• Culture

  Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Speedrunner Gets Owned By Log

  Last night speedrunner Zant was attempting a Master Sword RTA run of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild when the log he was flying on decided to reverse direction and wreck him instead His eventual time of 2:42:27 was still good enough to earn 7th place in the category overall (the Master Sword…

  By Ethan Gach Published June 10, 2017
• Esports

  The Weekend Esports: Epicenter 2017, Nairo Saga, And More

  The spring Rocket League Championship Series is over and the League of Legends summer season is just getting started, but punctuating the relative quiet this weekend are some big showdowns in both Dota 2 and Smash Bros. Wii U. Also Nintendo seems to have finally gotten on board with its grassroots competitive fans. Below you’ll…

  By Ethan Gach Published June 10, 2017
• Culture

  This Week In The Business: Violence, Extortion, Racism, And Zelda

  QUOTE | “Violence in the normal course of video gameplay is generally acceptable for advertising, but montages where gratuitous violence is the focal point is not.” – YouTube continues to limit the type of content creators can profit from after advertisers decided they didn’t want their brands associated with some objectionable content common on the…

  Brendan Sinclair Published June 10, 2017
• Uncategorized

  In One Of The Last Steam Greenlight Games, You Can Date Men Or A Goldfish

  Coming Out On Top is a lighthearted visual novel about exploring queer sexuality as a young adult. It’s also a game where you can bang a goldfish. And it’s coming to Steam soon. Now that Steam’s softened its stance on adult-oriented games, and thanks to the fans who have built a community around the game,…

  Dan Starkey Published June 9, 2017
• Culture

  What Are You Playing This Weekend?

  The weekend is for press conferences about video games. Also, maybe playing some video games, but probably just hearing about new ones. To be honest, I will be spending the weekend arranging a complex multi-monitor setup to cover E3 press conferences in all their glory, so I will probably not have much time for games.…

  By Riley MacLeod Published June 9, 2017
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  Uncategorized

  American Twitch Streamer Causes Commotion By Littering In Taiwan

  Littering is generally not a great idea. It’s an especially bad look if you’re an American Twitch streamer living abroad in Taiwan, where some residents are, at best, skeptical of your portrayal of their country. American Twitch IRL streamer CJayride is paddling his way through a scalding tub of hot water after running afoul of…

  By Nathan Grayson Published June 9, 2017
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  Culture

  Finally, You Can Flirt With Vulcans

  Today on Highlight Reel we have Vulcan flirting, boat bait, hitbox porn, 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! Sniper Elite 4 – It’s…

  By Chris Person Published June 9, 2017
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  Monument Valley 2 Is A Very Good Sequel To A Great Game

  Ustwo’s perception puzzle adventure Monument Valley isone of my favorite mobile games. The sequel popped up earlier this week as a surprise announcement during Apple’s WWDC keynote, and it’s every bit as beautiful, relaxing and enjoyable as the first. The original Monument Valley told the story of Ida, a lost princess wandering a world inspired…

  By Mike Fahey Published June 9, 2017
• Uncategorized

  Assassin’s Creed: Origins Is Leaking Everywhere

  The next Assassin’s Creed is going to Egypt, and although Ubisoft hasn’t yet confirmed it, we can piece it together from roughly 2349892483294832 leaks. Today’s leak comes from someone with an early copy of Game Informer, whose next cover story is Assassin’s Creed: Origins, out this October. Rumors of the next Assassin’s Creed have been…

  By Jason Schreier Published June 9, 2017
• Uncategorized

  Nintendo Explains How It Came Up With Min Min’s Unique Design In Arms

  Whether Nintendo fans are buzzing about the fabulousness of Twintelle, or the creepiness of Helix, it’s clear that Arms’ characters are already inspiring fierce fandoms. But when I asked Arms art director Masaaki Ishikawa, about the team’s favorite fighter over email, I got the lowdown on Min Min, and how the developers came up with…

  By Gita Jackson Published June 9, 2017
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  CultureSplitscreen

  We Talk About Mass Effect: Andromeda‘s Turbulent Development

  On this week’s episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, Jason Schreier and I spent some time discussing his lengthy reported story covering the troubled five-year development of Mass Effect: Andromeda You can listen to that segment in the video above, and subscribe to Splitscreen on Apple Podcasts or Google Play. We’ve got a pretty cool plan for…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published June 9, 2017
• Esports

  New Injustice 2 Update Shows Which Online Competitors Are Using Wi-Fi, Whether They Like It Or Not

  Injustice 2 received its first major update on June 5, courtesy of developer NetherRealm Studios. The patch largely addresses lingering bugs in the DC Comics fighter, but it also included a new indicator that notes whether online opponents are playing over wi-fi. While it may seem like a minor addition, this represents a major step…

  Ian Walker Published June 9, 2017
• Esports

  Dota 2‘s Brutal Co-op Campaign Might End Some Friendships

  Siltbreaker, a cooperative Dota 2 campaign event, launched its first act yesterday, and it’s been driving my Dota group mad. Between the exponential difficulty spikes, impossible bosses and wave after wave of enemies, it plays less like a jolly ol’ game of Dota and more like a genuine raid. A comic handles most of the…

  By Eric Van Allen Published June 9, 2017
• Uncategorized

  Artist Paints Beautiful Renditions of Call of Duty Zombie Guns

  Artists find inspiration in many places, including Call of Duty’s remastered Zombie maps. The Zombies Chronicles DLC for Black Ops III launched on May 16 inspired visual artist Travis Simpson to create some super-detailed Zombies themed paintings. The idea originally spawned from wanting to paint a Zombies themed piece to look good in a game…

  S.E. Doster Published June 9, 2017
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  Esports

  Local Player Defeats Tekken 7 World Champion At Philippines Event

  The Philippines played host to a major Tekken 7 event this past weekend, allowing local competitors to try their skills against two of the world’s strongest players. South Korean masters Hyun-jin “JDCR” Kim and Jin-woo “Saint” Choi stopped in the city of Makati for the Rage Art tournament after placing first and second, respectively, at…

  Ian Walker Published June 9, 2017
• Uncategorized

  How To Use Twitter In 2017, Maybe

  In 2014, we published a list of video game people to follow on Twitter. I’m not sure I’d give the same advice today. Twitter is a very different place than it used to be in 2014, when our list of which video game people to follow was originally published. Sometimes it’s a laugh riot of…

  By Gita Jackson Published June 9, 2017
• Uncategorized

  Whether You Have $40 or $450, There’s an HDMI NES For You

  Got a pile of old NES carts? Want to play them on your HDMI television? Recently, a number of solutions for that have come onto the market—one for every budget. Here’s our take on three major HDMI NES players. You need some sort of solution, because the Nintendo Entertainment System released in 1985 was about…

  By Chris Kohler Published June 9, 2017
• Uncategorized

  Ask Kotaku‘s Staff Anything: E3 Edition

  We’re just one day away from the unofficial start of E3. Come ask us anything you’d like. We’ll be here for an hour or so. Let’s party.

  By Jason Schreier Published June 9, 2017
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  Uncategorized

  I Can’t Handle Overwatch Voice Actors Doing Their Dance Emotes

  Holy shit. I can’t deal with this. This video killed me. I am dead now. Over the last year, it’s been awesome to see the voice actors behind our favorite Overwatch characters hang out and have a good time with one another. They all genuinely seem like best buds. But this footage above by sweeetanj,…

  By Patricia Hernandez Published June 9, 2017
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  Uncategorized

  Fake GTA VI Videos Are Racking Up Millions Of Views On YouTube

  GTA V was released nearly five years ago, which means that folks are waiting for news of a follow-up. GTA Youtubers are more than happy to provide the scoop, even if it means making it all up. It’s not a new phenomenon, but it is an enduring one. For at least two years, a number…

  Zack Zwiezen Published June 9, 2017