Culture

Blackface Controversy Splits Cosplay Scene Over League Of Legends Outfit

For the upcoming EuroCosplay Championships, taking place in London later this month, French cosplayer Livanart decided to create an elaborate costume based on Pyke from League of Legends. Livanart is a white French woman, while Pyke is “a black guy from Bilgewater” Livanart had obviously worked on the outfit for a long time (she even…

Track: Bad Voodoo | Artist: Kreeps | Album: Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Original Soundtrack  #SpookySongs

Fortnite‘s Season 10 Event Seems To Have Ended Its World [Updating]

After weeks of anticipation, Fortnite’s big Season 10 event happened. Was the wait worth it? Yes. At the start of the event, the only available mode was a team fight called “The End.” In my match, players clustered around Dusty Depot’s rocket. At the end of the countdown, the rocket launched into the sky and…

‘Shop Contest: Sonic Mask

I thought I would have more time to prepare myself for another live-action Sonic contest. But I forgot about Halloween. I. FORGOT. ABOUT. HALLOWEEN. And so, with a lot of hesitation, I have decided to make this week’s contest all about that terrifying and creepy Sonic mask. God help us all. Your challenge this week:…

Sorry I Made You Look Stupid John Wick

John Wick Hex, a new game recently released and based on the popular John Wick films, is a top-down pseudo-turn based strategy game where every action takes so many seconds. When you finish a level you can watch a replay in real-time of what you did. And these replays have made me self conscious about…

Sunday Comics: Eating Oatmeal

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 Oct. 10. Read more of Corpse Run Clueless Hero by Luis Lee and Ana Gaby Perez. Published Oct. 7. Read more of Clueless…

‘Shop Contest: Your Neo Cab Is Here, Winners!

One day robots will replace all cab drivers. And then not long after that, robots will replace all Photoshop experts. But until the AI uprising, we can still have some fun. Last week, I asked you fine folks to add some strange customers to the back of a cab from the recently released Neo Cab.…

Gourgeist Is A Floating Pumpkin That Sings Creepy Songs

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 Gourgeist! Gourgeist Details Type: Ghost/Grass Average Height: 2′ 04″ – 5′ 07″ Average Weight: 20.9 – 86 lbs. First…

Meet The Horse Man Who’s Also A Broncos Fan

Hello! This week listen to Hideo Kojima, scream about Yoshi, learn about the man who stole Gabe Newell’s minigun, get a pet skeleton and turn into a horse. Great Kotaku Content From The Past Week Blizzcon is going to be a huge fucking mess and they deserve it. I like the idea of Kojima going…

Protests Are Coming To BlizzCon In The Wake Of Blizzard’s Hong Kong Fiasco

Multiple groups are in the process of organizing protests set to take place outside BlizzCon, the annual convention held by game developer Blizzard, in response to its suspension of a Hearthstone player for expressing support for Hong Kong during a live event. Today, digital rights non-profit organization Fight For The Future launched a website and…

Blizzard Finally Comments On Hearthstone Debacle, Reduces Suspensions And Returns Prize Money

After a week of controversy surrounding its decision to boot Hearthstone pro Chung “Blitzchung” Ng Wai from a tournament and suspend him for a year for delivering a pro-Hong-Kong message during an official broadcast, Blizzard has finally made a statement about the situation. It plans to allow Blitzchung to collect his prize money after all…

Upcoming Museum Sim Lets Players Combine Artifacts To Tell Cool Stories

According to its creator, upcoming management sim Mondo Museum represents an ideal version of what museums can be. Game designer Michel McBride-Charpentier, who loves management sims, told Kotaku over the phone that he couldn’t believe that there hadn’t been one based around curating and running a museum before. “I think the first time I ever…

Riot Forbids League Of Legends Players And Commentators From Discussing Politics On Air

Ever since Hearthstone pro Chung “Blitzchung” Ng Wai got suspended for a year by Blizzard after making a declaration of support for Hong Kong earlier this week, the issue of politics during esports streams has been a hot topic. The head of Fortnite studio Epic Games, for example, said he supports players’ right to speak…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for trying to make focaccia, after last weekend’s attempt at Mark Bittman’s no-knead bread was, uh, unsuccessful. Bread requires a lot of sitting around, though, so that’s plenty of times for video games. Fortnite has a big season event this weekend, so I’ll be tuned into that Sunday afternoon. Beforehand, Frostpunk is…

Frostpunk‘s Developers Don’t Want To Call The Console Version A Port

Snowy city-builder Frostpunk was one of my favorite games of 2018, even though most of my Victorian outposts fell to cold, starvation, or citizen uprisings. Video producer Paul Tamayo and I sat down with the game’s developers from 11 Bit Studios to talk about how they’re bringing the PC survival game to consoles this summer.…

The Tension Of Playing Overwatch During A Blizzard Controversy

Yesterday, like I do every day, I wrapped up my workday, closed my Chrome tabs and, without pausing, hit the Windows button on my keyboard. In the search bar, I typed “Over-” and hit enter. My eyes found the big, blue “Play” button on the game launcher. Overwatch’s familiar orchestral music swelled and, in an…

The Confusing End Of Destiny 2 Shadowkeep, Explained

Destiny 2’s latest expansion ends with a cliffhanger, one that suggests that it is the final set-up for a fight the series has been building to since the franchise debuted in 2014. We’ve got some theories about what it means. The campaign’s final scene is mysterious. An unknown artifact transports you to a flowery, grassy…

Track: I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus | Artist: Beabadoobee | Album: I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus

Fish. Kyoto, 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!

Donald Trump Has A Twitch Channel Now

Donald Trump got a Twitch channel, from which he’s currently livestreaming a rally in Minneapolis. This is how we live now. As of this writing, Trump’s channel has almost 9,000 followers, and about 8,700 are watching his rally in Minnesota. The chat is moving rapidly, but there are walls of “IMPEACH,” as well as a…