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UncategorizedLarian Shares The Very-Serious Story Of How They Got The Baldur’s Gate 3 Deal
Baldur’s Gate 3 is real, and Larian Studios, the developer behind the excellent Divinity: Original Sin 2, are making it. But how did they score the biggest win in all of role-playing games, one of Dungeons & Dragons’ most-beloved stories? What did they do to sell D&D makers Wizards of the Coast on their Mind…
By Joshua Rivera Published June 7, 2019 -
UncategorizedOne Arcade’s Homemade Super Smash Bros. Melee Cabinet
A 1980s style arcade cabinet for Super Smash Bros. Melee now exists, and it’s absolutely stunning. California’s High Score Arcade, which also has cabinets for Oregon Trail and The Legend of Zelda, yesterday announced it added a handmade Super Smash Bros. Melee cabinet. It’s red and blue with images of classic Smash Bros. fighters bordering…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published June 7, 2019 -
CultureE3The E3 2019 Press Conference Schedule
It is nearly time for E3, the annual convention where companies from around the world unite to show trailers for video games that don’t actually exist yet. Are you ready? I’m ready. The show runs from June 11 through June 13, but the fun starts well before then. Beginning on Sunday, June 9, some of…
By Jason Schreier Published June 7, 2019 -
UncategorizedYooka-Laylee Returns With A Donkey Kong Country Style Sequel
Playtonic’s spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie returns with a fresh perspective later this year in Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. This time around the third person adventure of the original is replaced with a combination of overhead 3D platforming and 2.5D side-scrolling, a la Donkey Kong Country Playtonic calls it a 2D platforming adventure hybrid. When…
By Mike Fahey Published June 7, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenEverything Should Be Ported To Switch (And Other Wild Hopes For E3 2019)
Will this E3 be the year we hear about Final Fantasy XVI? Or get that long-awaited Metroid Prime trilogy Switch port? On this week’s episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, we shared our best guesses and most optimistic dreams about what will and won’t be revealed at E3 2019. First, we talk about what we’re playing. Jason’s back…
By Maddy Myers Published June 7, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanAdult Video Star Talks About The Casting Couch In The Anime Industry
In a recent episode of late night Japanese TV show Jikkuri Kiitarou (Listen Carefully), adult video star Cocona Yuzuki talks about which entertainment gig she says has the darkest of dark sides: anime voice acting. Yuzuki made her adult video debut earlier this year. She’s had a variety of jobs in the entertainment business, such…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 7, 2019 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Swimming Pool
Summer is very nearly upon us. Here in New York, where Kotaku’s mothership is based, that means the advent of sticky, humid weather that has you aching for—you got it—a swimming pool. Swimming Pool is Bye Bye Badman (BBB)’s title track for their second extended play, 2013’s Because I Want To. BBB is a relatively…
By Seung Park Published June 7, 2019 -
CultureTwitchBanned Fortnite Streamer Admits He’s 12, Streams On YouTube With His Mom Supervising [UPDATED]
A pro Fortnite player signed to the esports organization FaZe Clan, who was recently banned from Twitch for being under the age of 13, has admitted that he is, in fact, 12 years old. The streamer, named Patrick, aka “H1ghSky1,” has now moved his stream to YouTube, with his mom occasionally supervising on camera. The…
By Nathan Grayson Published June 6, 2019 -
OpinionIn Don’t Wake The Night, You Have The Power Of A God Without The Omniscience
Video games tend to give players tons of control and information, allowing them to tackle dangerous enemies or change where stories go next. Don’t Wake the Night is a new indie game that opts for something different. Playing the role of a detached spirit, you mostly observe and listen, unraveling character backgrounds and relationships before…
By Heather Alexandra Published June 6, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsNew Switch Game Is Like Symphony Of The Night With JRPG Graphics
Timespinner is a game that’s trying really hard to be Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It’s got the platforming, the inventory, the experience points and all sorts of artifacts that give main character Lunais new paths to explore. It’s the most Symphony of the Night game I’ve played that wasn’t actually Symphony of the Night.…
By Mike Fahey Published June 6, 2019 -
UncategorizedThe Elder Scrolls Online: Elsweyr Adds A Shot Of Cat Charisma And A Lot Of Dragons
The Elder Scrolls Online has always seemed strangely reluctant to get weird. Even though Elder Scrolls games are at their best when they’re at their strangest, the opening hours of ESO’s main quests have always been surprisingly low-key. But ESO’s latest expansion, Elsweyr, takes us all to the eponymous home of the series’ beloved cat…
By Joshua Rivera Published June 6, 2019 -
UncategorizedBorderlands 2 Gets New DLC Leading To Borderlands 3‘s Release
Come hell, high water, lawsuits, inadvisable Twitter threads, or equally inadvisable voice actor casting choices, Borderlands 3 is coming out. Currently, it’s scheduled for this September, which means it’s right around the corner. Gearbox, it seems, has decided to prepare players by sending them back to the colorful killing (and looting) fields of Borderlands 2…
By Nathan Grayson Published June 6, 2019 -
UncategorizedSources: Blizzard Cancels StarCraft First-Person Shooter To Focus On Diablo 4 And Overwatch 2
Blizzard has canceled a StarCraft first-person shooter that had been in development for the past two years, according to three people familiar with goings-on at the studio. The main reason, Blizzard told staff, was to put more resources into the Diablo and Overwatch franchises. The project, which was code-named Ares, was described to me as…
By Jason Schreier Published June 6, 2019 -
CultureThe Black Mirror Fighting Game Episode Was Out Of Control
Kotaku Editor Natalie Degraffinreid and I watched the second episode of the new season of Black Mirror, which is about two old friends that reconnect through a video game. If that sounds both tame and normal, we would both like to assure you that it is neither. It was so out of control that we…
By Gita Jackson Published June 6, 2019 -
UncategorizedThere’s A Whole Lot Of Final Fantasy Music On Spotify Now
Streaming music service Spotify is generally hit-or-miss for video game soundtracks. That’s not so for Final Fantasy anymore, as official soundtracks for all the main games and many of its spin-offs are now available for your listening pleasure. There’s been Final Fantasy music on Spotify previously, but not to this extent. Noticed yesterday by Twitter…
By Mike Fahey Published June 6, 2019