Culture

Sexy Steam Games Have Spent Months In Limbo Thanks To Valve’s Inconsistent Rules

James Cox was finally feeling optimistic about his game’s chances on Steam. Last year, his horror-inspired exploration of what it’s like to look at porn for the first time, You Must Be 18 or Older to Enter, got booted from Valve’s walled garden, but then, earlier this year, Valve said it was getting rid of…

PUBG Is Getting A Training Mode

Since time immemorial (it’s been a long year), PUBG players have been asking for a training mode. OK, actually they’ve mostly been asking for bug fixes and optimization, but they’ve also been harping on the whole training mode thing. Soon, they’ll be getting their wish. Training mode will take the form of a new 2×2…

The Internet Reacts To Overwatch’s Animated Short About D.Va

After two years of waiting, Overwatch hero D.Va finally has her own animated short. While some people wish it gave a little more insight into her backstory, everyone can agree that D.Va is a selfless, precious angel who has never done anything wrong. Hana “D.Va” Song is an incredibly popular character, to the point of…

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Forced Us To Go Against Our Dark Souls Instincts

We played Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and it’s about as punishing as you would expect from the developers of Dark Souls. But it may take some unlearning for long-term Souls players. In the video above, I break down the vertical slice of the game I got to play and explain exactly how the game works…

A Closer Look At Mexico’s World Champion Street Fighter Cosplay

In case you missed it, Mexico took top spot at the World Cosplay Summit this year with an incredible Street Fighter routine. We’ve seen video of their effort, but this gallery of photos from Dr. Cosplay gets nice and close to the action. Luis and Lalo from Mexican cosplay duo Banana Cospboys are of course…

Persona!

Hunter is an artist who has worked on games like Duelyst and Ikenfell You can see more of Hunter’s work at her Tumblr Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their professional and personal portfolios. If you’re in the business and have some concept, environment,…

Track: Train in Vain | Artist: The Clash | Album: London Calling Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Track: The Gutter | Artist: Coheed and Cambria | Album: The Unheavenly Creatures Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Neon Genesis Evanhellion

Douglas P. Lobo is a digital painter based in Montevideo, Uruguay. You can see more of Lobo’s work at his personal site Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their professional and personal portfolios. If you’re in the business and have some concept, environment, promotional…

Valve is overhauling Steam broadcasting After accidentally launching Steam TV on Friday, Valve has officially rolled out the platform for DOTA 2 and plans to do so for all games in the near future. Features include Steam chat integration, live event rewind, and annotations for moments like first blood in a DOTA match.

Mario Kart Victory Would Piss Me Off Too

Today on Highlight Reel we have Rocket League victories, Tony Hawk’s Pro God, and much more. Watch the video then talk about your favorite highlight in the comments below. Be sure to check out, like, and share the original videos via the links below. Subscribe to Kotaku on YouTube for more! Catch up on all…

Valve’s Card Game Artifact Was Booed Last Year, Cheered This Year

At Valve, everything happens in Valve Time—even fans learning to appreciate new games, apparently. During last year’s DOTA 2 International tournament, Valve debuted one of history’s greatest rollercoasters when it teased a project called Artifact. Swelling music and a cool logo had people on the edge of their seats. The title appeared. Artifact. How intriguing!…

The Week In Games: Vampires, Spies, and Wrestlers

It’s another week of interesting new game releases, ports of classics, and sequels. We’ve even got Night Trap! It’s a good week for people who like adventure games of all shapes and sizes. Night Trap, the famous game that helped kick off Senate hearings in the 1990s, is coming to the Nintendo Switch in a…

Track: Once in a Lifetime | Artist: Talking Heads | Album: Remain in Light Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Life On The Wall

Ulysse Verhasselt is a freelance concept artist and illustrator from Finland. You can see more of Ulysse’s work at his ArtStation page Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their professional and personal portfolios. If you’re in the business and have some concept, environment, promotional…

An Italian Cosplay Showcase

Romics is a big cosplay show that takes place twice a year in Italy; there’s a main show in October, and a Spring edition that’s held in April. This is a look back at the Spring show, with a video shot by Muffin Geek

Time For Some RWBY Cosplay

This is 1337Mandoas Blake Belladonna from RWBY All photos by Elite Cosplay

‘Shop Contest: Snake? Snake! Snaaaaake!

There’s nothing like going home again, and seeing our friend Solid Snake in the codec screen with David Hayter’s voice coming out of his mouth has got me feeling all nostalgic. And that means Metal Gear ‘shops. I’m missing Solid Snake these days. It seems like just yesterday that I was infiltrating Shadow Moses and…

Prey‘s Director On The Polarizing Final Act: ‘There Was Definitely Too Much’

The problem with developing a video game is: Sometimes you need to stop. Even when you’re not totally happy with your final act. This week on Kotaku Splitscreen, we discuss all that and more. First, Kirk and I talk about the appeal of Dead Cells, the problems with video game grind, and Diablo III coming…

Sunday Comics: Plenty Of Room

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 August 13. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published August 16. Read more of Corpse Run Double XP by M.S.…