Culture

Even The Justice Department Is Looking Into The GameStop Stock Fiasco

While the dust starts to settle around GameStop’s meme stock phenomenon, investigations into the hedge funds, trading platforms, and the Reddit community that fueled it are just getting started. Many people have already lost a lot of money, but even more could be on the line if lawmakers and regulatory agencies discover that actual laws…

Super Mario 3D World Penis Uncut On Switch

Super Mario 3D World, out today on Switch, is pretty much the same game that appeared on Wii U with a few minor changes. As such, the large, dong-shaped bridge in the World 4 castle remains gloriously intact. (h/t Akfamilyhome) And here’s a different angle, just for funsies. Look, there’s a lot of low-hanging fruit…

Halo 3 Is Getting A New Map Over A Decade After Release

Halo 3 received its last official new map all the way back in 2009, as part of the Mythic II Map Pack release. Now, 343 Industries has announced that a new map, first featured in Halo Online, will be added to the next round of Master Chief Collection beta testing. In a blog post released…

I Killed A Very Big Deer In Valheim, And It Was Metal As Hell

My time with Valheim so far can be summed up thusly: I killed a fuckton of deer. They screamed in fear and died in agony. It made me sad. Then I killed the biggest, meanest deer ever conceived, and it was metal as hell. Valheim, Steam’s latest out-of-nowhere mega-hit, mashes up an epic Viking tale…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for getting together with the family for a nice meal, preferably without being stuffed and posed around the table by a deranged maniac. It’s also for having some little nightmares, as a treat. Little Nightmares II came out this week, and I am slowly working my way through its dark and gloomy…

Cyberpunk 2077 Is Not Selling Great On Console

Cyberpunk 2077‘s console launch was a disaster, and sure enough sales on console now seem to reflect that, with the game tumbling off of last month’s best seller list according to the latest report by the NPD market research group. Even the nearly four-year-old Switch exclusive The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sold…

Destiny 2‘s Cosmodrome Isn’t Getting Any Bigger

Bungie announced yesterday that Destiny 2’s partial Cosmodrome, which was brought over from the first game last November, won’t be expanding to reach its original size and scope. The studio says its part of a trade-off to focus on making new content. Excluding the Plaguelands area added in Destiny 1‘s Rise of Iron expansion, Destiny…

The Surviving Mars OST Will Keep Me In High Spirits When I Blast Off Into Space

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s ongoing hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today, let’s listen to a soundtrack that’s out of this world: that of Surviving Mars, the Paradox-published 2018 city builder from Haemimont Games. The dream of Mars is no longer a fantasy, but it might be…

Track: Ghost | Artist: Hitsujibungaku | Album: Powers

Here’s Dan’s Legendary Taunt In Street Fighter V

Dan Hibiki is back in Street Fighter V, which means we now have a new incarnation of his legendary taunt to appreciate. Let’s take a look. And for comparison, here’s how Dan’s legendary taunt has evolved from game to game. Dan has been Street Fighter’s go-to joke character since his debut in 1995’s Street Fighter…

PS5 Scalpers Unwilling To Admit They’re Grade-A Douchebags

In a recent interview with Forbes, a man who claims to have purchased 25 PlayStation 5 consoles in January and resold them for upwards of $350 profit apiece says “reselling” is an incredibly valuable industry that does not deserve the bad press it gets. Fuck him right in the face. The scalper interviewed by Forbes,…

I Killed A Dancing Bear In Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Feel Terrible, And Would Do It Again

Lurking out in the fields and forests of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla are immensely powerful beasts. The kind of animals that people tell stories about. Dangerous, killer monsters that only a hardy, brave, and perhaps foolish warrior could…Oh wait, never mind. It got stuck in the ground like an idiot. Since wrapping up the main story…

Mario Kart 64 Speedrunner Sets New World Record By Repeatedly Slamming Into Wall

The Nintendo game buckles under this advanced strategy

Stardew Valley’s massive 1.5 update is also out on PS4, Xbox One, and Switch now The update adds a ton of stuff including new people, items, quests, and a beach farm. It also lets you finally sit-down

Twitch’s not-so-grand Pogchamp experiment is coming to an end. After replacing the conspiracy-addled face of the popular emote with 35 different Pogchamps in 35 days, Twitch seems to be on the brink of a more permanent arrangement. Tomorrow, viewers will be able to “decide what the future of hype looks like” as part of a…

Borderlands Movie Casts Actor Who’s Actually Funny To Play Claptrap, Which Feels Off

Jumanji and Orange County star Jack Black has joined the cast of the Borderlands movie, The Hollywood Reporter reports. Black, who will be playing Borderlands’ perennial robotic sidekick and ostensible comic relief Claptrap, is the latest actor to sign onto the project after Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, and Jamie Lee Curtis. Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin…

Axiom Verge 2 is coming to PC as an Epic Games Store exclusive, as revealed during a buggy Epic Games Store digital showcase Before today, the highly anticipated Metroidvania was only confirmed for a Switch release.

Kingdom Hearts Series Coming To PC On March 30, Exclusive To Epic Games Store

A handful of Kingdom Hearts games are coming to PC on March 30, and will be exclusive to the Epic Games Store. During today’s spring showcase, Epic Games announced that Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX, Kingdom Hearts HD II.8 Final Chapter Prologue, Kingdom Hearts III, and Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory will be…

Creators On Twitch, Instagram, And TikTok Will Soon Gain Benefits From A Major Hollywood Union

Twitch streamers, Instagram influencers, and TikTokers just got a potentially very powerful ally: The Screen Actors Guild—American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, aka SAG-AFTRA, one of the most powerful unions in Hollywood. Soon, influencers who create branded content will be able to qualify for union benefits. Speaking to Backstage, a SAG-AFTRA rep explained that…

Today, developer Thunder Lotus outlined a 2021 roadmap for Spiritfarer Over the course of three free seasonal updates, the hygge simulator will get four new spirits, a new island, co-op fishing, and a raft of quality-of-life updates.