Culture

He Is Born Of Blood, And Born Of Death

Brandon Gobey is an artist whose work you may have seen quite recently; he was kind enough to lend me some for my piece on DeathBlood, the most AAA game that never was You can see more of Brandon’s work at his ArtStation page To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if…

Kid Gets Super Nintendo On Launch Day, Is Pleased

And you thought you were cool because you lined up at midnight and bought a PS4 with your own money. Tyler Esposito, meanwhile, gets to say that he got a SNES on August 23, 1991. The day the console was first released in the United States, when it retailed for $199. Well, he gets to…

Wanna hear more about developers’ experiences with Steam refunds? YouTuber Totalbiscuit collected feedback (and some stats) from 26 developers, with stories ranging from refund surges to tumbleweeds. It’s enlightening stuff, though—as ever—it’s too early to say anything definitive about how the feature will affect Steam games in the long run.

The Guy With The Highest Steam Level

PalmDesert is something of a legend on Steam. His Steam level just hit 600, making it the highest ever. It’s so high, in fact, that Valve hasn’t even made a special graphic for it yet. Right now, it’s just a plain old number, not unlike what a new Steam user would have. His closest competitor?…

Pokebro, Do You Even Cosplay?

First there was Musclebound Digglet. Then Beefcake Misty. Now, there is Buff Magikarp. Nine more and we’ll have one hell of a calendar. Cosplay by Sev Cosplay, photo by John Jiao

Have You Requested A Steam Refund? Why?

Steam refunds have only been around for a week, and it seems like a lot of people are already using them. Have you used the new feature at all? If so, why? Did it work? Valve’s implementation of Steam refunds has been contentious, but there’s no disputing that they need to exist in some form…

Track: Slip Slide | Artist: Chance The Rapper, Busta Rhymes, The Social Experiment | Album: Surf Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

What’s Your Craziest Gaming Marathon Story?

If your story involves some kind of homemade urinating contraption and a strict diet of whatever is within arm’s reach and doesn’t require cooking, you’re probably delightfully gross and I want to hear from you. Ditto if your story involves days of unwashed clothes, missed jury duty dates, or anything involving the words “temporary paralysis.”…

Which Heroes Of The Storm Map Is Your Favorite?

One big thing that sets Heroes of the Storm apart from the rest of the MOBA pack is the fact that Blizzard’s new game has seven different maps on which players do battle as opposed to just one. Not all maps are created equally, however. Which do you prefer: gathering skulls to avoid getting rekt…

How A Video Game Is Released In 2015

A history of how a video game is conceived, developed and marketed

The Only Thing Wrong With LEGO Elves Is The Elves Themselves

Does the world really need separate LEGO sets for boys and girls? Certainly not the mystical world of LEGO Elves. In March of this year LEGO introduced a new line of construction sets featuring unique colors, gorgeous design elements and a theme that any fantasy fiction fan could get behind. Why stop at Tolkien when…

Dinosaurs > Camels

Lloyd Allan is a concept artist at Guerilla Games, the developers of the Killzone series. He’s also worked at Atomhawk, who we’ve featuredhere previously. You can see more of Lloyd’s work at his ArtStation page and Facebook page To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can…

A Very Special Edition Of Return Of The Jedi

Slave Leia is such an overplayed subject for cosplay that these days it takes a lot to get people to notice it. Or, if not a lot, then a beard and some balloons. Cosplay by Bearded Leia Cosplay, via fashionably geek

A Lot Of People Are Getting Refunds On Steam

Steam refunds are a thing now, and they’ve proven pretty divisive. Some creators of smaller games are worried that the policy is too easy to exploit. But what do the numbers say? Steam refunds—previously offered rarely and on a case-by-case basis—can now be requested under almost any circumstance provided players have 1) spent two hours…

That’s One Hot Facepalm, Witcher 3

On today’s episode of Highlight Reel we have good dodges in Bloodborne, extreme facepalming in The Witcher 3, easy rescues and much more! Watch the video above, then link any of your favorite highlights in the comments, and be sure to check out, like and subscribe the original videos via the links below. Bloodborne –…

Pizza Hut’s Hot Dog Stuffed Crust Invades The U.S. This Month

Having made the rounds in Canada, the UK and Australia since 2012, Pizza Hut is finally bringing its bizarre hot dog stuffed crust pizza to U.S. stores later this month. Tentative hooray! This news came to me by way of a local long-time Pizza Hut employee, who informed me that most stores in the Atlanta…

The Week In Games: The E3 Lull

Everybody get out of the way, the industry’s most press-hungry trade show coming through! While we’re still a week away from E3 2015, the game release calendar is as bare as it would be if the show were in full swing. Nothing is as futile as attempting to get the gaming press to look at…

Sunday Comics: Look At My Face! 

Welcome to Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published June 6. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published June 1. Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and…

This Week In The Business: Buying Broken Games

QUOTE | “At that point, we’re asking people to part with their money, and they should not be getting a broken product.” – Tripwire VP Alan Wilson, explaining why he thinks Steam’s Early Access program is being abused by some developers Elsewhere in the business of gaming this week… QUOTE | “Optimization never stops. You…

Ace Battlefield 4 Player’s RPG Got To The Chopper

On today’s episode of Highlight Reel we have rocket shots, teabag revenge, peek-a-boo headshots and much, much more. Watch the video above, then link any of your favorite highlights in the comments, and be sure to check out, like and subscribe the original videos via the links below. Dying Light – nopezombie.avi – buttsecks Destiny…