Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- The BAFTA Games Awards Polled the Public and Shenmue is “The Most Influential Video Game of All Time”
- 2024 GOTY Scoreboard: Astro Bot, Balatro, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, More
- The Strong Museum of Play Acquires Prototypes and Development Documents from Volition’s 30-Year History
- Minecraft’s Volume Alpha Soundtrack Has Been Added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry
- BAFTA Games Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- It’s beginning to feel like gaming isn’t for everyone – Digital Trends (2025)
- 22 years later, modders are keeping SimCity 4 alive – The Verge (2025)
- The B-movies of Paul W.S. Anderson double as acts of devotion to his muse, Milla Jovovich – The AV Club (2025)
- Breakout, Ripoff, Genre: How Fiction Outgrows Originality – Uncanny Magazine (2025)
- ‘I Could Make “Fart Fart Boobie Fart: The Game” and Maybe It Would Eventually Get Taken Down’ – Devs Reveal Why the Consoles Are Drowning in ‘Eslop’ – IGN (2025)
Monthly Archives: April 2015
Video Game Release Calendar Changelog #4: The 2015 Calendar is Taking Shape
Don’t Forget! This is just a changelog of recently announced release dates. Warp Zoned’s complete Video Game Release Calendar includes every title we could find with a 2015, 2016, or unannounced release date.
The 2015 E3 Expo is slightly less than two months away, and that means gamemakers have decided that now is the time to lock down those all-important Fall release dates while pushing some games to 2016. But first, some of this Spring’s biggest titles finally have confirmed dates including Project CARS (May 6 on PC and May 12 on PS4/Xbox One), Splatoon (May 29), and the full release of Heroes of the Storm (June 2)
But, I’m sure you’re going to ask next, what about the Fall? It kicks off in appropriate fashion with the launch of Madden NFL 16 on August 25 before moving into the crossover-craziness of Lego Dimensions on September 27. Nintendo’s Mario creation kit, Mario Maker, will also debut sometime in September.
No no, you say, Fall really begins in October and November. What’s on tap for then? Glad you asked, my overly pushy imaginary friend. On October 27, Microsoft will release Halo 5: Guardians on October 27. Electronic Arts will follow that up with another major sci-fi shooter, Star Wars: Battlefront, on November 17. In between, Activision will likely release Call of Duty: Black Ops III in early November, though that date is tentative for now.
Other Fall highlights this year include Guitar Hero Live and the North American release of Fatal Frame 5 on the Wii U. Both will set down roots on a specific date soon, but both are coming out in 2015.
However, two highly-anticipated games won’t be coming out in 2015 as previously thought. Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda Wii U and Remedy’s Quantum Break have both been pushed back to the nebulous “TBA 2016.” They’ve been joined by newly-announced entries from two well-liked franchises… Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness.
The full list of games included in our fourth Video Game Release Calendar Changelog can be found after the break. (more…)
Daily Scoop: April 20, 2015 – Another awesome event finished!
Anthony Amato and I had an amazing time at Philly GamesCon this weekend! We saw so many great friends, met lots of awesome people, and played tons of games. It was a blast!
Of course, right now, it’s time for deals. There’s a brand new Mobile Bundle over at Humble, and this one’s called the Humble Tin Man Games Mobile Bundle. Pay what you want for Judge Dredd: Countdown Sector 106, Slaves of Rema, Siege of the Necromancer, and An Assassin in Orlandes. Beat the average to get Trial of the Clone, Curse of the Assassin, Fighting Fantasy: Caverns of the Snow Witch, and Sultans of Rema. Finally, pay $9 or more to unlock Ryan North’s To Be Or Not To Be and Fighting Fantasy: Starship Traveller. That’s a lot of games!
There are 119 new Weeklong Deals at Steam. This includes The Cat Lady for $2.99, The Secret World for $10.19, and Rochard for $1.49. They’ve also got a brand new Daily Deal. It’s Desktop Dungeons, and it’s just $5.09. Or, if you’re feeling it, you can get the special edition for $8.49.
Just a few shirts today. Let’s check them out! (more…)
Posted in Daily Scoop
Pre-order Halo 5: Guardians from GameStop and get a special Spartan Locke Armor Set
Microsoft has teamed up with GameStop to help introduce Spartan Locke, the Halo franchise’s newest character, to gamers everywhere. Players who pre-order Halo 5: Guardians from GameStop will receive the Spartan Locke Armor Set, which comes complete with a special suit of armor and a helmet that can be used exclusively in the game’s multiplayer mode (via Xbox Wire):
- HUNTER-Class Armor: Sophisticated and lethal, HUNTER-class armor incorporates Watershed Division’s latest warfighting technology.
- HUNTER-Class Helmet: Though still considered a prototype implementation, the HUNTER’s sensor suite enhances situational and threat awareness.
You can check out Spartan Locke and his snazzy threads in the trailer above. And if you’ve been following Microsoft’s “Hunt the Truth” blog, you might want to know that a new episode of the podcast is now available.
Halo 5: Guardians will be released for the Xbox One on October 27.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Halo 5: Guardians
Heroes of the Storm open beta begins May 19, just ahead of official launch on June 2
Blizzard has announced that Heroes of the Storm, their take on the MOBA genre, will officially launch on June 2. But first, the game’s closed beta will open up to everyone on May 19. Also, don’t call it a MOBA. Blizzard prefers to refer to their 5v5 free-to-play game as a “Team Brawler.”
When it launches, Heroes of the Storm will offer 30 playable Heroes and seven Battlegrounds, each with their own “unique challenges.” Each Hero can be customized with a variety of Skins or an optional Mount, though Blizzard plans to add many more Heroes to the game in the near future.
“With its focus on team play and fast-paced fun, Heroes of the Storm is a fresh take on a very popular genre,” said Mike Morhaime, the CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’ve built Heroes of the Storm in a way that makes it accessible to new players, but also challenging enough for veterans who really want to put their skills to the test. We can’t wait to see what Heroes brings to the co-op and competitive scenes once the Nexus opens up to everyone.”
Heroes of the Storm will launch with three gameplay modes including Cooperative (five players take on five AI opponents), Quick Match (player versus player), and Ranked Mode for individuals or teams. A Practice Mode will also be available for new players.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Heroes of the Storm
Life Is Strange: Episode 3 will be released in May
Dontnod Entertainment wants to assure everyone that they’ll be able to jump back into the story of Life Is Strange very soon. According to a new post on Twitter, players will be able to continue experiencing the adventures of Max and Chloe in Episode 3 in May:
It's great to hear so many of you are excited for Episode 3 which will be released in May! (official date TBA) pic.twitter.com/jIp7upU2u9
— Life Is Strange (@LifeIsStrange) April 17, 2015
Life Is Strange Episode 3 will be subtitled Chaos Theory and it’ll be available for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
BREAKING NEWS! Microsoft will announce “new exclusive IP” at E3 2015
Let’s face it, the four-day barrage of E3 announcements doesn’t hold much surprise anymore. The actual announcements themselves are usually pretty surprising, but the event’s formulaic nature ensures that no matter how much everyone laments the death of non-franchise titles, dozens will be announced at and around the expo this year and every year into the future. Yesterday, while replying to questioners on his Twitter feed, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer confirmed that at least one such original property for the Xbox One will make its debut at this year’s E3 Expo:
@Masih3KA We should have new exclusive IP at E3. I'm trying to make this E3 more about 1st party than past E3s.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) April 19, 2015
Spencer also played the part of “good marketer” and began beating the “this is our best year ever” drum…
@thekeenpaladin This is going to be a fun year. I think it might be our best 1st party content year ever.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) April 19, 2015
Microsoft has a tremendously varied state of games in development for this year including Halo 5: Guardians, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Forza Motorsport 6, and Fable Legends. The publisher will also release original properties from Remedy (Quantum Break) and Platinum Games (Scalebound) in 2016. And those are just some of the games we know to be in development. So Microsoft will definitely have a crowded E3 Press Conference this year even before any new announcements are made. Just like they do every year.
Weekly Warp-Up: The Video Game Rhythm Wars Begin Again
No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…
It finally happened… the Video Game Rhythm Wars begin again. After Harmonix announced Rock Band 4 in March, the whole world began waiting for Activision to announce a new Guitar Hero game (and not just because rumors told us an announcement was definitely coming). This week, that wish became reality as the publisher revealed Guitar Hero Live and its brand-new six-button guitar controller. Harmonix, meanwhile, doubled down on familiarity by announcing Rock Band 4 would be compatible with older Rock Band/Guitar Hero instruments.
But with another big marketing campaign to look forward to, I’ve realized that I am just tired of a lot it. I’ve got Hype Fatigue, so please let me explain Why I’m Exhausted With Viral Marketing, Elaborate Advertising Campaigns, and Countdowns.
That said, nothing makes me happier than learning about an upcoming game that is ridiculously fun. So if you like fun, I highly recommend reading up on Knight Squad in this Hands-On Preview.
What else happened this week in the video game industry? Read on to find out… (more…)
Posted in News
Hype Fatigue: Why I’m Exhausted With Viral Marketing, Elaborate Advertising Campaigns, and Countdowns
The machinations of video game marketers absolutely baffle me. Obviously, “video game marketing” is an incredibly broad term that encompasses hundreds of different campaigns a year, all run by different people, and all carried out with different expectations. Whipsawing between a seemingly neverending series of hype events and viral campaigns has started to make my head spin. Following hashtags and decoding secret messages has become de rigueur if you want to come up with all the latest game news. Last week, three publishers launched three very different viral campaigns that made me long for the days of the simple press release/trailer combo platter. But maybe they aren’t to blame, as video game marketing has been growing increasingly insane for years now. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, Opinions, PC, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Friday the 13th, Joe Montana Football 16, Lego Dimensions, Star Wars: Battlefront