Our Gameplay Data Should Be Harder To Sell

Video game developers can collect our data, and for now, they can sell it to advertisers. But that may not be as easy in the future due to California’s new data privacy law. On this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen, we do a follow-up episode after last week’s analysis of the state of gameplay data and privacy.…

Black Ops 4‘s Long-Promised Zombies ‘Factions’ Feature Is Still Missing

Black Ops 4’s Zombies still doesn’t have all the content that Activision promised prior to its launch last year. In fact, the undead survival mode hasn’t really seen a proper content flow or substantial rewards. Seven months since Black Ops 4’s launch, and the Zombies community is still left speculating about the Factions feature that…

Adorable Little Discord Bot Is Actually A Devious Game In Disguise

When my Discord server first added Smilebot, everything seemed normal. It was a little widget that spewed emojis and told you what your mood was. When I returned to my Discord after a plane flight, competing corporate factions in our sever were at war with each other in a competition to craft materials and please…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for a three-day weekend, the best form of weekend. That’s so much time to do so many things and play video games. It’s still The Witcher 3, again. I’d also like to finish Katana Zero and play some Apex Legends, but there’s all that Witcher 3 to get through (again)… What about…

Reigns: Game Of Thrones Is Giving Me New And Better Ways To Kill Everyone

After the end of Game of Thrones, I was mostly OK with how things went down. Like many fans, though, I still had complaints. After I’d run my course tweeting about them, I decided to open up Reigns: Game of Thrones and try my hand at sitting on the Iron Throne. Reigns: Game of Thrones,…

Missing Game Dead Island 2 Is Still In Development, Publisher Says

In the zombie apocalypse, no corpse is ever truly lifeless, and the same is apparently true of zombie video games. Dead Island 2, the long-missing sequel to Polish studio Techland’s 2011 zombie survival game, has seemingly stumbled back to its decayed, undead feet. In a THQ Nordic interim report first spotted by PC Gamer, Dead…

Anti-Trump Resistance Figures Who Got Banned From Twitter Were Also Big Ouya Advocates

Yesterday, prolific tweeters Brian and Ed Krassenstein were banned for life from the platform for allegedly operating fake accounts and trying to buy clout. The two brothers then took to The Hill Reporter to plead their innocence and mount a defense, which relied in part on their past enthusiasm for the Ouya. The Ouya was…

I Both Love And Feel Embarrassed About All The Video Game Music On My Phone

An eight-hour road trip I recently took with a friend quickly turned into a musical deep dive. As we flew through conversations about bachata, gospel, R&B, soul, house, and more, my friend mentioned that ’90s music made up a significant portion of his palate. “You know, there’s a lot of anime and video game music…

Sonic The Hedgehog Movie Delayed To 2020 To Fix Sonic’s Look

The Sonic the Hedgehog movie has been delayed from November 2019 to February 14, 2020 in order to tweak the design of the CG Sonic character, according to a tweet from director Jeff Fowler. Fans were unhappy with Sonic’s design in the movie’s trailer released in April, which prompted Fowler to respond earlier this month.…

The Next Call of Duty Is Called Modern Warfare (Yep, Really)

The first Modern Warfare was called Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, so it’s only natural that the fourth Modern Warfare is called Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Confused yet? That’s video games for you. News of this year’s strangely named Call of Duty leaked out via YouTuber LongSensation this morning. Activision has been showing…

Final Fantasy XIV producer Naoki Yoshida outlined tons of game changes last night in a Twitch broadcast Among other things, TP is getting removed and tanks will only have one (enmity generating) stance. I played a sneak peek of Shadowbringers this week and will have more information on Wednesday.

McDonald’s Japan Fined For Its Fake Roast Beef Burgers

Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency has fined McDonald’s after breaking the law and misrepresenting the Tokyo Roast Beef Burger sold in summer 2017. According to NicoNico, the fine is 21.7 million yen (nearly $200,000) and must be paid by December 25 of this year. The original “Tokyo Roast Beef Burger” ads featured what looked like real…

Man Arrested For Allegedly Stealing 80 Copies Of Detective Conan Manga In Japan

In Mie Prefecture, a 26-year-old man has been arrested for suspected theft after security camera footage showed the man stealing volumes of the Detective Conan manga. In total, eighty copies were stolen, and the suspect has confessed. According to Tokai TV, the alleged thefts occurred on three separate occasions with the suspect, 26-year-old Aoi Hattori,…

I Love Anime. Akihabara, Tokyo. By nerdydesi. 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! 

Arise, Sir Goodboye Of Dogginton

Maria Zolotukhina is a freelance illustrator and 3D artist from Russia. You can see more of Maria’s work at her ArtStation page

Tiny Little GameCube Works, Is Asking To Get Its Cheeks Pinched

When Nintendo gets around to releasing a GameCube Mini—remember, all tiny console releases to this point have been mere preparation for what will be the greatest collection of 20-30 titles in video game history—I really hope it’s as small and cute as this custom-made console. Built by Madmorda, it’s a custom case that’s using actual…