Culture

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Watch Pokémon, Winners!

Week three of the ‘shop contest 3.0 has come and gone, so here I am to announce the winners. I asked you to hack some Pokémon into Watch Dogs 2‘s San Francisco and here we are, awash in elemental critters and over-exposed cityscapes. Of course, the winning ‘shop turned out to be Ace Stanning’s! You might…

Speedrunner Wants To Change How People Think About Dota 2

By now, it’s become increasingly common knowledge that certain players like to race through video games to see who can complete them the fastest. A small niche of players even hold records for speedrunning MOBAs. The first Super Mario Bros. has been beaten in under five minutes. Dishonored 2, which came out earlier this month,…

Track: Imeruat | Album: IMERUAT | Artist: IMERUAT (featuring Masashi Hamauzu and Mina) Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

This Week In The Business: Those Old Brick-And-Mortar Blues

STAT | 20% – Watch Dogs 2‘s launch week sales at UK retailers were down 80% compared to the performance of the original Watch Dogs. It was the latest in a string of disappointing UK launches for AAA games this fall. STAT | 12% – GameStop’s expected year-over-year drop in comparable store sales for the…

Track: Kame House | Album: Dragonball Wave | Artist: MAITRO Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Cheer Up, Soldier Folks

Ihor Pasternak is a concept artist and illustrator who works at Plarium, an MMO and mobile studio whose games aren’t for us but which feature very nice art. You can see more of Ihor’s work at his personal site and ArtStation page To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button…

Track: Skating | Album: A Charlie Brown Christmas | Artist: Vince Guaraldi Trio Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Track: Shadows | Artist: Red Fang | Album: Only Ghosts Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Snacktaku Eats A Turkey TV Dinner Alone In A Dark Room

Not every Thanksgiving meal is a lavish feast. In honor of those who find themselves alone or with meager means on America’s snackiest holiday, Snacktaku shares the traditional cheap-ass alternative, the turkey TV dinner. Swanson’s Hungry Man turkey dinner is no replacement for a house full of friends and family within one or two words…

The Surprising And Allegedly Impossible Death Of EverQuest‘s ‘Unkillable’ Dragon

Rare today are opportunities for gamers to step outside the prescribed outlines of a developer’s intended gaming experience, especially in MMORPGs. Back in the early 2000s, anarchic players eagerly hunted down the virtual unknown, where possibility and impossibility were deadlocked within some specter of the original game. (Originally published 8/25/2016) The other day, I heard…

The Funniest Steam Award Nominations

This year, for the first time ever, Valve is giving out Steam Awards. The whole thing is community-driven, with Steam users nominating games and even submitting their own award categories. As you’d expect, the Internet has taken its solemn duty very seriously. By which I mean the opposite of that. Here are some of the…

The History Of Gaming Balloons In The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Since 1927 the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has been filling the skies of New York with colorful balloon representations of pop culture icons. Video games didn’t enter the picture until 1993, and only three gaming icons have made the cut so far. This piece originally appeared 11/26/14. Some updates have been made for the…

Track: Walkabout | Artist: The Sugarcubes | Album: Stick Around for Joy Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Track: Talk To Me | Artist: Run The Jewels | Album: RTJ3 Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

It’s High Noon, Overwatch Cosplay

I’ve posted a lot of Overwatch cosplay this year, but not much of it features McCree, so let’s fix that, for the sake of both you and your Huckleberry This is Russian cosplayer shimyrk, with a McCree that gets the character 100% right from the tip of his hat to the top of his spurs.

The Art Of Call Of Duty: Infinite Warfare

I’ve already spoken a little of my love for this game’s art design, but today I’m going to showcase a much wider range of work from a team of artists who worked on Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare A lot of the art lets us get an even closer look at something I spoke with…

Valve Announces The Steam Awards

It’s the end of the year, which means a) oh fuck me blind thank christ, and b) it’s award season! For the first time ever, Steam is giving out its own set of awards. As part of the Steam Autumn Sale, which just kicked off, Valve is asking users to nominate games in a number…

What’s Mine Is Now Yours

Roma Kupriyanov is a freelance artist from Russian. You can see more of Roma’s work here 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 both their professional and personal portfolios.…

Track: I Got Rhythm | Artist: George Gershwin | Album: N/A  Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

There’s An Undertale Art Book

Most of the games I featurehere on Fine Art tend to be big, beautiful, AAA extravaganzas. Today, though, will be a reminder that no matter how simple or retro a game’s visuals may be, someone still had to go and design all of its stages and characters. Fangamer are releasing an Undertale book, which has…