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Old School Halo Crashes SXSW This Weekend In $100,000 Tournament
SXSW used to be a cool festival for musicians and artists to hang out. Now in its 30th year, it’s become other things: Woodstock for tech geeks, Davos for hipsters, spring break for nerds. So where do esports fit in? The cultural cache of SXSW might make it the ideal platform for showcasing something like…
By Ethan Gach Published March 15, 2019 - Esports
Overwatch League Teams Share Plans And Concerns About Moving To Their Home Cities In 2020
After two seasons of living and playing in and around Burbank, California, Overwatch League teams will finally be moving to their respective cities next year. Players and coaches have told Kotaku that they’ve been grappling with planning for these moves for a while, particularly with respect to players’ already grueling practice schedules. Overwatch League commissioner…
By Nathan Grayson Published March 15, 2019 - Uncategorized
Play Dead Or Alive 6’s Free Version But Don’t Buy The Game A La Carte
Today sees the release of Dead or Alive 6: Core Fighters, the free-to-play version of Team Ninja’s latest fighter. It’s the full game minus story mode, with only four of the 26 currently playable characters. The idea is that players download the free version, then purchase additional fighters and story mode a la carte. That’s…
By Mike Fahey Published March 15, 2019 - Uncategorized
Dwarf Fortress Is Coming To Steam Because Its Developer Needs Healthcare
If you want to know why Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam, its co-creator Tarn Adams has one answer: health insurance. “Healthcare costs generally are pretty much the whole reason,” Adams told Kotaku over email. “We’ve been doing fine with crowdfunding, but we’re getting older now, and one health problem that lands us in the…
By Gita Jackson Published March 15, 2019 - Uncategorized
BioWare Community Manager Says Hostile Replies Make Developers Less Likely To Engage
In a recent post on the Anthem subreddit, BioWare community manager Jesse Anderson explained that the increasing negativity has driven some of the game’s developers away from wanting to interact directly with players, demonstrating what a fraught relationship the constant feedback demands of Reddit can create. “To start, things used to be a lot friendlier…
By Ethan Gach Published March 15, 2019 - Culture
Valve Says It Will Remove ‘Off-Topic Review Bombs’ From Steam Scores
Over the past few years, review bombs—people organizing en masse to post negative reviews to a game’s store page to tank its review score—have become one of Steam’s most visible issues. Last year alone, review bombing happened in Steam reviews over everything from women generals to sales that happened too early. Developers have cited this…
By Nathan Grayson Published March 15, 2019 - Culture
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
The weekend is for hanging out with a friend who has a dog, which means getting to pet a dog. It’s also for video games. I’ve been banging my head against Baba Is You’s delightful puzzles all week, and I’m really looking forward to having some uninterrupted weekend time to spend with them. I’ll also…
By Riley MacLeod Published March 15, 2019 -
CultureTotal RecallWhat’s On My Old Dreamcast Memory Card In 2019
While I rush to keep up with new games for work, I also enjoy going back to play games I grew up with. It started with the Sega Genesis and built to include things like the Super Nintendo and Playstation. But one console holds top billing in my heart: Sega’s ill-fated Dreamcast. I booted it…
By Heather Alexandra Published March 15, 2019 - OpinionImpressions
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker’s DLC Is A Delightful Mix Of Old And New
This week’s paid “Special Episode” downloadable content for Captain Toad’s Treasure Tracker has five lovely new courses, but the coolest part of the DLC is the way it recycles older levels with fresh goals and game types. Available now for$5.99 on the Nintendo eShop, Captain Toad’s Special Episode DLC adds a new adventure book to…
By Mike Fahey Published March 15, 2019 - Uncategorized
Valve Removes Over 100 Steam Tributes To Suspected New Zealand Shooter
The gaming platform Steam has cracked down on over 100 profiles memorializing the suspected shooter behind today’s tragic mosque shooting in New Zealand, which claimed the lives of 49 people. Until shortly before this article’s publication, dozens of users of the PC gaming service were blatantly offering tribute to the alleged writer behind a white…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published March 15, 2019 - OpinionImpressions
22 Hours In And The Division 2 Is Excellent So Far
It’s fun. It’s huge. And it’s extremely player-friendly, except for the fact that some of its on-screen text is microscopic. I’m 22 hours into The Division 2 and am pleased and impressed. Ubisoft’s newest mega-game sequel officially launches today, though it’s actually been out since Tuesday for those who bought the $100 version. It’s another…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 15, 2019 - Uncategorized
BioWare has announced it’s increasing some of the loot drop rates in Anthem in a server-side update today. Missions on Grandmaster 2 and 3 difficulties will now drop more Masterwork and Legendary loot, as will Legendary enemies. The game’s community manager has called the drop rate increases “pretty significant.”
By Ethan Gach Published March 15, 2019 - CultureKotaku Game Diary
Making My Friends In The Sims Also Means Including Their Flaws
It’s always weird to make versions of your friends in The Sims I’m friends with these four guys: Mike, Dylan, Sam and Julian. They’re in a band called The Hell Yeah Babies, and I think they’re pretty great. One day while in a group DM with Dylan, I offered to make Sims of them. I…
By Gita Jackson Published March 15, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsYou Don’t Have To Know One Piece To Enjoy World Seeker
Monkey D. Luffy creeps me out. I’ve tried getting to know the main character of the popular manga and anime series many times, but his blank stare and creepy grin have put me right off One Piece every time. Now that’s I’ve had some time stretching, spinning, and leaping my way across Jail Island as…
By Mike Fahey Published March 15, 2019 -
UncategorizedNo Man’s Sky Is Getting A ‘New Multiplayer Experience’
Eight months since No Man’s Sky’s last major update, Hello Games has finally announced a new update for the game. In a press release today, Hello Games co-founder Sean Murray revealed No Man’s Sky’s next update, called Beyond. The update, Murray wrote, will make sizable changes to the game similar to last July’s Next. The…
By Gita Jackson Published March 15, 2019 - Kotaku EastJapan
Cosplay Made Me Want To Steal, Says Accused Burglar
A 37-year-old man has been arrested in Fukuoka, Japan for allegedly committing burglary while dressed in Rei Ayanami’s plugsuit from Evangelion 3.0 “When cosplaying, I wanted to break in and steal things,” the suspected is quoted by NHK as saying. According to the charging documents, the man is accused of breaking into Iizuka City home…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 15, 2019 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Fiction
Before the boy group Highlight overthrew the yoke of agency contracts and struck out a new path as independent artists in 2016, they performed for seven years under the name B2ST. Fiction, the title track to their Fiction And Fact album, is arguably the standout song in B2ST’s discography—although both 2010’s Shock or 2011’s On…
By Seung Park Published March 15, 2019
