Rogue Flying Fish Cancels Super Mario Bros. World Record 

Darbian is one of the premier Super Mario Bros. speedrunners, and this is him getting wrecked by a Cheep Cheep. Currently tied with Kosmic for first place in the game with a shared world record of 4:56:878, Darbian was on his way to make history having already shaved off another .3 seconds during world 8-3.…

Why Loot Boxes Make People So Angry

It’s the 100th episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, and to celebrate, we’re… talking about video games, loot boxes, and much more. First, Kirk and I reminisce a bit about 2+ years of Splitscreen. Then we get into news talk (19:09) about loot boxes, Oculus Go, and Valve’s Orange Box turning 10. Then we talk South Park,…

Street Fighter V‘s Next DLC Character Is Zeku 

Zeku, the final character to be added to the game’s roster as part of season two was revealed earlier today at the South East Asia Major fighting game event in Singapore. Street Fighter V players have long suspected the aging ninja would make an appearance in the game ever since players began combing through leaked…

Sunday Comics: Legendary Punchline 

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 October 14. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published October 9. Read more…

Contortionists Perform Dance Inspired By Mortal Kombat 

Admire the craftsmanship but try not to watch too closely. Appearing on Asia’s Got Talent, the Adem Dance crew out of Kyrgyz Republic took the stage recently in a gold buzzer audition to try and wow the judges with a performance where the Mortal Kombat costumes turned out not to even be the weirdest part.…

Counter-Strike Players Banned Mid-Match For Cheating During Qualifiers

The open qualifiers for the upcoming Eleague Boston Major have been marred by a number of issues, including a sudden spree of cheating bans. Several players have received bans mid-match for supposedly using cheating software to gain an edge on fellow competitors. In the below clip, you can see in the chat log as one…

Which Dragon Ball Game Is Your Favorite?

One of the most prolific game series in existence despite being licensed, Dragon Ball has seen its fair share of the good, the bad, and the why did they even bother. Due out early next year, Dragon Ball FighterZ might well end up being one of the series’ best releases to-date. With everyone focused on…

The Best Minecraft Sculptures Continue To Impress

The piece above, called “The Perfect Marionette,” took first place in a recent Minecraft sculpture contest, reminding us that not only are games art, they can also be amazing platforms for creating it. Dr. Bond’s entry took about four days to complete and was based around the idea of human achievement. Rather than try to…

Blizzard’s Latest Plan To Get Hearthstone Players To Meet Up Is Flawed

This week, Blizzard announced that they’d be releasing a new playable Hearthstone hero called Nemsy Necrofizzle. The catch? It’s only available for players who participate in difficult-to-reach LAN-type events called Fireside Gathering Taverns. This has annoyed some players, but it’s also shown that Blizzard still hasn’t figured out a good scheme to encourage more in-person…

We’re playing the Switch port of Stardew Valley right now on Twitch. Time to harvest blueberries and romance the artist who lives by the lake.

The Weekend In Esports: Hearthstone Summer Championship And Rocket League Regional Playoffs 

Welcome back! While the Worlds 2017 Group Stage finishes up overnight, the top players in Hearthstone will be grinding their way through the HTC Summer Championship in California. Russian wunderkind Pavel Beltukov is already in the quarterfinals, and will be looking for revenge after a dismal showing in the Winter Championship. Also look out for…

Team SoloMid Comes Up Short At League Worlds 2017

Only one hope left for North American League of Legends fans. After being given the “group of life” for the League of Legends World Championships, Team SoloMid was knocked out of group D in a tiebreaker last night. To rub a little salt in the wound, it was European team Misfits that took the win…

Valve Responds To Debate Over Third-Party Dota 2 Tournament Streams

As the 2018 Dota 2 season kicks off, controversy had already begun to swirl around streamers who broadcast or commentate matches from tournaments they aren’t running. While Valve has responded to the issue, the answers ended up being more vague than some had hoped. In a blog post last night titled “Broadcasting Dota 2,” Valve…

This Week In The Business: Much Ado About Loot Boxes

STAT | 25% – Amount of PC game revenue in 2016 that was generated by the sale of additional content like DLC and loot boxes, according to Digital River. The monetization service company believes the games-as-a-service trend has tripled the overall gaming industry’s value. QUOTE | “We think of it as a similar principle to…

A Game About Deciding What Is (And Is Not) Soup

What makes soup qualify as soup? Must it be liquid? What if it’s frozen? Need it be edible, or can it contain rocks or batteries? Those are the kinds of heady philosophical questions posed by Something Something Soup Something Something Something Soup Something is a free browser game made by Italian philosopher and game designer…