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CultureRiot Co-Founder Courageously Tweets, Deletes ‘Critical Race Theory’ Dog Whistle
“Critical race theory” is the right’s latest buzz phrase in service of silencing discussion of America’s racist past and how it informs the country’s still very racist present. Last night, Riot co-founder and chairman Marc Merrill tweeted and quoted an article about how critical race theory is “a threat” from a journalist whose work informed…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 23, 2021 -
CultureCall of Duty Gets ’80s Map For Season Three
Following yesterday’s Warzone nuke events, Call of Duty’s Season Three has officially begun for both Black Ops Cold War and Warzone. Season Three introduces a “new” Warzone map, while Cold War gets new multiplayer maps, weapons, operators, Zombies updates, and more. There’s also a new 100-tier Battle Pass to grind. It’s a lot of what…
By S.E. Doster Published April 22, 2021 -
CultureTwitchThe NFT Bubble Might Be Bursting, But Streamers And Esports Orgs Are Still Getting In On It
As of last month, the age of NFTs was officially upon us. As of this month, it might be on its way out. Average prices have declined by as much as 70% since a peak in February, according to Bloomberg. That, however, has not stopped big-name streaming and esports figures from announcing their own NFT…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 9, 2021 -
CultureOops, Activision Forgot About The Streisand Effect
I can’t fully express how little I care about Call of Duty: Warzone or any leaks thereof. What I do love, however, is giant gaming conglomerates making fools of themselves, and Activision Blizzard really stepped in it this morning when it used draconian copyright law to try to cover up a trivial news story about…
By Ian Walker Published April 1, 2021 -
CultureActivision Blizzard Hires Former Trump Administration Member Once Decried As ‘Bully’
Today, Activision Blizzard announced the promotion of Blizzard chief commercial officer and the chief operating officer Armin Zerza to CFO of the whole company. What it did not announce to the public is that it has also hired a new chief administrative officer: former Donald Trump administration member Brian Bulatao. Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick…
By Nathan Grayson Published March 29, 2021 -
OpinionSo-Called Pirates Are Doing The Work When Publishers Fail To Preserve Their Games
Yesterday, TheGamer reported that Sony has plans to shut down the online PS3, PS Vita, and PSP stores that service those older consoles. While this has yet to be confirmed, and Sony has not responded to Kotaku’s request for comment, the internet discourse around this potentially troubling news immediately began to swirl. If these stores…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 23, 2021 -
CultureMorning CheckpointBlack Panther Coming To Avengers, Gotham Knights Delayed, Outriders Launching On Game Pass And More
This week on Morning Checkpoint we celebrate the death of Fortnite’s Peely, learn more about upcoming Square Enix games, see who’s the next big hero coming to Avengers, eat a baby(?) and get a look at the next generation of PSVR controllers. Great Kotaku Content From The Past Week I hope this grows into a…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 20, 2021 -
CultureSplitscreenNFTs? No Fucking Thank You
Video games are expensive. They have been expensive for a very long time, and they keep getting more expensive. To an extent, it makes sense: Game developers need to eat! But after a certain point, it gets excessive. Loot boxes, gacha, and now NFTs are signs of that excess. On this week’s Splitscreen, we talk…
By Nathan Grayson Published March 19, 2021 -
CultureReport: More Layoffs Loom As Activision Blizzard Moves To Close European Publishing Offices
Activision Blizzard is planning to close its publishing offices in Europe and lay off even more employees in the process, according to a new report byGamesIndustry.biz In a statement provided to GamesIndustry.biz, an Activision Blizzard rep explained that the move comes as a result of players “increasingly choosing to connect with our games digitally.” “We…
By Ian Walker Published March 19, 2021 -
CultureActivision Yanks Crossbow It Accidently Released Early Even After Players Spent Time Grinding For It [Update]
What Call of Duty giveth, Call of Duty taketh away. Yesterday, a fancy new crossbow went live in Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops Cold War by accident, and now players who spent hours trying to unlock it are frustrated that Activision has taken it back out of the game. As Eurogamer reports, players…
By Ethan Gach Published March 19, 2021 -
CultureActivision Blizzard CEO To Get Even Bigger Bonuses While Others Get Laid Off
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick routinely gets millions in stock bonuses every year based on how the company is doing. Now he’s set to get even more, for a total payout of nearly $200 million according to CtW Investment Group, a union pension fund advocacy organization. And it’s all thanks to a clause in his…
By Ethan Gach Published March 17, 2021 -
OpinionPokemon Go‘s Eggs Aren’t Lootboxes, They’re Fun Presents
Pokémon Go developer Niantic is testing a feature that lets players see what might be inside the game’s eggs before they walk the many miles to hatch them. It appears this is a response to the argument that the game’s eggs are akin to lootboxes. There is an awful lot that could be better about…
By John Walker Published March 12, 2021 -
OpinionCall Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Menus Suck
Booting up the newest Call of Duty, I was greeted by terrible-looking menus, an overwhelming amount of options, too much information, and some ugly-looking ads. It’s not a great first impression and feels like a cobbled-together mess. In other words: It bad. There was a time when I played every new Call of Duty game.…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 11, 2021 -
CultureMorning CheckpointNew Pokemon Games, New Final Fantasy VII Spin-Offs, Anthem Is Done, Call Of Duty Is Way Too Big, And More
This week on Morning Checkpoint we learn about the next terrible thing involving Cyberpunk 2077, learn the future of Anthem, check out a new trailer for more Hot Wheels in Forza, talk about some good dads and watch Destiny 2 players jump off a cliff over and over. Great Kotaku Content From The Past Week…
By Zack Zwiezen Published February 27, 2021 -
CultureDestiny 2‘s Next Big Expansion The Witch Queen Delayed To 2022
Destiny 2 has gotten a big expansion every year since it released, but 2021 will be different. Bungie announced today that The Witch Queen, originally planned to launch in the second half of this year, will be delayed until 2022 due to its size and ongoing issues around working from home during the covid-19 pandemic.…
By Ethan Gach Published February 25, 2021 -
CultureCall Of Duty Is Getting Too Big For Your Base PS4, Activision Warns
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare/Warzone and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War are now so big, Activision is telling base PS4 owners they may no longer be able to fit both full games on their console’s hard drive. Call of Duty: Warzone’s season two update is live, and it’s another hulking 17GB on PS4…
By Ethan Gach Published February 25, 2021 -
CultureActivision 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…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 3, 2021 -
CultureCall Of Duty: Warzone Bans Over 60,000 Accounts For Cheating
Activision banned over 60,000 accounts in Call of Duty: Warzone yesterday. In a statement, the publisher cited use of cheat software in the battle royale. The bans follow several months of community frustration about aimbot and wallhack cheats that players blatantly use in both casual matches and major Warzone tournaments. “Today we banned 60,000 accounts…
By S.E. Doster Published February 3, 2021 -
CultureReport: Activision Blizzard Calls Policy To Make Hiring More Diverse ‘Unworkable’
Earlier this month, Activision Blizzard was asked to institute some version of the Rooney Rule, a policy requiring employers to interview diverse candidates when hiring, according to a new report by Motherboard. Lawyers for the massive publisher behind Call of Duty and World of Warcraft responded that such a policy would be “an unworkable encroachment…
By Ethan Gach Published January 27, 2021 -
CultureReport: Vicarious Visions Is Working On A Diablo II Remake
Earlier today, Activision announced Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 developer Vicarious Visions had been absorbed by Blizzard to provide support on future projects. A few hours later, we now know that one of those projects is a Diablo II remake. According to Bloomberg, Vicarious Visions has been supporting Blizzard’s Team 3—which is also responsible for the upcoming…
By Ian Walker Published January 22, 2021