Why The Last of Us‘s Game Director Left Naughty Dog

The Last of Us and Uncharted director Bruce Straley joins today’s episode of Kotaku Splitscreen to talk about burning out, how he feels about not directing The Last of Us 2, and why he left Naughty Dog after 17 years. First, Kirk and I talk about news of the week (5:46) on Quantic Dream’s toxicity,…

Splatoon Player Clinches Win With The Most Satisfying Dunk

Most players might just use Splatoon 2‘s high-flying super jump to get back into the action after you’ve respawned. Saffron Rice’s DNerd found a different use: to sink the game-winning clam. During yesterday’s Splatoon 2 tournament at Genesis 5, Saffron was down in a game of Clam Blitz that had gone into overtime. Their opponents,…

Fans Are Still Working To Remaster Fallout 3 

The fan project titled “Fallout 4 : The Capital Wasteland” is still in development and continues to look stunning. According to the mod’s latest monthly update, the bulk of it’s nearly 40% complete. Capital Wasteland attempts to remaster Fallout 3 using Fallout 4’s engine. The results so far have been impressive and will leave anyone with…

Sunday Comics: A Cardboard Piano

Welcome to Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics that usually occurs on Sunday except when it doesn’t. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published January 20. Read more of Nerf NOW!!  Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published January 15. Read more…

Joy-Con Grips Are A Lot More Useful With Smartphones In Them

Ever since the Nintendo Switch released last March, people have been painting them, modding them, and 3D printing all manner of accessories for them. One of the latest is a Joy-Con grip that can fit your phone inside it. The creation belongs to Nathan Becker and comes by way of htxt. With slight alterations, the…

There’s A Chiaotzu-Sized Hole In Dragon Ball FighterZ‘s Roster

After a prolonged drip feed of new trailers and character announcements, Dragon Ball FighterZ comes out in less than a week. Unfortunately, while the playable roster is 24 characters strong, one of the series most beloved little dudes isn’t among them. Technically, Chiaotzu is in the game. Once again reprising his role as a side-kick,…

Doublelift Gets Revenge In North American League Opener

A long-time veteran of the North American League of Legends scene, Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng wrote at the start of this year that one of his goals was to beat his former teammates on Team SoloMid. He didn’t have to wait long. The 2018 North American League Championship Series started with a hyped-up grudge match between…

The Competitive Smash 4 Scene Is Anxiously Awaiting Nintendo’s Next Big Move

The last few years have been pivotal in establishing Super Smash Bros. For Wii U as its own game, separate from its everlasting older sibling Melee. The Smash 4 scene has grown, developed major personalities and storylines, and saw its Evo grand finals live on cable television. Now all eyes are on Nintendo for what’s…

Dissidia Final Fantasy‘s First Major Tournament Shows Its Potential And Pitfalls

After hosting sporadic tournaments over the last few months, game developer Square Enix hosted a special Dissidia Final Fantasy NT invitational at Wednesday Night Fights in Santa Ana, California. The players—an eclectic bunch comprised of traditional fighting game competitors, longtime Dissidia fans, and online personalities—put on quite a show, even if there’s still room for…

The Weekend In Esports: League Of Legends‘ Spring Season Returns 

Things are picking up as the Overwatch League continues with its second week, Hearthstone’s World Championship wraps up in Amsterdam, and League of Legends returns for the spring season. The Shanghai Dragons and Dallas Fuel are the only two teams remaining in OWL without a victory to their name, while the latter has already been…

Watch Us Play Darwin Project’s Open Beta

When it was initially unveiled at E3, I was confused as to what Darwin Project was trying to be. I knew what it was obviously aiming for with a shoutcaster on stage and it felt like it was doing a little too much to convince me that it wants to be the next big eSport.…

Longest Game In Pro League of Legends History Shatters Records

Last night’s match between the Jin Air Green Wings and world championship runner-up SKT T1 was not a quick or quiet affair. The best-of-three went the full series, culminating in a 94-minute finale that was both maddening and fascinating. SKT T1, often lauded as one of the best teams in the game, found a tough…

Staff Writer Heather Alexandra is returning to Skyrim right now on Twitch. There will be skeletons, cheese, dragons, and sick archery skills.

Super Metroid Hack Continues To Get New Speedrunning World Records 

Super Metroid: Project Base is a hack for the original game that adds some new missile packs to collect, reroutes the map a bit, and most importantly: plays even faster thanks to tighter controls. StuntCoyote knows Project Base like the back of his hand. Probably better, in fact. He’s been speedrunning the hacked ROM since…

South Korean Overwatch Team Lunatic-Hai Disbands

Lunatic-Hai announced yesterday that it would be disbanding and leaving the Overwatch competitive scene. In a statement (h/t InvenGlobal) the team says it was “difficult to face the radical changes within and outside Overwatch.” “We couldn’t be certain of consistent investment for the organization and the business,” wrote director Tae-Su Kim. “And we couldn’t bring…

This Week In The Business: Nintendo Enjoys The Fruits Of Its Labo

STAT | 4.2% – The one-day jump in Nintendo’s share price after the announcement of Nintendo Labo, a line of cardboard construction kits that work with the Switch. STAT | 750,000 – Number of 3DS systems sold in the US in December. The aging handheld apparently has some life left in it yet, as December…

Dr. Disrespect Will Be Back Next Month

Last month, popular PUBG streamer Dr. Disrespect, aka Guy Beahm, took an indefinite leave of absence from Twitch following the revelation he’d been unfaithful to his wife. In two weeks, he’ll be back. Disrespect made the announcement—alongside (?) his wife—in the short video below. Unlike his last video, it’s very much in character. He’ll be…