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Kotaku Game Diary News YouTube Odds and Ends Feature Fine Art

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Starfield Struggled Due To Bureaucracy, Says Bethesda Veteran Who Left After 20 Years

He wanted to lead design on The Elder Scrolls 6 but ended up leaving

Ian Walker Published January 16, 2026

CultureNews

Arc Raiders Starts Handing Out Brutal Permanent Bans To Its Worst Cheaters

Gone are the 30-day suspensions for those egregiously cheating

By John Walker Published January 16, 2026
CultureNews

Fans Try To Sell 2008 DS Game For Absurd Prices Thanks To Meme-Fueled Metacritic War On Clair Obscur

It costs more than ever to get Cory In The House in your house

Lewis Parker Published January 16, 2026
CultureNews

Inverse ‘Divests From Gaming’ As Owner Pivots To ‘Next Generation Influence Company’

The site laid off several games media writers as part of the move

By Ethan Gach Published January 16, 2026
CultureNews

Deadpool In Marvel Rivals References Pokémon And GTA, Is The Best His Meta Schtick Has Been In Years

The merc with a mouth can be obnoxious in the wrong hands, but he rules in Rivals

By Kenneth Shepard Published January 16, 2026

CultureNews

Outgoing Star Wars Boss Talks New Trilogy, Ben Solo, And ‘Online Negativity’

It sounds like James Mangold's project and others are stalled as Lucasfilm owner Disney becomes more risk-averse

By Zack Zwiezen Published January 16, 2026
CultureNews

Ubisoft Says ‘Don’t Worry’ As Division 3 Boss Heads To Battlefield After Previously Denying He Was Leaving

Rumors about The Division producer Julian Gerighty's departure started in October, which developer Massive Entertainment promptly denied

Diego Nicolás Argüello Published January 16, 2026
CultureNews

Nintendo’s New Mario Knows How Lucky He Is: ‘If I Wasn’t Nervous, Then I’m The Wrong Guy’

Kevin Afghani has been voicing Mario since Super Mario Bros. Wonder

By Kenneth Shepard Published January 16, 2026
CultureNews

Rust Exec Reacts To Amazon Killing New World: ‘Games Should Never Die’

The once popular MMO is going offline a year from now

By Ethan Gach Published January 16, 2026
CultureNews

New Lego Zelda Ocarina Of Time Set Leaks, And It’s Going To Be $130 [Updated]

The 1000-piece set has a mighty Ganon, alongside Link and Zelda minifigs

By John Walker Published January 16, 2026

CultureNews

Ubisoft’s Avatar Game Is So Much Better Than Fire And Ash

Far Cry: Blue Cat People Edition isn't as bad as I remember and in fact, kind of rules in 2026

By Zack Zwiezen Published January 16, 2026
CultureNews

Final Fantasy VII Remake Is Getting A New Mode Where Every Hit Does 9,999 Damage

The update arrives in time for the Switch 2 and Xbox versions

By Ethan Gach Published January 15, 2026
CultureNews

Trump Uses Stardew Valley To Threaten Third Term

The Trump administration keeps using video games to meme its way through fascism

By Kenneth Shepard Published January 15, 2026
CultureNews

Microsoft Replaces Its Employee Library With AI ‘Learning Experiences’

The $3.4 trillion company is ditching one of learning's most time-honored institutions

By Ethan Gach Published January 15, 2026
CultureNews

Pokémon Card Shop’s First Community Event Ruined By Armed Anime Backpack Robbers

The owner of the NYC-based shop is now thinking about hiring an armed guard

By Zack Zwiezen Published January 15, 2026

CultureNews

Here’s Why Fans Are Convinced Fallout 3 And New Vegas Remasters Are About To Be Revealed

There's evidence that Fallout 3 is getting remastered like Oblivion, but let's all calm down for a moment

By Zack Zwiezen Published January 15, 2026
CultureNews

Saudi Arabia-Owned SNK Accused Of Loading Fatal Fury Trailer With AI Slop

The City of the Wolves season 2 reveal has been downvoted to hell

Amelia Zollner Published January 15, 2026
Games

Adults-Only Animal Crossing Island Creator Thanks Nintendo For Waiting Five Years To Ban It

Nintendo shut the operation down, the creator said

By Nicole Carpenter Published January 15, 2026
CultureNewsMorning Checkpoint

Fruit Barely Heals You In Smash Bros. Because Of Science

Also: Battlefield 6 was one of 2025's most-downloaded games on PS5

By Ethan Gach Published January 15, 2026
CultureNews

Marathon Looks Gorgeous In New Deep Dive On Each Character’s Unique Playstyle

Bungie's extraction shooter is just a couple months away

By Ethan Gach Published January 15, 2026

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