Steam’s Most Popular Skyrim Mod Is A Protest Against Paid Mods

The best way to critique Steam’s new paid mod section? Turns out, it’s making mods. The most popular Skyrim mod on Steam right now is a sign. It’s a crude, almost sad little thing, with two whole sides of sizzling outrage dedicated to paid mods. “FREE THE MODS,” shouts one side. “No paid mods,” whispers…

Custom Smash Bros. Moves Can Make Kirby A Total Nightmare

Kirby turns 23 today. Let’s celebrate the pink blob’s early twenties by looking back at the times he proved himself a worthy foe in Super Smash Bros. When I went looking around for legendary Kirby moments in preparation for his birthday, however, I ended up feeling a tad disappointed. Despite Kirby’s ubiquity in the casual-friendly,…

Nintendo Emulator Developer Passes Away

If you’ve played Wii or GameCube games on the PC, chances are it was because of the Dolphin emulator. Rachel Bryk, one of the emulator’s most active contributors, has passed away. Since the news hit, the community has been sharing memories and mourning. Dolphin is what’s allowed fans to see games like Super Mario Galaxy…

Five Nights At Freddy’s 4: The Final Chapter Announced

Last week, people were freaking out about a blank image that they thought might be teasing a new Five Nights game. Everyone thought these people were crazy…but turns out, they were right! Via the official Scott Cawthon website, here’s a teaser image for the next Five Nights game. This one will presumably actually be the…

Mario Kart 8’s 200CC Mode Makes Fire Hopping Useless

Ever since Mario Kart 8’s second DLC pack arrived last week, fans and players have been deliberating on just how game-changing the new high-speed 200CC difficulty mode truly is. Apparently, it changes things up enough to render “fire hopping,” the game’s most controversial exploit, effectively inert. Fire hopping was first discovered shortly after Mario Kart…

Minecraft Brings Woman Main Character To Consoles

For many years, Minecraft’s only default character skin on consoles belonged to a guy named Steve. As of this week, that’s changing. Soon you’ll be able to play as a woman, too. On Wednesday, developer Mojang will release a new set of skins for a lady they’re calling Alex (pictured in various forms above). Minecraft…

Kerbal Space Program, one of the best-loved Early Access games ever, is officially “complete.” The wacky spacecraft construction sim just hit version 1.0, bringing with it a complete flight model overhaul, a heating simulation, and resource mining, among other things. It’s the game’s biggest update to date, apparently.

My Five Favorite Kotaku Stories From Last Week

I’ve been listing my five favorite Kotaku stories each week since mid-January, and I’ve never had as tough a time making the list as I did today. Last week was stacked with an unusually diverse set of good stories. Barely any of them involved major new releases, but you don’t need big new games to…

Remember when Codemasters pissed off fans with a “new” Colin McRae Rally racing game? Well, it seems like they’re making up for it in a big way with DiRT Rally, a rally racer that looks excellent and, according to early reports, plays nicely too. It’s still in Early Access, but it’s come roaring out the…

Mario Kart 8’s New DLC Is Stuffed With Inside Jokes

Nobody does self-referential humor quite like Nintendo, that’s for sure. Mario Kart 8’s new DLC is no exception to this rule. Ever since the awesome new DLC came out last week, players have been collecting the best easter egg-type findings they’ve come across in whatever spare time they have between, say, trying not to die…

It’s Official: Silent Hills Is Canceled

Sorry, folks—the recently-announced (and much-anticipated) horror game Silent Hills is not happening. The new Silent Hill game, announced last year through a playable teaser called P.T. (which actually stands for “playable teaser”), was set to bea collaboration between film director Guillermo del Toro and Metal Gear Solid designer Hideo Kojima. It would star the actor…