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Kotaku East
The Bizarre Japanese of Call of Duty: Black Ops II‘s Newest Map
The Japanese language and Call of Duty have never gotten along. But in the past, that’s been simply due to translation mistakes. That might not be the case here. In the latest downloadable content for Black Ops II, the in-game Japanese is both strange and funny. The downloadable content features four new multiplayer maps, including…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 17, 2013 -
Call of Duty Too Realistic For You? Well, They’re Now Pitting Hollywood Mobsters Vs. Zombies
If Far Cry 3 can have its insane Blood Dragon DLC, then Call of Duty: Black Ops II can get Mob of the Dead, one piece of the new Uprising downloadable expansion to Activision’s blockbuster first-person shooter. The mobsters here are controlled by you and three other friends in the game’s co-op zombies mode. They’re…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 11, 2013 -
Activision Lays Off High Moon Studios’ Deadpool Team
Most of the folks on the Deadpool team at Activision-owned High Moon Studios were let go today, having completed their developmental task. Activision tells Kotaku that around 40 employees have been impacted globally. “Activision Publishing consistently works to align its costs with its revenues – this is an ongoing process. With the completion of development…
By Mike Fahey Published April 2, 2013 -
Activision’s Next-Gen Soldier Graphics Have Crawled Straight Out Of The Uncanny Valley
During a talk at GDC earlier today, attended by GameSpot, Activision artists showed off what they think/hope next-gen character models will look like. While stressing that these are just exploratory models, and not in-game assets, the fact this is Activision, and that there’s a soldier there, will still be pointing towards the obvious: your next…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 27, 2013 -
Microtransactions for ‘Customization Items’ Come to Black Ops 2 on Xbox 360
Beginning Wednesday, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 will begin offering “personal customizations” on the Xbox 360, the game’s community manager said this morning. The items don’t affect gameplay—they’re items like weapon skins, targeting reticles, and player calling cards. Moreover, the multiplayer map Nuketown 2025, originally a preorder incentive back in November, will be made…
By Owen Good Published March 12, 2013 -
Everything Wrong With Deadpool in One Convenient Game Trailer
Deadpool is my second-favorite Marvel Comics character. Seeing him come to life (courtesy of IGN) at the hands of the studio that brought me two stellar Transformers games should be a dream come true, but the more I see of the Deadpool game the more I realize the character I fell in love with back…
By Mike Fahey Published March 6, 2013 -
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows Brings Turtle Power Back to Video Games This Summer
Ready to feel like a teenager again? No? Me neither. But one part of gamers’ youths will coming back in the form of four mutated reptiles who wield deadly martial arts weapons. After a report surfaced yesterday of a new TMNT game, Activision has released info on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows:…
By Evan Narcisse Published March 5, 2013 -
Deadpool has an inflatable sex doll in it, says the ESRB.
By Owen Good Published February 27, 2013 -
Activision Lays off About 30 People, Saying There Will Be Fewer Licensed Games This Year
Even the massive money-making game publisher Activision lays off people from time to time, as the company confirmed today that they’ve cut about 30 jobs from their global work force. Kotaku first heard that the cuts were affecting Treyarch, the studio behind Call of Duty: Black Ops II, but a spokesperson for Activision said that…
By Stephen Totilo Published February 19, 2013 -
Activision reminded us this morning that Bungie’s Destiny is not launching this year, despite retail listings.
By Jason Schreier Published February 18, 2013 -
Major retailers already are taking preorders for Destiny, but if anyone’s showing a release date, it’s a placeholder.
By Owen Good Published February 17, 2013 -
Everything I Know About Bungie’s Next First-Person Shooter, Destiny
The creators of Halo aren’t leaving their face-shooting skills behind. Destiny, Bungie’s first new game since they parted ways with Microsoft, looks and sounds like a first-person shooter—even if they don’t like calling it that. I flew to Seattle this week to get the official reveal of Destiny, or at least what teases Bungie and…
By Tina Amini Published February 17, 2013 -
Bungie Reveals its Destiny in This Documentary
Bungie, the studio behind Halo is today revealing its next saga, Destiny, to be published by Activision. This is the first documentary describing the new sci-fi world the studio is creating. In Destiny, coming to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, players will be thrust into the role of defending Earth, setting off on adventures on…
By Owen Good Published February 17, 2013 -
Culture
The World, Or At Least What’s Left Of It, Is Yours
Nivanh Chanthara is a French concept artist who works at Beenox, a studio that’s worked on a bunch of games for Activision over the last few years. His latest project is an “unrevealed” AAA project. Before that, though, he did some work in animation, getting his start on the Iron Man: Armored Adventures series. You…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 15, 2013 -
Ungrateful Toy Fair-goers Already Hawking Exclusive Skylanders on eBay
Well, this doesn’t look tacky or anything. Skylanders has been giving out exclusive Toy Fair figurines to attendees of the show itself and a couple of preview events last week. Said attendees are not civilians, as Toy Fair is a closed, industry event. But, knowing the demand for these suckers, a bunch have been listed…
By Owen Good Published February 11, 2013 -
Activision Is “Somewhat Disappointed” With The Launch Of The Wii U
It seems that Activision, the biggest video game publisher in the world, wasn’t exactly thrilled with the Wii U’s launch. Why? Forget Call of Duty’s performance, it’s the console’s potential for Skylanders that has Bobby Kotick and co. worried. During the company’s latest earnings call, Kotick was asked about the future of the money-printing Skylanders…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 7, 2013 -
Zombies Look Really Ugly In The Trailer For The Walking Dead‘s Shooter
This is the first official trailer for The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, aka that Walking Dead shooter that has absolutely nothing to do with the Walking Dead games that everyone loves. Survival Instinct is out March 19 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. March 26 for Wii U. What do you think? Any interest?
By Jason Schreier Published February 7, 2013 -
There’s Skylanders: Swap Force Gameplay Footage Here, and It’s Lovely
Activision doesn’t have to sell me on buying Skylanders toys at this point—I literally have a bucket full of them sitting not three feet from me as I type—but the games, entertaining as they are, could use a little work. The kind of work they’ve done with the new engine for Skylanders: Swap Force This…
By Mike Fahey Published February 6, 2013
