Culture

Valve Is Training AI To Detect Counter-Strike Cheaters

There’s nothing worse than going on a tear in Counter-Strike, only to get gunned down by some asshole who’s spinning around, one-tapping everybody. He’s obviously cheating. Why hasn’t he been caught? According to Valve, it’s complicated, but they’re working on a new system to bust fun-killers. First, here’s the reason Valve hasn’t augmented their Overwatch…

The Latest Marvel Legends Set Is A Guardians Of The Galaxy All-Star Team

The 2017 New York Toy Fair starts this weekend, and as we prepare to venture into its halls and check out the toys coming out over the next year, we’re looking at some of the fun stuff you can get right now. Stuff like the latest Marvel Legends build-a-figure series, starring some of the greatest…

‘Sup

Mark Chang is an artist based in Taiwan who has recently done work for The Mill, a VFX studio. You can see more of Mark’s work at his personal site and 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…

Track: Happy Together (cover) | Artist: Danny Chung | Album: Happy Together Soundtrack  Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Japanese Company Made Consoles For Girls, And Also Cute Toys

Epoch is a Japanese video game company, which in the 80s and 90s made a number of consoles and handhelds. They’re also the guys responsible for the disgustingly cute Sylvanian Families (or Calico Critters) toy line. The company, founded in 1958, is a bit like Nintendo, in that it made its name not just in…

For Twitch Streamers Who Spend Their Lives On Camera, It’s Hard To Know When To Stop

The booming industry of live-streaming yourself gaming is a largely unregulated one. Streamers are weed-whacking their way through the industry’s nascent years, struggling to find a work-life balance for a job that they can technically never stop doing. Launching a streaming career is like launching a cable network—a reliable, sustained source of entertainment—but on Twitch,…

Conan Exiles Player Uses Mods To Make Everything Gigantic (Dicks Included)

Conan Exiles got official mod tools at the tail end of last week, so there’s nothing super elaborate in the wild just yet. There are, however, comically oversized barbarians and regular-sized barbarians with comically oversized dicks and boobs. Warning: this post is extremely NSFW. I wrote it from a Starbucks, which I have to admit…

Borderlands Cosplay Is A Living Cartoon

This Borderlands outfit is so good that it won a prize at last year’s Starcon in St Petersburg, one of the best cosplay shows on Earth. We see a lot of Borderlands cosplay, and a lot of it is very good, but this is something else. The hair in particular, with the cel-shading running all…

I Hope Nobody Killed This John Wick Cosplayer’s Dog

TheIdeaFix is one of the best cosplayers on the planet. He doesn’t just dress up as a character, he becomes them, as he’s done for everything from The Hobbit to The Avengers to, in this case, John Wick. I just…the outfit, the hair, the beard, the make-up, the facial expressions…it’s almost perfect. Photos by Haji-san

Battlefield Player Needs To Watch Their Back

Today on Highlight Reel we have Snowboarding, barrel rolls, Nioh sneak attacks 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! Witcher 3 – Hmmmm.. Dumb…

Toy Time Cracks Open A Case Of South Park: The Fractured But Whole Figures

Ubisoft’s second South Park game was just pushed back from early this year to sometime between March 2017 and April 2018. Let’s open a case of Kid Robot’s Fractured But Whole blind box vinyl figures while we wait! Collectible blind bag figures are taking up more and more shelf space in toy aisles these days.…

Leaving Lyndow Is A Game About Saying Goodbye

I have a lot of trouble saying the word “goodbye.” Even when I know I’m probably never gonna see somebody again, I always say, “see you later.” I just can’t deal with the idea that this might be it. Forever is a long time. Leaving Lyndow, a game about the fine line between “later” and…

Tell Us Your Best Stories Of When Somebody Rescued You In A Video Game

Nothing ever goes according to plan. Maybe you die in a desert full of horrifying fuck demons, and you think your loot is gone for good. Maybe you find yourself lost in space. Maybe you accidentally punch the wrong person. Regardless, you need help. When have other players come to your rescue in a video…

Beware The Watch Dog

Drew DeBakker is a freelance concept artist and illustrator who was worked in both gaming and for companies like Lionsgate and Dreamworks. You can see more of Drew’s work at his personal site To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a celebration…

Track: The Kids Are Alright | Artist: The Who | Album: My Generation Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Pokémon Cosplay Hits The Beach

Not all Pokemon Sun and Moon cosplay is accidental. Some, like this awesome Olivia, is very much on purpose. Cosplay by LaydiexSkull

Track: Cogs in the Machine | Artist: Mammoth Grinder | Album: Underworlds Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

The Week In Games: Knight Simulator

Roses are red, violets are blue, please don’t move while I try and stab you. Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and what better way to spend the night than by whispering sweet nothings into the ear of a loved one as you watch them hack their way through a medieval field of dudes…

Some Speedrun Records Will Never Be Broken

For certain games, like Super Mario Bros., new speedruns are constantly chiseling away at old world records, leading to friendly rivalries between players intent on retaking the title as new glitches are discovered. But a few games have speedruns that will never be improved upon. In a recent video that dives into some of speedrunning’s…

Do You Want Archer Cosplay? Because This Is How You Get Archer Cosplay.

Cosplay by Lucas Edward Mayne, photos by Prabu Gunaraj Photography