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Final Fantasy XIV Gets A Raid In Ivalice
As if Final Fantasy XIV wasn’t rad enough already, last night Square Enix announced that one of the game’s next raids will head to Ivalice, the world of Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII. And, most importantly, the raid will be designed and written by Yasumi Matsuno, the director of those games The Return…
By Jason Schreier Published December 24, 2016 -
UncategorizedOnce You Can Afford It, GTA Online‘s Newest Expansion Is Terrific
Last week I started sizing up the new GTA Online update, Import/Export. It added a ton of new missions and wacky cars. But a lot of this content was inaccessible if you didn’t have a lot of in-game money. You’d have to be rich (virtually, at least) to play it. So I spent the last…
Zack Zwiezen Published December 23, 2016 - Uncategorized
On Its Fifth Anniversary, Star Wars The Old Republic Is Interesting Again
Star Wars: The Old Republic is celebrating its five year anniversary right now and has added some major changes. BioWare’s narrative heavy online experience keeps expanding. Last year, they began a large storyline that’s continuing forward in the new Knights of the Eternal Throne expansion. I sat down with producer Ben Irving to talk about…
By Heather Alexandra Published December 23, 2016 -
UncategorizedThe Gravity Rush 2 Demo Is A Good Time
Between the Nier: Automata demo we played yesterday and this dizzying 20 minute slice of Gravity Rush 2, PlayStation 4 owners have some pretty amazing trying-before-buying to do over the holiday weekend. Bright, colorful and cheery, the demo for SIE Japan Studio’s Gravity Rush 2 is a lovely complement to Nier: Automata’s monochrome post-machine invasion…
By Mike Fahey Published December 23, 2016 - Uncategorized
Steam Is Down [UPDATE: Steam Is No Longer Down]
UPDATE (2:06pm): Steam has returned. Carry on. Original post follows: Happy holidays. Steam is down. We don’t know why. Could it be back up by the time this post goes live? Absolutely. But for now, rest assured that A) it’s not just you and B) Half-Life 3 is never coming out. As we all wait…
By Jason Schreier Published December 23, 2016 - Culture
A Year’s Worth Of Dating Advice For The Modern Geek
Another year is on the record books, and with it another couple dozen Ask Dr. Nerdlove columns. Such love, loss, and heartbreak! So much bad sex, so many toxic partners and jealous exes! It was a lot to unravel. I’ve really enjoyed editing Harris O’Malley over the last few years, mostly because I get to…
By Kirk Hamilton Published December 23, 2016 -
UncategorizedYouTube Views Are Down, Analysis Says
For months, YouTubers have complained that their view counts are down. New data from the third-party stat tracker SocialBlade confirms what YouTubers fear: viewership is lower “across the board.” SocialBlade crunched some numbers for Kotaku and determined that, since the first half of the year, YouTube views are now 5-7% lower. Between July and September,…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published December 23, 2016 - Uncategorized
Luke Plunkett’s Top Ten Games Of 2016
I played a lot of games in 2016, and as someone who loves strategy titles, it was a very good year. So drawing a line in the sand like this is always tough. Ah, who am I kidding, half the fun of these end of year lists is pitting your favourite (and often entirely unrelated)…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2016 -
UncategorizedWhy Did Nobody Tell Me About This Incredible Dragon Quest Builders Commercial
I am extremely disappointed in you, Kotaku readers, for not bringing this Japanese Dragon Quest Builders commercial to my attention a year ago when it first aired. It is perhaps the most informative and helpful look at Dragon Quest Builders one could find. (Skip to 0:29 here.) If, after watching this, you still don’t see…
By Jason Schreier Published December 23, 2016 - Culture
Nice Jacket, Robot Assassin
Alex Figini is a concept artist at Bioware. He made this robot, and I want his jacket very much. Figini, whose art we’ve featured before, has also worked at Sony. The robot you’re seeing below wasn’t made for a game, it was actually made for a ZBrush course over on Learn Squared, so if you’re…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2016 - Uncategorized
Krunch From Diddy Kong Racing Is Real, Lives In Florida
A Florida woman has won a battle which will allow her to keep her pet alligator. An alligator which wears a jacket, rides an ATV and looks a lot like Diddy Kong Racing’s Krunch. The alligator, which is named Rambo, was the focus of a disagreement between its owner, Mary Thorn, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 22, 2016 -
CultureMan, That’s A Brutal Battlefield Headshot
Today on Highlight Reel we have headshots, awkward dancing, Rainbow Six Siege aces, perfect Halo 5 timing 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!…
By Chris Person Published December 22, 2016 -
UncategorizedThe Nier: Automata PS4 Demo Is Live, And It’s Awesome
Christmas comes a couple days early for PlayStation 4 owners with a playable demo of Nier: Automata. It’s a half-hour packed with slick hack and slash action, novel camera angles, a little drama and massive boss battles, and it’s so good. Platinum Games’ hack-and-slash follow-up to 2010’s Nier, follows combat android 2B, her companion 9S…
By Mike Fahey Published December 22, 2016 - Uncategorized
Streamer Faces The Challenges Of Coming Out As Transgender On Twitch
When DistractedElf decided to transition, she worried that it could be the end of her stream. It was a big change, and she figured a lot of her audience would be pissed. But she couldn’t deny who she was. “I can’t pretend I’m not trans,” she said. DistractedElf first started streaming on Twitch after she…
By Nathan Grayson Published December 22, 2016 - Uncategorized
Ask Kotaku‘s Staff Anything: Holiday Edition
It’s almost Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s Eve, and, perhaps most importantly, The End Of 2016. Come chat with the staff of Kotaku as we prepare to move on from this horrible year (and into what will inevitably be a worse one). You can ask us whatever you’d like.
By Jason Schreier Published December 22, 2016 - Uncategorized
You Can Now Play Pokémon Go On An Apple Watch—But Not Catch Pokémon
Viral rat-hunting mobile game Pokémon Go is now on the Apple Watch. Starting today, you can find rats, some of which now have Christmas hats, on your $270 wrist-bound iPhone. Fans expected Niantic to release an associated Pokémon Go app closer to September, or at least, before the end of the year. A rumorrecently spread…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published December 22, 2016 - Culture
The Steam Winter Sale Begins
It’s officially winter. Deep Winter. You know what that means: Steam Sale. This is the big one, or at least, the final big one of the year. If you need to get some last-second (Christmas is in three days WHAT ARE YOU DOING) holiday shopping done, here you go. This year’s sale is pretty barebones.…
By Nathan Grayson Published December 22, 2016 - Uncategorized
What Did You Think Of The Yuri On Ice Finale?
Queer ice skating anime Yuri!!! on Ice closed out its first season yesterday with enough fanfare to crash streaming site Crunchyroll. Twelve episodes of triple axels, dashing costumes and raw male-on-male emotions made this cloying sports show a sensation. Some questions were answered, and more were asked—did the anime bait viewers with promises of explicit…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published December 22, 2016 - Uncategorized
Five-Year-Old Makes Millions To Play With Toys
Ryan of Ryan ToysReview is a five year old YouTube star, playing with toys for an audience of millions. But, as reported in the Verge,his popularity and financial success raises new questions about the ethics of child stardom. To be fair, it seems like Ryan’s parents have a good head on their shoulders. As they…
By Gita Jackson Published December 22, 2016