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Looney Tunes Gacha Game Exhumes The Corpse Of Big Chungus

Remember Big Chungus? He’s back, in gacha form. Looney Tunes: World of Mayhem is a mobile game in the vein of Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes and Marvel Strike Force that apparently launched in 2018. I say “apparently” because I only just heard about it today, which I suppose is the reason the developers are…

By Ian Walker Published March 30, 2021

CultureKotaku Game Diary

I Wish Genshin Impact Cared About My Time As Much As Its Story Seems To

Reused NPCs. An environment you’ve already spent dozens of hours in. Contrived progress gating based on time. On paper, Genshin Impact’s current event, the Windblume Festival, sounds like it’s scraping the bottom of the barrel. In reality it’s a chill yet inventive exercise in making an in-game holiday feel like, well, an event. But it…

By Nathan Grayson Published March 30, 2021

Culture

Here’s April 2021’s Xbox Live Games With Gold

Despite recent changes to Xbox Live(or at least its name), April’s Games with Gold are here (whew!). As ever, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Gold subscription. April’s Games with Gold are: Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One Vikings: Wolves of Midgard (April 1-30) Truck Racing Championship (April 16-May…

By Riley MacLeod Published March 30, 2021

Culture

Summer Games Done Quick Returns In July As Online-Only Event

Annual charity speedrunning festival Summer Games Done Quick will return as an online-only event, running from July 4 through 11. “With the health and safety of all in mind, #SGDQ2021 is now SGDQ 2021 Online!” the organizers wrote on Twitter today. “Expect the same weeklong charity speedrun event you know and love!” This year’s submission…

By Ari Notis Published March 30, 2021

CultureKotaku Game Diary

Monster Hunter Rise Is Tough To Get Into As A Newcomer

Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t get into Monster Hunter Rise. Fans of the kaiju-killing series are legion, and this latest entry, out last week for Nintendo Switch, is arguably the buzziest game in the world right now. But it sure doesn’t make things easy for newcomers. For all intents and purposes, I am…

By Ari Notis Published March 30, 2021

CultureOdds and Ends

EVE Online‘s Latest Front Is A Battle Of The Bands

EVE has been torn apart by war between the game’s largest factions for close to nine months. The war is raging on every imaginable front: massive fleets wreaking untold destruction, economic powers exerting their influence over the game’s markets, players vying for karma on the EVE subreddit. Recently, two maestros on opposing sides have begun…

By Lee Yancy Published March 30, 2021

Culture

Activision Blizzard Hires Former Trump Administration Member Once Decried As ‘Bully’

Today, Activision Blizzard announced the promotion of Blizzard chief commercial officer and the chief operating officer Armin Zerza to CFO of the whole company. What it did not announce to the public is that it has also hired a new chief administrative officer: former Donald Trump administration member Brian Bulatao. Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick…

By Nathan Grayson Published March 29, 2021

Culture

V-Commandos, One Of My Favorite Board Games, Is Getting A Fancy Upgrade

I’ve written multiple times about V-Commandos on the site, a tactical WW2 stealth game made by some Ubisoft guys, that is very good. About the only bummer with the game was that it used fairly basic cardboard tokens instead of plastic miniatures, but hey, they’re now fixing that and then some. V-Commandos Deluxe is the…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 29, 2021

Culture

Sega Lawyers Threaten Wrong Website Over Yakuza Piracy [Update]

There are lawyers somewhere out there working for Sega HQ in Japan who have been tasked with hunting down the people responsible for pirating Yakuza: Like a Dragon. And they are not doing a good job. UPDATE March 30: A Sega representative tells Kotaku “Earlier this week, one of our games was incorrectly flagged on…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 29, 2021

CultureOdds and Ends

It Takes Two Director’s ‘Fuck The Oscars’ Rant Is Hidden In The Game

Josef Fares’ new game, It Takes Two, apparently includes audio from the director’s infamous “fuck the Oscars” rant in all its incoherent glory. After the game’s release last week, some folks discovered that It Takes Two’s space level includes a hidden Easter egg that allows players to hear snippets of Fares’ profanity-laden appearance at the…

By Ian Walker Published March 29, 2021

Culture

New Magic: The Gathering Card Accused Of Using Stolen Artwork [Updates]

Strixhaven: School of Mages, a new set of Magic: The Gathering cards, is due for release next month, but one of its cards is already generating controversy. It has emerged that the artist responsible for drawing it sure did borrow a lot of stuff from another, uncredited artist. Veteran artist Jason Felix is credited on…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 29, 2021

Culture

Nike Suing Over Lil Nas X’s “Satan” Sneakers

To go along with the release of his new video for Montero—in which he gives Satan a lap dance—Lil Nas X has also teamed up with a customs company for the release of a range of Hell-themed Nike Air Max sneakers. Only problem being that now Nike is suing. The company responsible for the shoes,…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 29, 2021

Culture

A Lot Of Stuff Is Coming To Black Ops Cold War This Week

Call of Duty’s Season Two Reloaded mid-season update is bringing some much-needed changes to Black Ops Cold War. Season Two started on February 25 with a focus on zombies-themed content, including the fun addition of the Zombies “Outbreak” mode. Now we’re already at the halfway point, and the latest update will bring more maps, another…

By S.E. Doster Published March 29, 2021

CultureOdds and Ends

Thankfully, The Boat Is Still Stuck In Microsoft Flight Simulator

Ever Given, the massive container ship that captivated the world after blocking Egypt’s Suez Canal for more than a week, is free as of 3:05 p.m. local time, but the ridiculous incident will live on forever in Microsoft Flight Simulator Over the last few days, the dedicated Microsoft Flight Simulator community has released several third-party…

By Ian Walker Published March 29, 2021

Culture

Another Charizard Card Sells For Over $300,000

Pokémon cards have been having a bit of a boom lately, and nowhere is that more obvious than in auctions for the holographic Charizard card that acted as the base set’s crown jewel in 1999. A third card featuring the fire lizard recently sold for over $300,000. The eBay auction, which closed Sunday evening, started…

By Ian Walker Published March 29, 2021

Culture

Sony Closing PlayStation Store On PS3, Vita, And PSP This Summer

Sony has confirmed today that the PSN digital stores on PlayStation 3 and PSP will be closing on July 2. The PS Vita store will also shut down on August 27. Players will still be able to download games after the stores shut down. Today, Sony updated the important notice section of its official site…

By Zack Zwiezen Published March 29, 2021

Culture

Media Molecule Talks Curation And The Future Of Dreams

More than a year out from release, Dreams stands apart for its unique combination of game creator and sharing platform. But one aspect that has attracted much criticism over the past year is its curation. For the longest time, memes and unfinished “Dreams” buried the best of what the platform had to offer, giving the…

Jack Yarwood Published March 29, 2021

Culture

A Decade-Long Affair: The Making Of Maquette

I need to tell you about Maquette No, really. It’s a need. I’ve played a lot of wonderful games while working at Kotaku, but none have resonated with me as much as Maquette, a first-person “recursive puzzle game” released this month for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. Were I to review the game, the…

By Ari Notis Published March 29, 2021

Culture

PAX East 2021 Canceled, Replaced With PAX Online In July

While convention organizers held out hope until the last minute, it turns out early June was still a bit too soon for thousands of gamers to descend upon Boston for PAX East 2021. The live event has now been canceled, replaced with a special PAX Online event running July 15-18. Last year’s PAX East in…

By Mike Fahey Published March 29, 2021

CultureSix Months Later

Genshin Impact, Six Months Later

Genshin Impact was a landmark game for 2020, and for global awareness of Chinese-developed video games. Its impressive graphics, compelling fantasy world, and charming characters impressed and attracted millions of players. While the game had an exciting launch, gacha games are typically designed to have a long lifespan. Only two out of seven planned regions…

Sisi Jiang Published March 29, 2021