PlayerUnknown reveals money troubles. An unlikely collaboration forms in Japan. And the Sony State of Play hangover remains. It’s the Kotaku Checkpoint roundup for June 3, 2026, where I am still recovering from my time jumping back into Marathon, which felt exactly as disorienting as this. Maybe tonight I’ll lick my wounds and go build a Gundam in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom instead.
God of War Laufey gets snagged in the reactionary blowback
The next game set in the God of War universe does not star Kratos. Instead, Faye, his dead wife, is taking over the reins in the afterlife. It’s become the latest first-party PlayStation exclusive to live rent-free in the minds of some of the most annoying and exhausting people you’ll ever encounter online. The fact that anti-woke reactionaries are directing their ire at another high-profile game that happens to star a woman makes the backlash, where it exists, seem like the latest offshoot of the never-ending culture war.
It’s hard to divorce the negativity from the overwhelming incentives for engagement that are baked into social media’s algorithms. While the YouTube dislikes on the Laufey trailer, far and away the most popular reveal of the show, are astoundingly high, the comments section is full of people having fun, making jokes, and sharing their general enthusiasm for the new project from Santa Monica Studio. It’s hard to know what effect, if any, the frothing on X and YouTube will have on the game; Ghost of Yotei and, more recently, Marathon were similarly targeted but didn’t appear to have their courses altered as a result.
But some brands can’t help themselves from trying to draft off the latest anti-woke outrage du jour. “God of War game with no Kratos = Pepperoni Passion with no pepperoni,” wrote the Domino’s Pizza UK account on X. “ok thanks for the feedback, dominos pizza corporate account,” Sony Santa Monica wrote back in response.
Control dissonance
Remedy Entertainment’s next action game appeared at yesterday’s State of Play with a release date, but it wasn’t the one that appeared on the YouTube trailer’s description. While the game is officially releasing on September 24, Polygon notes that the YouTube video makes a reference to August 27. That discrepancy hints at a potential last-minute delay. The game is also getting a 48-hour early access period for premium buyers, but only on PlayStation 5. The good news is that the game is only $60, rather than the standard $70 premium price.
“The most important thing is to launch a great polished game,” communications director Thoma Puha wrote on X last night. “Instead of launching too early, I’m sure we all agree on that. We also took great consideration with the pricing of the game.” But as players complained about the lack of early access for PC and Xbox users, he issued a follow-up comment today. “We are working on addressing a few communication issues on a few topics, which always happen when its a global announce and suffice to say, that’s complicated to say the least,” he wrote.
Marvel’s Wolverine won’t get a collector’s edition
The Spider-Man 2 collector’s edition was the origin of the infamous 19 inches of Venom meme, but Insomniac Games’ latest release will stop at the Deluxe Edition. Some fans are disappointed. “The Spider-Man 2 Venom statue was so sick,” wrote one (via IGN). “A Wolverine in that vein would have been neat. Also no special DualSense announcement yet either? Dropping the ball here for sure.” Maybe the other collector’s editions, like last year’s $250 set for Ghost of Yotei, simply didn’t sell that well. That one is currently marked down to just $150.
PlayerUnknown Productions is facing layoffs
The original creator of PUBG, which currently works as an independent subsidiary under publisher Krafton, is being forced to scale back after recent survival games struggled to capture players’ attention. “Unfortunately I have reached the limits of how far I can continue to fund this journey in its current form. As a result, I have made the hard decision to restructure the studio,” founder Brendan Greene wrote in a statement. “We will continue developing our Melba technology with a smaller team, while halting further development of Go Wayback. Our immediate priority is to support our affected employees to the best of our abilities during this difficult transition.”
The creator of El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron joins forces with Vampire Survivors developer Poncle
Seriously, it’s happening. Crim CEO Sawaki Takeyasu wil head up a new team in Japan as part of Vampire Survivors creator Luca Galante’s company, Famitsu reports (via Gematsu). The two are reportedly big fans of each other’s work. Poncle was actually named after the Poncoles in Okami, a game Takeyasu worked on. “In his new role as head of Poncle’s Japan studio, Takeyasu will support the company’s broader goals while establishing a foundation in Japan,” Gematsu writes. “A long-term team size has yet to be determined, but Poncle intends to continue operating with relatively small development teams.”
For anyone interested, El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron was one of the coolest cult hits of the late PS3 era.
ICYMI:
- God of War, Wolverine, and everything we saw at Sony’s big June PlayStation showcaseÂ
- One of the most hated video game publishers around wants your trust
- New PokĂ©mon Lego sets were revealed and they won’t come cheap
