’m excited to play some Apex Legends this weekend and get a bit further in the battle pass. Even though I’m not really into…

The Rainbow Warrior

Tano Bonfanti is a concept artist and character designer from Argentina who has worked in video and board games. You can see more of Tano’s stuff at his ArtStation page

Tim Schafer Talks Unionization, Streaming, And The Future Of Double Fine

After cracking jokes on stage during the Game Developers Choice and IGF awards at GDC last night, Double Fine boss Tim Schafer had almost completely lost his voice, but he still croaked his way through his annual appearance on Kotaku Splitscreen. Jason and I talked to him about the unionization joke he told at the…

Steam Libraries Are Getting An Overhaul 

This week at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Valve announced a series of changes coming soon to Steam. Foremost among them are an overhauled game library and an event system that can be used by developers to keep players clued in about what’s happening in games they own. During a press pre-briefing on…

Ask Dr. NerdLove: How Do I Dump My Annoying Friend?

Hello all you orgasm piranhas of impending doom, and welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the only dating advice column that can help turn your love life from single-player to co-op. This week, we’re talking about the relationship moments that we never really expect. How can you stand up for yourself without being a jerk to…

Should A Dead Deer In The Division 2 Drop Meat?

Game creators make the rules of the worlds they design, setting the physics and establishing what’s acceptable or lucrative to do in the world. Currently, killing enemy people in The Division 2 gives players loot, but a recent jocular chat among two of the game’s developers got me thinking about whether shooting the game’s animals…

Track: Two Rights Make One Wrong | Artist: Mogwai | Album: Rock Action  Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Tea Fields. Mie Prefecture, Japan. By Brian Ashcraft | Twitter 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! 

The Human Story Behind Call Of Duty’s Zombie Mode

Jesse Snyder, the creator of Call of Duty’s Zombies mode, sacrificed sleep and faced internal pushback when making the now-iconic undead mode for the game. In the process, he also realized he’d rather make less realistic games, not the gritty simulation fare of Call of Duty. Now, he’s the creative director at NantG, and this…

March At Dawn

Jama Jurabaev is a senior concept artist at Lucasfilm, and has recently worked on movies like Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Ready Player One and The Crimes of Grindelwald You can see more of Jama’s stuff at his ArtStationpage.

Cosplay Is Outgrowing Cosplay Conventions

For decades, cosplay conventions have followed the same basic formula: everyone goes to a hotel or convention centre, they meet up, they take photos, they party after then they go home. As cosplay grows in size and scope, though, some cosplayers are finding that the same ol’ same ol’ just isn’t enough anymore. At the…

A Letter To The Apex Legends Player I Probably Disappointed

Dear person I played Apex Legends with the other night: I am so sorry. We got off to a rocky start. Our third player disconnected before the match began, so we were a duo in a world of trios. You landed hot, dropping straight into an area with a couple other teams, and I was…

Low Tide at the Pier. Olango Island, Philippines. By Martin Tan | Instagram 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! 

April Cannot Come Soon Enough

Song Nan Li is a concept artist from China working in the games business. You can see more of Li’s stuff at his ArtStation page

Google Stadia Boss Answers (And Dodges) Our Questions

This afternoon at GDC 2019, Google Stadia boss Phil Harrison announced the tech company’s plans to launch a game streaming service that will stream high-end games in a Chrome browser. But how good, exactly, does your internet have to be in order for Stadia to work? And do you need one of Google’s new Stadia…

There’s Nothing Like That Three-Star Puzzle Game Feeling

Every time I feel like I’ve grown past the need for validation from triple-starring a level in a puzzle game, I find myself drawn into a game like King’s latest, Pet Rescue Puzzle Saga Say what you will about Candy Crush Saga creator King, the Activision-owned developer knows how to make puzzle games feel good.…

Track: Saturday Night | Artist: Suede | Album: Coming Up  Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

The Road Taken. Tribalj, Croatia. By Eduard Tucaković | Instagram 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!