Here’s How Video Game Embargoes (And Other Restrictions) Work

The recent Cyberpunk 2077 review fiasco has people asking (again) why reviews of big budget games are what they are. Let’s talk about it. This won’t be the first time I’ve covered the topic here. About eight years ago, halfway through the Obama administration, I wrote about the strings attached to many major video game…

Latest Division 2 Patch Brings Bland Resident Evil Items And A Beautiful New Next-Gen Framerate

On February 2 The Division 2 received its latest update, Title Update 12.1, which added a bunch of Resident Evil-themed items as part of a new apparel event. More importantly, it updated the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions to run at 60 frames per second, allowing console players to experience The Division 2 at…

Congress Wants To Ask DeepFuckingValue Some Deep Fucking Questions About GameStop

Rep. Maxine Waters announcedthat Reddit investor DeepFuckingValue, aka YouTuber Roaring Kitty, aka former insurance marketer Keith Gill, will testify before Congress about what the hell has been going on with GameStop’s stock later this month. Waters made the announcement on Cheddar TV yesterday following Gill’s posts on the WallStreetBets subreddit, where he goes by the…

Destiny 2‘s Raid Rocket Launcher Is Supposed To Be A Lot Easier To Get

Eyes of Tomorrow is one of Destiny 2’s best rocket launchers. It’s also one of its rarest, and some players who have spent months trying to get their hands on one have still come up short. They’re especially shocked now that one of Bungie’s developers has confirmed it’s supposed to be easier to get the…

It’s Official, Lego Is Making A Sonic The Hedgehog Set

Early last year theLego Ideas program began looking into the possibility of turning a fan-made Sonic Mania Green Hills Zone design into a real Lego set. This morning The Lego Group makes it official. Lego Sonic the Hedgehog is happening. Lego Ideas is a program in which fan builders submit their creations for judging by…

Man Arrested After Selling A Hacked Sobble From Pokémon Sword and Shield

People in Aichi Prefecture, Japan have arrested a 23-year-old man for violating the country’s Unfair Competition Prevention Act. According to Asahi News, the suspect is accused of selling a modded Sobble. Last April, the suspect, an unemployed Nagoya resident, allegedly hacked the character via computer and sold it to a Kyoto man for 4,400 yen…

Yoko Taro Thinks Nier Violates Square Enix’s Own Guidelines For Fan Creations

Square Enix has published Japanese-language guidelines for derivative fan creations. These guidelines cover Nier Replicant, Nier Gestalt, Nier: Automata, Nier Re[in]carnation, and Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139… In short, all the Nier games! As noted on Inside, these guidelines are broken down into several points, prohibiting things like payment for fan work, the use of Nier assets…

This Violin-Playing Cosplayer Is The Hero We Need

Meet the Violin Samurai. The YouTuber dresses up as iconic characters in ramshackle costumes and then plays video game music. If only he could see half the time! In the clip below, for example, he spends the first section trying to get his costume (and the music) right. The actual performance is about three minutes…

Track: Tokyo Midnight feat. Botani | Artist: Niko Niko Tan Tan | Album: Tokyo Midnight (single)  

Dune: Imperium: The Kotaku Review

Because the movie business is in a state of absolute chaos right now, the Dune reboot, which was supposed to be the big holiday movie of 2020, is now going to be the big holiday movie of 2021 instead. Just don’t tell this accompanying board game, which went ahead and released in December 2020 anyway.…

Guy Goes On Super Nintendo World’s Rides, Films Them

Universal Studios’ Super Nintendo World was supposed to open in Japan this week before being indefinitely delayed due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. That said, folks who recently had a chance to visit the park during a special preview day are apparently still allowed to share footage from their experience, giving us some nice first-person…

Activision Accused Of Stealing Call Of Duty Character

The creator of a character called “Cade Janus”, developed as part of a film pitch, is taking Activision, Infinity Ward and Major League Gaming to court, accusing them of going behind his back and stealing the character for use in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare As Torrentfreak reports, Clayton Haugen claims that he created the…

Genshin Impact Devs Awarded PS5s, Graphics Cards Via RNG

Raffles and gift give-aways aren’t uncommon at company parties, but the company behind Genshin Impact went a step further, randomly awarding hard-to-get graphics cards and PS5s to employees as thanks for helping make one of last year’s hottest new free-to-play gacha games. “MiHoYo, the developers of Genshin Impact, held their annual employee meeting where they…

Every Game Should Have A Train Level

Hitman 3 ends with one wild ride. The game’s first five levels are sprawling playgrounds that demand stealth, caution, and careful planning. The final level, “Untouchable,” is a fast-paced race through a train. It is, in a word, awesome. More, please! Actually, you know what? Just go ahead and put a train level in every…

Remedy, Please, No

Control developer Remedy Entertainment, caught up in the Lady Dimitrescu hype, has done something terrible. It made the Former, which is already horrifying, even more distressing by giving the monster a full set of teeth. And it’s smiling Listen, I know we’re all having fun with the tall Resident Evil lady. I even wrote something about…

Canceled Xbox 360 GoldenEye Remaster Is In The Wild

A playable version of that beautiful Xbox 360 GoldenEye 007 remaster we reported over the weekend is quickly spreading online after Ars Technica spilled the beans last night. I’ve played it and, unsurprisingly, it’s really great. The files come from a near-final beta build of an Xbox Live Arcade release that was eventually canceled sometime…