Overwatch

With Overwatch’s newest map “Blizzard World” comes some shiny new skins. Cecilia and I take a look at them and take the new map out for a spin. The new map is live now for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Check it out in the video above.

Spawn Camped Overwatch Player Sneaks Away, Wins Match

Overwatch’s quick play mode can be the pits, especially when your team is hopelessly outmatched. Sometimes the other team rolls you so hard that you end up stuck in spawn, barely even able to play the game, let alone win. Faced with such a situation, one player took matters into their own hands. After a…

Despite Its Glamour, Overwatch‘s Latest Map Feels Familiar

Today, Blizzard dropped Overwatch’s latest map, a literal carnival of Blizzard references. “Blizzard World” is a theme park about Hearthstone, Starcraft, Heroes of the Storm and Warcraft. Playing it feels a lot like being invited to loud, garish party that you leave feeling just okay. Putting aside cute easter eggs, like a spawn point designed…

The Internet Reacts To D.va’s New Skin

Blizzard is dropping a ton of new skins and a new map for Overwatch today, but D.va’s new cat-themed skin has already captured the internet’s heart. D.va already has a lot of great skins, but hey, I’m not complaining. I mean, her mech has a tail on it now! That’s worth the price of admission.…

Widowmaker Player Is Ice Cold

Today on Highlight Reel we have snipers without mercy, D&D cheaters, World War 1 tactics and much more! Watch the video then talk about your favorite highlight in the comments below. Be sure to check out, like, and share the original videos via the links below. Subscribe to Kotaku on YouTube for more! Catch up…

South Korean Overwatch Team Lunatic-Hai Disbands

Lunatic-Hai announced yesterday that it would be disbanding and leaving the Overwatch competitive scene. In a statement (h/t InvenGlobal) the team says it was “difficult to face the radical changes within and outside Overwatch.” “We couldn’t be certain of consistent investment for the organization and the business,” wrote director Tae-Su Kim. “And we couldn’t bring…

Overwatch Pro Suspended For Saying Gay Rival Would Enjoy Sucking A ‘Fat Cock’ [UPDATE]

Dallas Fuel player Félix “xQc” Lengyel has found himself in hot water once again, this time for directing an insensitive insult at a player for the Houston Outlaws, shortly after the Outlaws swept Fuel 4-0 yesterday afternoon. Lengyel has been suspended and fined. During a stream yesterday evening, Lengyel took issue with Outlaws tank Austin…

Overwatch Pro Loves Mercy Despite His Teammates Who Can’t Stand Her

There is at least one Overwatch pro who enjoys the character Mercy, even with her many controversial makeovers. Mikias “Snow” Yohannes, support player for Boston Uprising, stands by the controversial healer. “I think I would be the only support player that will tell you I actually enjoy playing Mercy,” he told Compete. What’s more, all…

Nearly Half Of All Overwatch League Matches So Far Have Been 4-0 Sweeps

Of last night’s three Overwatch League matches, two were complete blowouts that left no doubt as to which team was leaps, bounds, and jetpack boosts ahead of the other. The evening’s first match was a showdown between my dear orange-clad boys in SF Shock and the also-orange (but a worse orange) Philadelphia Fusion. The match…

Overwatch League’s Dallas Fuel Lets Players Be Themselves, Even When That Causes Trouble

Last month, Overwatch pro Félix “xQc” Lengyel found himself apologizing profusely into a video camera from atop an accidental throne of cardboard boxes. It was not his finest hour, but in some ways, it’s just part of the job. Dallas Fuel is the closest thing to a star-studded lineup you’ll find in Blizzard’s fresh-from-the-incubation-tube Overwatch…

Teenage Overwatch League Player’s Dad Pulled Him Out Of School So He Could Go Pro

Overwatch pro Lucas “Mendokusaii” Hakansson wasn’t expecting to drop out of school. The plan, originally, was for him to take a year off—not all that uncommon in his homeland of Sweden—to see if he could get good enough to go pro. One day, though, Hakansson’s dad Henrik met with the school’s administrators. “He didn’t ask…

This Car Ain’t Right

Today on Highlight Reel we have weird cars, strange video game posture, unique Zelda flying techniques, and much more! Watch the video then talk about your favorite highlight in the comments below. Be sure to check out, like, and share the original videos via the links below. Subscribe to Kotaku on YouTube for more! Catch…

Overwatch Players Are Imitating Their Favorite League Stars

Everybody I know who plays Overwatch’s pistol-slinging cowboy McCree is coveting the digital skin worn by Do-hyeon “Pine” Kim, the world class McCree pro who stole everybody’s heart last week in his debut Overwatch League match. It’s a dreary blue skin repping New York’s Excelsior team but wearing it is aspirational. If I dress like…

Overwatch Player Uses Doomfist To Obliterate Pharah And Mercy From Orbit

Doomfist may not be able to fly, but he sure can fall with style. Even in the techno-magical cartoon world of Overwatch, what goes up must come down. Player wahw_ow, however, decided that the laws of gravity needed assistance in grounding a pesky Pharah/Mercy combo, and, in the heat of a gridlocked team fight on…

My Hunt For The Mysterious Man Or Machine Controlling The Blizzard Arena’s Light-Up Halo

The Blizzard Arena stage has a massive light-up halo on the ceiling that serves as a progress bar for Overwatch objectives. As a team captures a point, the halo fills up with that team’s colors. It’s an impressive illustration of who’s winning. And it’s all manual. Or so I’ve been told. The other elements on…

My First Night As A Philadelphia Fusion Fan

I’m too old for this. “This” is the official viewing party of the first match of the Philadelphia Fusion, the Overwatch League team owned by Comcast. I’m 34, and I’m at a college bar in West Philadelphia on a Thursday night. It’s crowded. I’m surrounded by cosplayers, cheerleaders, college kids and actual kids. I did…

An Overwatch (Cosplay) Love Story

For their one-year wedding anniversary last year, Kalindi and her husband decided to indulge in a little Overwatch cosplay. Kalindi made both outfits: a standard Mercy for herself, and Soldier 76’s Daredevil skin for her husband. You can see more of Kalindi’s cosplay at her Facebook page

Last Night’s Dallas-Seoul Game Showed How Fun Overwatch League Can Be

The Overwatch League’s first night of competition kicked off with hundreds of thousands tuning in on Twitch to watch a slightly tuned up broadcast, OWL’s experienced commentating crew, and two boring, lopsided opening games. Both the Los Angeles Valiant and the Los Angeles Gladiators steamrolled their opponents (San Francisco and Shanghai, respectively) without much resistance…

A couple audience members at the Overwatch League season one debut just got their Pepe sign taken away. They’d been using Pepe, a meme commonly associated with alt-right movements, to cheer on Dallas Fuel. Oddly, the video feed in the arena briefly zoomed in on it at one point. Eventually, the two audience members were…

The Blizzard Arena has a slick setup for in-person Overwatch League spectators, featuring screens with the faces of all six players throughout every match, underneath larger screens of their hero lineup. You can’t get that on the Twitch stream, nor can you hear the crowd scream “USA! USA!” whenever Seoul Dynasty makes a mistake.