After Months Of Controversy, ESRB Will Add ‘In-Game Purchases’ Label To Games

As pressure from pundits and politicians mounts, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) said today that it will start adding the “In-Game Purchases” label to any game that lets you pay real money for digital goods. The label will apply to “bonus levels, skins, surprise items (such as item packs, loot boxes, mystery awards), music,…

The Short Life Of An Erotic Game Itasha

On February 24, Twitter user Kuronosu’s Suzuki Swift was minted with erotic game characters. Three days later, he drove it into a ditch. Characters for the adult computer game Riddle Joker were emblazoned on each side of Kuronosu’s Swift, turning the vehicle into an itasha (痛車 or “painmobile”), which refers to cars covered with anime…

YouTuber Potato Chips Go On Sale In Japan

Potato chips featuring the images of popular Japanese YouTubers, such as Hikakin (pictured), are going on sale later this month. In Japanese, the bag reads “Yuuchuubaa Chippusu” (ユーチューバーチップス). The chips are “lightly salted flavored.” The chips come with collectible YouTuber cards, and there are already inevitable YouTube clips. Of course, there are. Kotaku East is…

Back-Alley. Koenji Tokyo, Japan. By Matthew Albasi | 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! 

Fired League Of Legends Coach: The Story I Told “Wasn’t Sexually Explicit,” But Could Be “Construed Or Interpreted As Sexual Harassment”

Three weeks after Golden State Warriors-owned League of Legends team Golden Guardians fired head coach Yoonsup “Locodoco” Choi, the former coach broke his silence. Choi, who was fired just four games into the team’s season, said tonight that his firing was a result of him telling a “personal story” which was not “sexually explicit,” but…

Widowmaker’s Figma Is Very Nice

Out at the end of the year, and running around USD$65, this is Good Smile’s Widowmaker Figma from Overwatch You can order it now. The figure includes her sniper rifle, venom mine, grappling hook and alternate “aiming” squinty face. Widowmaker joins Genji and Tracer as Figma’s third Overwatch figure. Mercy next, please.

Be Gone, Evil Spirits

Borislav Kechashki is a senior character artist at Ubisoft’s Sofia studio, where he’s worked on games like Assassin’s Creed Origins. You can see more of Borislav’s work at his ArtStation page To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the…

Mod Adds Goku (And All His Powers) To Grand Theft Auto V

GTA mod team JulioNIB have just released this script for Goku that gives you access to all kinds of crazy powers as well, from flight to teleportation. Here’s a demonstration of the havoc you can wreak: Note that this mod covers the important under-the-hood and UI stuff; the actual model itself you have to grab…

A LEGO Version Of Star Wars Episode I: Racer

If nobody is going to muster the will/cash for a new video game version of Star Wars’ pod-racing, then we’re going to have to settle for this movable, interactive LEGO take on it instead. Alexis Dos Santos built this using MINDSTORMS, LEGO’s robotics tech. The surface of the race scrolls past the user on a…

Even Tony Hawk Wants More Tony Hawk Remasters

I’m going to guess that Tony Hawk (the man) gets asked about Tony Hawk (the skateboarding video game series) a lot Because he tweeted this earlier today: So yeah, guys, pro skater and businessman Tony Hawk does not also run servers and handle remasters. That’s video game work. Go take it up with the video…

Squidward Can Finally Kick Vegeta’s Ass

Today on Highlight Reel we have Bikini Bottom vs. Universe 7, tiny colossi, sad horse moments, and much more! Watch the video then talk about your favorite highlight in the comments below. Be sure to check out, like, and share the original videos via the links below. Subscribe to Kotaku on YouTube for more! Catch…

In the latest episode of Fave This, Gita Jackson and Maddy Myers talk about the never-ending debate around games like Bayonetta What do people miss when they obsess over whether or not something is ‘sexist’? Beyond their lurid character designs, what do games like Nier: Automata and Soul Calibur actually say or accomplish? Listen here.

I Used To Hate Junkrat, Until I Tried Playing As Him

I have a friend who’s made it his life’s work to master every hyper-annoying character in competitive video games. When Overwatch first came out, he made a beeline to Junkrat. Ever since, I’ve looked upon the simpering trash gremlin with scorn and strife. Today, I’m humiliated to admit that I was wrong. As part of…