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Track: Hunger Strike | Artist: Temple of the Dog | Album: Temple of the Dog Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment. 

Dotombori. Osaka, Japan. By Jeremy Weiss. 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!

Beautiful Paintings Of Pokemon’s Kanto Region

Games artist Simone Mändlhas been doing a big series of paintings all about Pokemon. Specifically, the landscapes (and cityscapes) of the Kanto region. They’re taking something we normally only see in a top-down game or a cartoon series and breathing life into them, and I cannot get enough of them. You can see more of…

Twitch’s New Subscriber-Only Streams Might Violate Game Publishers’ Terms Of Service

Last week, Twitch announced a new feature that’s already proven divisive: subscriber-only streams. True to their name, they’re like regular streams, but only people who’ve subscribed (with real money) to a particular streamer are able to watch them. It’s an option that many streamers say they won’t be using, for fear of dividing their audiences.…

In case you missed our stream earlier of Super Mario Maker 2, here’s me playing some levels that some of you made! Feel free to keep tweeting them at me too. Follow us on Twitch for more streams.

Dr Disrespect Apologizes For E3 Bathroom Stream ‘On Behalf Of The Dr Disrespect Brand’

Three weeks ago, Guy “Dr Disrespect” Beahm live-streamed himself walking into an E3 bathroom and, ultimately, walked out without a Twitch channel or an E3 badge. In the immediate aftermath of the incident, he didn’t seem to be taking his suspension very seriously, despite the fact that he may well have broken the law by…

Valve Index Is Luxurious, But A Hassle

The other day, a talking robot ball was taunting me, saying I couldn’t raise my arms and pump my fists like him. This, he proclaimed, was my ultimate failing, and I would forever marinate in my shame. I raised my own physical hand and slowly unfurled my real-life middle finger. My in-game finger shot up…

One Trick To Getting Better At Mario Kart: Relax

This weekend I learned the key to not sucking ass at Mario Kart: relaxing your hands. My general stance on competitive multiplayer games is that I play them to have fun with friends, and therefore I can’t be stressed about whether or not I’m good at them. That was again the case this Sunday when…

The Week In Games: Summer Things

Stranger Things season 3 is almost here and next week, to coincide with the new season, a game based on the popular show launches on all major platforms. Will Barb return? (Probably not.) Speaking of strange(r) things, if you scan through this list, you might notice something odd. In the year 2019, we have a…

Track: Zensen | Artist: Ai Higuchi | Album: Zensen  Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment. 

Late Night Eats. Osaka, Japan. By Timothy Shill. 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!

ColossalCon 2019, aka Cosplay’s Great Pool Party

Once again ColossalCon looks like it was one of the biggest and best cosplay shows on the calendar, continuing its tradition of combining a regular convention with a massive pool party and outdoor nature shots. What’s cool about the combination is that while cosplayers bring their regular costumes to the show itself, the pool allows…

Cyberpunk 2077’s Special Cover Art Is Very Nice

Comic artist Josan Gonzalez, whose The Future is Now we featured last year, has a new entry in the series up on Kickstarter. He’s also done some work recently for CD Projekt Red, illustrating the steelbook cover art for Cyberpunk 2077’s collector’s editions. You can check out The Future is Now: Nightfall on Kickstarter, and…

Track: Truth Hurts | Artist: Lizzo | Album: Cuz I Love You 

‘Shop Contest: National Fried Chicken Day

Next weekend on July 6th, we all celebrate National Fried Chicken Day. Or at least we should. So instead of waiting until next weekend to do this contest, let’s get a jump on the festivities now! Your challenge this week: Give video game characters some fried chicken. In the past, when I’ve done National Holidays…

I Don’t Know Where To Put My Heroes

DOTA Underlords is Valve’s stab at the auto-battler genre. In Underlords, just like in Auto Chess and Teamfight Tactics, you place heroes you buy on a board and then they attack other heroes and creatures. And while I understand the basic rules and mechanics of the genre, I still have no idea where to place…

Sunday Comics: Tell Me A Joke

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. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published June 24. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published June 27. Read more of Corpse Run Clueless Hero by…

‘Shop Contest: Keanu Reeves, Winners!

I’m back, after taking a weekend off. I feel refreshed and ready to judge. Two weeks ago, you fine folks were tasked with creating images featuring the internet’s favorite actor, Keanu Reeves. I got a LOT of entries, so I’m sorry if your picture didn’t make it. This was a hard week. Our winning image…

Pachirisu Hides Food In Electrically Charged Furballs

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 Pachirisu! Pachirisu Details Type: Electric Average Height: 1‘ 04“ Average Weight: 8.6 lbs. First Added In Generation IV When…

Lance Armstrong As A Bunny-Human Hybrid Is Creepy

Hello! Today we meet drink some semen, sacrifice a pizza, learn about the future of Gears of War, talk about Farmville (?) and meet the animal version of Lance Armstrong. It’s Morning Checkpoint! Great Kotaku Content From The Past Week Like most weeks, Kotaku was filled with some great stories. Here are a few of…