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CultureReport: Microsoft No Longer In Talks To Buy Discord
Last month, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft was in exclusive talks to acquire Discord. Today, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, those talks are off. Microsoft initially considered buying the popular chat and community platform for a figure north of $10 billion, but it wasn’t the only interested buyer. Per the Journal’s sources,…
By Ari Notis Published April 20, 2021 -
CultureOverwatch Director Jeff Kaplan Leaves Blizzard
As of today, the man, the myth, the meme Jeff Kaplan is no longer a member of the Overwatch team—or Blizzard, for that matter. Blizzard made the announcement in a blog post today. Kaplan’s director’s chair will be filled by Aaron Keller, an 18-year Blizzard veteran who has worked on Overwatch and World of Warcraft.…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 20, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsApparently, Some Steam Users Have More Than 25,000 Games
And you thought your backlog was bad. According to the patch notes of a recent Steam Beta Client update, some Steam users—or, more specifically, Steam libraries—may own north of 25,000 games. Woah. The update, pushed live yesterday, is fairly slim and includes this patch note: “Fix a possible crash for users with around 25,000 or…
By Ari Notis Published April 20, 2021 -
OpinionMods Make Gaming A Better Place For Everyone
Twitter is abuzz with today’s awkwardly wrong gaming take, this time focused on modding, after disparaging thoughts about a recent Witcher 3 mod led to debate over whether modders are harming the games industry. Which leads me to present the other case: modders are not harming the games industry. I should elaborate: For historical context,…
By John Walker Published April 20, 2021 -
CultureHere’s Everything Coming To And Leaving Game Pass Soon
The baseball game is the big one, but that’s not the only game en route to Xbox Game Pass Here’s everything coming to Microsoft’s games-on-demand service in the next few weeks: April 20 MLB The Show 21 (Cloud, Console) April 22 Phogs! (PC) April 28 Second Extinction, Game Preview (Cloud, Console, PC) April 29 Destroy All…
By Ari Notis Published April 20, 2021 -
CultureSpiritfarer Celebrates 500K Copies Sold With A Free Update
Spiritfarer, the “cozy management game about dying,” has sold more than half a million copies worldwide. In celebration of this impressive milestone, developer Thunder Lotus is releasing The Lily Update, adding a new butterfly spirit to the game to help flesh out the story of main character Stella. It’s a small but significant update, the…
By Mike Fahey Published April 20, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanA Pokémon-Themed Fossil Exhibit Opening In Japan
In what seems like an inevitability, a touring exhibition called Pokémon Kaseki Hakubutsukan (ポケモン化石博物館) or “Pokémon Fossil Museum” will open this summer in Japan. According to the official announcement, the exhibition will let visitors observe and compare fossils from dinosaurs and other creatures as well as extinct plants with Pocket Monsters, with the idea of…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 20, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanJapan’s Biggest Indie Game Event Will Be Held This September In-Person
BitSummit, Japan’s biggest indie game event, will be held this September in Kyoto. It will, however, not be open to international attendees, only Japan residents. Last year’s in-person event was cancelled due to covid-19 and held online. “In consideration of the coronavirus pandemic, we will be limiting the attendees to developers, publishers, media, and sponsors…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 20, 2021 -
CultureFan-Made Portal Game Adds Third Color, Which Allows Time Travel
Portal 2 was challenging enough when all you had to worry about was space, but now we have to think about time as well? Portal Reloaded is a mod, released just in time for Portal 2’s 10th birthday, that introduces a new set of test chambers and, more importantly, a new portal colour. You’ll still…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 19, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsSuper Mario Bros. 2 Japan + Super Mario Bros. 2 USA = My Dream Game
Programmer and digital artist Sammu recently put out a nifty video showcasing her work combining the two different versions of Super Mario Bros. 2 into a mega-game featuring the mechanics of one and the levels of the other. As a fan of both, I desperately want to play it. The original 1986 Super Mario Bros.…
By Ian Walker Published April 19, 2021 -
CultureRockstar Games Disappeared From Steam, Then Came Back, Even Ones You Couldn’t Buy Anymore
Earlier today all of Rockstar’s games temporarily disappeared from Steam, then quickly came back, likely down to a listing error. That’s fine, whatever, but when the games came back, some of them hadn’t been there in the first place. While obvious Rockstar games like Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption did the thing,…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 19, 2021 -
CultureThe European Super League Is Terrible, But At Least We’re Getting PES Jokes Out Of It
Plans for a European Super League are just about the worst thing to happen to football, maybe ever, but if we’re to get any consolation from these dark and turbulent times, it’s with jokes about Pro Evolution Soccer PES is famous for its emphasis on how football plays, but it’s also famous for lacking the…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 19, 2021 -
OpinionResident Evil Village‘s Time-Limited Demos Are The Dumbest Shit Ever
It absolutely rules that a contingent of Resident Evil fans woke up today bummed that they missed the chance to try the latest game in the series because they have lives and families. I love that I just had to type that sentence. This is definitely not the dumbest, most pointlessly confusing shit in the…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 19, 2021 -
EsportsAnatomy Of A Perfect Overwatch Earthshatter
Overwatch League season four kicked off this weekend, with new players, a couple of fantastic upsets and a perfect, game-winning Reinhardt Earthshatter by Houston Outlaws player Myung-heum “Jjanggu” Cho. Two-time Overwatch League Champions the San Francisco Shock played the no-time Overwatch League nothings Houston Outlaws on Sunday. Traditionally, this is a one-sided match. The last…
By Ash Parrish Published April 19, 2021 -
CultureI’m Extremely Here For A Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots Movie
Toy manufacturer Mattel is turning Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots into a movie, an idea that’s so brilliantly idiotic that I’ll be first in line when tickets go on sale. Vin Diesel is set to star in the film and sounds very excited, Variety reported earlier today. “To take the classic Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em…
By Ian Walker Published April 19, 2021 -
Tips & GuidesLet’s Hear It For ‘Death Chains,’ The Best Weapon Mod In Outriders
Like any loot-shooter, Outriders is based on chance. But you can sidestep luck by leaning on the game’s intricate network of gear mods, many of which can significantly change the way your guns and armor behave. Most are good, but none compare to Death Chains, a tier-two weapon mod that—and this is putting it lightly—fucks…
By Ari Notis Published April 19, 2021 -
CultureTwitchProbably Shouldn’t Have Checked On Caramel
“Check on Caramel,” said somebody in popular Twitch comedian Jerma’s chat yesterday, referring to one of his first Sims in his ongoing Sims 1 playthrough. He should not have, as it turns out, checked on Caramel. Heeding his audience’s wishes, Jerma jumped from the household of his self-insert character—who had just completed his all-consuming quest…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 19, 2021 -
CultureApex Legends Coming To Phones
Battle royale Apex Legends is coming to phones, developer Respawn announced today. The mobile version will begin testing in certain regions this spring, with a wider rollout to come. “Apex Legends Mobile is specially designed for touchscreens, with streamlined controls and thoughtful optimizations that result in the most advanced battle royale combat available on a…
By Riley MacLeod Published April 19, 2021 -
CultureCeleste Devs Announce Next Game
The studio behind indie darling Celeste, the Vancouver-based Extremely OK Games, is finally ready to unveil its next game, Earthblade While the devs admit their blog post is more of a “vibe reveal” than a full-on announcement, there’s a lot to be excited for here, due in part to the studio’s pedigree. Earthblade is described…
By Ian Walker Published April 19, 2021 -
CultureSony Reverses Course On PS3 And Vita Store Closure
Today, Sony announced it will no longer shut down the PlayStation Store for PS3 and PS Vita users. “Recently, we notified players that PlayStation Store for PS3 and PS Vita devices was planned to end this summer,” wrote Sony Interactive’s president and CEO Jim Ryan on the PlayStation blog. “Upon further reflection, however, it’s clear…
By Ash Parrish Published April 19, 2021