Culture

New Steam Competitor Will Let Users Resell Games

At this point, Steam allows users to sell almost everything, except full games. In the absence of such functionality, sketchy key resale sites like G2A have come to thrive. It’ll be interesting to see if a new PC gaming storefront called Robot Cache can put a dent in that when it launches later this year.…

The Best Speedruns From AGDQ 2018

Last week was a seven-day bonanza full of exciting speedruns, as the Awesome Games Done Quick 2018 marathon raised over two million dollars for charity. Here are some of my favorite runs from the show. Final Fantasy IV by riversmccown (starts at 17:03) The first two hours of this FFIV run are a blast to…

Track: Linger (acoustic) | Artist: The Cranberries | Album: Something Else Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Artist Turns Household Objects Into Cool Spaceships

Eric Geusz is a freelance artist who also happens to be a software engineer at Northrop Grumman, and he is very good at turning stuff like tongs, a PlayStation controller and a stapler into impressive starship designs. (And yes, I know this is common practice, but it’s still fun for non-artists to see inspiration laid…

Why So Many Video Game Enemies Are Really Cute

On Christmas, like many people all around the world, I spent some quality time with my siblings hunched around a video game. During a standard run through one of Super Mario 3D World’s many colorful levels, my sister asked if it was weird for Mario to be running around and attacking a bunch of cute…

Track: Pop Team Epic | Artist: Sumire Uesaka | Album: Pop Team Epic (single)  Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Track: The Great Chain Of Being | Artist: King Gizzard & The Wizard Lizard | Album: Gumboot Soup Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Now Face My Champion, Sir Roderick of Muddlestone

Johannes Palmblad is currently doing art stuff at DICE in Sweden. You can see more of Palmblad’s work at his ArtStation page To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of…

Russian Cosplayer Becomes Yennefer of Vengerberg

Galina Zhukovskaya, aka rgtcandy, is not cosplaying here as one of the best characters from The Witcher 3. She has clearly performed some kind of ritual and become the sorceress.  Ciri is Natalia, while photos are by MilliganVick. 

The Week In Games: Cyber Sleuthing The Winter Away 

Who needs a Breath of the Wild-style Pokemon game when we’ve got a new Digimon to look forward to? The annual slow start to game releases that is the month of January always manages to catch me off guard. While it’s still port season for the Switch and a quiet week overall, the release of…

Awesome Games Done Quick Raises Over $2.2 Million For Charity For The Second Year In A Row 

Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) is a week long slumber party where some people beat all kinds of video games super fast while thousands more watch. Now in its ninth year, the marathon wrapped up early today after raising a record breaking $2,263,093 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Beginning last Sunday with Crash Bandicoot 3…

People Are Still Finding New Ways To Break Classic RPGs

What’s it like to speedrun huge role-playing games like Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger? What kind of tricks are people still discovering? Today on Kotaku Splitscreen, we talk to a speedrunner to find out. First, Kirk and I talk about news of the week (14:35) on Cyberpunk 2077, Overwatch League, and the elusive Nintendo…

Sunday Comics: The Power Of Friendship 

Welcome to Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics that usually occurs on Sunday except when it doesn’t. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published January 13. Read more of Nerf NOW!!  Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published January 8. Read more…

This Week In The Business: Welcome To Flavor Country

QUOTE | “When you’re spending a lot of money, you have to justify your project by saying it’s going to appeal to a lot of people, which essentially means it cannot be a strong flavor. I think by definition you just have to be more mainstream.” – Alex Hutchinson (lead designer on the Sims 2…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for trying to find a bar in NYC showing Overwatch League. I think I found one but I have to call to confirm. I feel weird phoning a sports bar to ask about video games, but my colleagues’ writing about seeing it live is getting to me. Also, video games. I’m going…

Ask Dr. NerdLove: My Girlfriend’s Friends All Hate Me

Hello all you florescent death antelopes, and welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the only dating advice column to win that coveted chicken dinner. This week, we’re tackling the drama that friends can bring to our relationships. What do you do you do when your relationship is amazing, but your girlfriend’s BFF’s hate you? How do…

Track: Let Forever Be | Artist: The Chemical Brothers | Album: Surrender Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Track: Isak | Artist: Baroness | Album: Red Album Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Fart Punch

Fred Rambaud is a freelance concept artist and illustrator based in Canada who has worked for companies like Gearbox (where he’s currently art director), Ubisoft, Games Workshop, Activision and Warner Bros. You can see more of Fred’s work at his ArtStation page To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button…

An Overwatch (Cosplay) Love Story

For their one-year wedding anniversary last year, Kalindi and her husband decided to indulge in a little Overwatch cosplay. Kalindi made both outfits: a standard Mercy for herself, and Soldier 76’s Daredevil skin for her husband. You can see more of Kalindi’s cosplay at her Facebook page