Blizzard Retires Classic Cards In Anticipation Of New Hearthstone Season

Blizzard announced changes today to the Hearthstone standard and wild sets in anticipation of 2017, which it dubs the “Year of the Mammoth.” Several core Hearthstone cards are being retired from the competitive scene, in order to open up new options for deck construction. Neutral class cards Azure Drake, Sylvanas Windrunner, and Ragnaros the Firelord…

For Honor: The Kotaku Review

I’ve chopped, smashed, and stabbed more medieval bodies in the past few days than I can count. I’ve also been cut open, impaled, and beheaded more times than I care to admit. Kill and be killed—that’s the proposition at the heart of For Honor, a game in which burly men and women swing crafted hunks…

Pewdiepie Apologizes For ‘Death To All Jews’ Joke, Slams Wall Street Journal [Update]

Pewdiepie has finally responded to the controversy surrounding a Wall Street Journal report that led to the cancellation of his YouTube show, and he does not mince words about the fallout. As you might already know, earlier this year Pewdiepie paid two Indian men on Fiverr to hold up a sign that read “Death To…

Stop Me If You’ve Heard The One About The Three Vikings And The Bear

Leroy Steinmann is a freelance concept artist based in Switzerland. You can see more of Leroy’s work at his personal site and 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 work of video game artists, showcasing the…

Riot’s New Replay Tool Could Seriously Affect League Matches

After a bug halted a match in last week’s League of Legends Championship Series matches, Riot Games casually unveiled a new resume-from-replay feature. In a blog post, the company goes into detail on how this will affect officiating the league’s weekly matches moving forward. In a series between FlyQuest and Cloud 9, Johnny “Altec” Ru…

Magic Wand Is An RPG Where You Rotate The World

Magic Wand is a whimsical experience by Stephen Murphy, aka thecatamites. An ostensibly simple tale of a search for missing friends, a mixture of silly writing and shifting visuals turns things absolutely absurd. It’s this week’s indie pick. Players take on the role of Radiget, an adventurer with a sharp sword and sharper wit, as…

Podcast: An In-Depth Discussion Of Final Fantasy XV 

On today’s episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, we’re taking a spoilery deep dive into Final Fantasy XV Kirk and I have drastically different opinions on the fifteenth Final Fantasy—I liked it a lot; he didn’t—which makes for a fun conversation as we pick at the game’s warts. Final Fantasy XV is a messy, clearly unfinished game,…

A Lack Of Patches Is Threatening Pokkén Tournament’s Competitive Future

Despite being slated to return to the Pokémon World Championships in 2017, the competitive Pokkén Tournament scene is facing a massive problem. The console version of the game, which some players train on before competing on arcade units, is badly in need of an update. But the the people behind Pokémon have made no indication…

Monopoly Is Killing The Thimble

While we’ll have to wait until World Monopoly Day on March 19 to find out which eight game tokens fans voted to include in new editions of the game, one classic player piece has already bit the dust. Say goodbye to the thimble. Just in time for this weekend’s 2017 New York Toy Fair, Hasbro…

Are You Making Nintendo Switch Games? Japanese Developers Answer That And More

In the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu, twenty four Japanese game companies were polled about the Nintendo Switch. Their answers may or may not surprise you. Here are eight interesting questions (and answers) of Famitsu’s poll. 1. Are you developing any games for the Nintendo Switch? Currently developing: 54 percent Thinking about it now: 25…

When People Get Angry And Destroy Arcade Machines 

No matter how upset you get, don’t punch arcade game machines. Please. In Japanese, punching arcade cabinets is called “dai-pan” (台パン). Note that the term “gamen panchi” (画面パンチ), meaning “monitor punch” is sometimes also used, but also can refer to punching home TVs. Dai-pan happens when folks get angry or frustrated while playing and physically…

In Japan, The Pokémon Company Announces New Game For iOS And Android

Today, The Pokémon Company announced a new smartphone game would be out this spring in Japan. It appears to star the weakest Pokémon around. The Japanese title is Hanero! Koiking (Splash! Magikarp), and all The Pokémon Company has revealed so far about the smartphone title is a teaser site, with a newspaper article that mentions…

The Entrance at Kiyomizu-dera. Kyoto, Japan. By Eric Nguyen 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! 

Rogue One Cosplay Is One With The Force

Chirrut Îmwe, aka Donnie Yen’s blind guy from Rogue One, is a cool character! So it’s weird that this is the first time anyone has sent us any cosplay for it. Good job they did, though, because it’s awesome. This is Doccane Cosplay, with photos by Edwin Fabian

The Gardens Between Looks Just Lovely

The Gardens Between is “an adventure puzzle game about friendship, what it means to grow up, what must be let go what should never be left behind”. It’ll be out on PC and Mac later this year.