Culture

How Square Enix Is Managing Hype Expectations For Final Fantasy XVI

Wonder how things are coming along with Final Fantasy XVI? You’re not alone. Nier creator Yoko Taro does, too, and today during a Square Enix live stream for the virtual Tokyo Game Show, he brought up the upcoming game. Square Enix producer Naoki Yoshida was supposed to be talking up and playing Final Fantasy XIV,…

Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires Coming Early Next Year

Today at the virtual Tokyo Game Show, Koei Tecmo announced Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires As with other Empires expansions, Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires brings strategic gameplay to the hack-and-slack action of the original title. Here, the goal of uniting China through battles and diplomacy. Below is the Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires’s debut teaser: Unlike Dynasty…

‘Shop Contest: Getting A PS5, Winners!

Last week, I challenged you all to create images featuring the pain, confusion, and frustration many felt while trying to pre-order PS5s. And as usual, you all (well… most of you) did a great job! Our winning image this week comes from Richardrae1 who depicts the famous battle, you know the one. The Battle At…

Hello And Welcome To My Sewer!

This week on Snapshots we have some lovely Ghost of Tsushima screenshots, a free couch, a diving Spider-Man, a creepy werewolf, some gorgeous sunsets, and one disturbing looking sewer monster. “Yes, I drink a lot of Mtn Dew? How can you tell?!” Shit. I think I just dunked on myself. Kotaku Snapshots is a weekly…

You All Need To Pet The Dog In Hades More

You would think a big, fluffy dog in a video game would receive tons of pets from everyone. But apparently, this isn’t the case as only 12% of Hades players have pet Cerberus 10 times or more according to data from Steam. This fact comes from theCan You Pet The Dog Twitter account. Ten times…

Kirlia Can Rip Holes In Spacetime And Also Loves To Dance

Every Pokemon is interesting and worth talking about. I don’t play a ton of Pokemon, but I do enjoy the universe and I love learning more about the creatures in it. So, Here’s Another Pokemon! It’s Kirlia! Kirlia Details Type: Psychic/Fairy Average Height: 2′ 07″ Average Weight: 44.5 lbs First Added In Generation III Sometimes…

Here’s Our First Look At Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Gameplay

Today, during the 2020 Tokyo Game Show, Koei Tecmo revealed the first gameplay of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. During a longer stream presented by Koei Tecmo, the first gameplay was revealed. GameXplain broke out this part of the stream into a separate and easy to watch video.   The new footage included the first…

Time For An Awkward Cyber Dance Party

This week we learn about weird ways Bethesda got Morrowind working on Xbox, find out what’s inside Kirby, check out the new trailer for the upcoming Destiny 2 expansion, and virtually dance to a new…Vin Diesel song? Great Kotaku Content From The Past Week A great dive into how one of the most nefarious and…

Originally announced for the PS4, Atelier Ryza 2 is also coming to PlayStation 5. Those who purchase the PlayStation 4 version can get the PS5 version through an update. Those who have already preordered the PS4 version can cancel. Atelier Ryza 2 will be released this winter. 

BTS’ Fortnite Debut Was Pretty Cute

It’s not a point of pride for me to say I had little idea who Korean pop supergroup BTS was before this week. As Fortnite weaves its tendrils into the world of pop culture, I find myself frequently asking younger colleagues about musicians, movies, and fandoms in a way that looks less like disaffected cool…

Wrestler Kirby Wrecks Shit In Kirby Fighters 2

I mean goddamn.

Nintendo’s 35th Anniversary Mario Pin Set Spawns Another Pre-Order Hell

Have you heard? It’s the 35-year anniversary of Super Mario Bros. Nintendo commemorated the occasion with, among other things, a special limited-edition Mario pin set. A lot of people wanted it. Unfortunately a lot of them also didn’t get it. The pin set was announced back at the beginning of September, but didn’t finally go…

Report: Beyond Good & Evil 2 Director Michel Ancel Left Ubisoft Amid Investigation Into Complaints Of Toxic Leadership [Update]

Rayman creator, Beyond Good and Evil 2 director, and longtime Ubisoft veteran Michel Ancel retired from the video game publisher earlier this month while being investigated for toxic behavior, according to a new report by the French newspaper Libération Ancel, who had been at the company for over 30 years, announced last Friday that he…

Twitch Is Winning The Battle Against QAnon, Despite Only Suspending A Few Far-Right Channels

Earlier this month, Twitch temporarily suspended a channel called Patriots’ Soapbox. The channel is not enormous, generally pulling 20-50 concurrent viewers over the course of its 24/7 talk show-style streams, sometimes spiking into the 100 range. But Patriots’ Soapbox is notorious: Some credit the organization behind it, which has bases of operation on many different…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Remember when we could all hang out on busy city streets with our time-displaced friends in 1985 Japan? That’s what I’ll be doing this weekend. How about you? It’s time for me to finish the fight in 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. I’ve got the English language patch installed, I’ve got plenty of snacks, and I…

A Bunch Of Classic Metal Gear Games Are Coming Back To PC

Konami announced this morning that the original Metal Gear, Metal Gear Solid, and Metal Gear Solid 2 are all headed back to PC via the GOG storefront, alongside the Konami Collector’s Series: Castlevania & Contra collection. The three Metal Gear games had all previously been on PC back around their original release, but this is…

It’s About To Get Spooky In Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is getting pumpkin patches, Halloween costumes, and a trick-or-treat event as part of its fall update starting September 30. The free update adds new DIY recipes, costumes, and character customization options to make your island extra spooky in time for the Halloween, Nintendo announced via a new trailer. Do you like…

Destiny 2‘s File Size Is About To Go Way Down

Destiny 2‘s file size will shrink by somewhere between 30 and 40 percent when Beyond Light releases, Bungie announced yesterday. Unfortunately, you’ll also need to re-download the entire game when that happens. A lot of games are big these days, but even in a crowded field of bloated file sizes Destiny 2 stands out. I…

Spyro the Dragon Was The First Game Soundtrack I Loved

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool sounds they make. Today we have a special treat: music created by one-third of The Police for an adorable purple dragon. Listen carefully, or you could Spyro out of control. Spyro the Dragon (playlist / longplay), released in 1998…

Stepping Out. Tribalj, Croatia. By Eduard Tucaković | Instagram JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!