Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books Gets a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wins “Game of the Year” at 2025-2026 GDC Awards
- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- We Pitched a Museum a 1993 Game Hint Line (And They Actually Said Yes) – Yarn Spinner (2026)
- The History Of The Word “Metroidvania” And How It Spread – A Critical Hit (2025)
- Creator of Hit Game Shovel Knight Is at a ‘Make or Break’ Moment – Bloomberg (2025)
- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
- In 2005, games started rewiring our brains – The AV Club (2025)
Author: John Scalzo
God of War will be released for PS4 on April 20… watch the Story Trailer and see the special editions now
Creative Director Cory Barlog confirmed (via the PlayStation Blog) that God of War will be released for the PS4 on April 20. The developer also unveiled a brand new Story Trailer for the game, which you can view right here:
Speaking of trailers. Yeah, I just lost interest finding an elegant way to get here from the last paragraph so I just went for it. That is just how I roll. I really am ecstatic that I can finally show you this beautiful trailer we have been cooking up in the creative kitchens of Santa Monica Studio headquarters. It will give you more insight on why Kratos and Atreus are going on their journey as well as provide a glimpse at some new bits of action.
Fans who plan to purchase God of War will have several options when the game launches on April 20. Everyone who pre-orders the game will receive in-game access to three Legendary Shield Skins. Opting for the Digital Deluxe Edition ($69.99) will add the Death’s Vow Armor Set to increase your strength, as well as a digital artbook and comic from Dark Horse Comics. All Digital Deluxe Edition pre-orders will also include a limited-run God of War physical pin.
But if you want a package fit for a god, Sony will also offers fans the chance to purchase the fully-loaded Collector’s Edition ($129.99) or the even-more-packed Stone Mason Edition ($149.99, available in US and Canada only):
Collector’s Edition
The 9″ statue was crafted by our team in collaboration with the incredible folks at Gentle Giant. The cloth map is a unique companion to your journey, and an art piece on its own. The Huldra Bros carvings pack as much detail as their personas do in game. Just a few of the highlights, not to mention the digital items as well!Stone Mason Edition
Available in the US and Canada only, this edition includes everything in the Collector’s Edition along with four very distinct, rare items directly from the game. You might recognize Atreus’ wooden Horse and Troll carvings from our E3 2016 debut. The Stone Mason Ring is a finely crafted piece of jewelry, whose story we won’t spoil. The talking Mimir Head keychain may be your personal favorite after you interact with him in game.
A closer look at the Collector’s Edition and the Stone Mason Edition can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged God of War 4
Microsoft Studios will add all new releases to Xbox Game Pass on launch day
Microsoft already established the Xbox Game Pass as a pretty great deal when it offered Xbox One owners the ability to play more than 100 games for just $10 a month. But now they’re upgrading the service from a “pretty great deal” to an “absolutely amazing deal.”
Today, the consolemaker confirmed (via Xbox Wire) that all future Microsoft-published titles will be available to download through the Xbox Game Pass on their launch date. That includes Sea of Thieves on March 20, and State of Decay 2 and Crackdown 3 late this year, as well as unannounced new entries in the Halo, Gears of War, and Forza franchises.
Moving forward, we plan to release all new Xbox One exclusive games from Microsoft Studios into Xbox Game Pass on the same date as their global release. This means that when Sea of Thieves launches on March 20, it will be included in Xbox Game Pass to all members.
This plan to bring new games timed with their global release into Xbox Game Pass not only includes announced titles like Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2, and Crackdown 3 but future unannounced games from Microsoft Studios including new iterations of our biggest Xbox One exclusive franchises such as Halo, Forza, and Gears of War, on the same day they launch.
If you haven’t signed up for Xbox Game Pass yet, Microsoft also plans to team up with GameStop to offer a Six-Month Xbox Game Pass Subscription Card for $59.99.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Crackdown 3, Forza Horizon 4, Halo Infinite, Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2
RBI Baseball 18 will be released this March
MLB Advanced Media is stepping up to the plate again this Spring with the upcoming release of RBI Baseball 18.
Francisco Lindor, the All-Star shortstop from the Cleveland Indians, has been drafted as the cover athlete for the retro-styled baseball sim. And the development team will add a Franchise Mode, Home Run Derby Mode, and more than 100 MLB Legends to the series for the first time:
RBI Baseball 18 Features
- Franchise Mode: Take control of your favorite MLB team! Make trades, pick up free agents or call up rookies through multiple seasons.
- Brand New Home Run Derby Mode: Challenge a friend or the CPU in the ultimate slugfest!
- Better Ballparks: Experience enhanced lighting, textures, revamped 3D crowd system, and new dynamic camera angles in all 30 MLB ballparks.
- Authentic MLB Players: Completely redesigned player models including over 300 digitally modeled likenesses and hundreds of new animations.
- MLB Legends: Play as the greats with over 100 historic players.
- Roster Updates: Get the latest rosters throughout the 2018 season and use the new Import Rosters feature to keep your in-progress Franchise current without starting over!
RBI Baseball 18 will be available this March for the PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and mobile devices. The game’s first trailer has been embedded above.
SteamWorld Dig will resurface on the Switch in February 2018
Image & Form really loves the Nintendo Switch.
The Swedish developer brought SteamWorld Dig 2 to the platform in September, and followed that up with the Switch launch of SteamWorld Heist just a few weeks ago. Today, Image & Form announced that the original SteamWorld Dig will be released for the Switch in February (February 1st, to be exact):
Yes it's TRUE! Rusty has dug his way up and will resurface on #NintendoSwitch. Our claim to fame, our wonderful pride and joy #SteamWorldDig is coming February 1! $9.99 / €9.99 ??❤️ Save up, save the date and RT! pic.twitter.com/noKOzaoJlF
— Image & Form Games (@ImageForm) January 22, 2018
On top of all this, the hardworking developer has also confirmed plans to release another never-before-seen game for the Switch sometime later this year.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged SteamWorld Dig
New Retail Releases: Dragon Ball Fighter Z, Monster Hunter World, The Inpatient
A trio of new games will be available on store shelves this week, and all three should provide plenty thrills for players.
Bandai Namco and Arc System Works will team up to release Dragon Ball Fighter Z for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on Friday, January 26. The 2D fighter will include dozens of characters, as well as a graphical style that attempts to recreate the signature look of the popular anime franchise.
Also set to launch on store shelves this Friday is Capcom’s Monster Hunter: World. The latest game in the monster-hunting franchise will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One, and it’ll include a massive new continent and drop-in multiplayer.
Finally this week, Sony and Supermassive Games will release The Inpatient for the PS4 on Tuesday, January 23. The PlayStation VR-powered horror title takes place more than 60 years before Supermassive’s Until Dawn and it promises to immerse players in the conspiracy-laden hallways of Blackwood Sanatorium.
That’s it for this week’s New Retail Releases, but we’ll be back later this week with a look at all the new additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Dragon Ball FighterZ, Monster Hunter: World, The Inpatient
GameStop is creating a line of Amiibo-like figures without the NFC features
It looks like GameStop is getting into the collectible figure game with the Totaku Collection.
Similar in size and shape to Nintendo’s Amiibo collection (but without any of their game-enhancing NFC features), the Totaku Collection’s first wave will be available exclusively through GameStop on March 23. According to the retailer’s website, each Totaku figure has been priced at $9.99 and seven different figures will be available as part of the first wave:
- The Hunter from Bloodborne
- Crash Bandicoot from Crash Bandicoot
- Kratos from God of War
- Sackboy from LittleBigPlanet
- Parappa the Rapper from Parappa the Rapper
- Heihachi Mishima from Tekken 7
- Feisar FX350 from Wipeout
It’s unknown how often new figures will be added to the Totaku Collection, but GameStop wants to create “a unique series of highly detailed figurines from video game franchises past and present,” so if they’re a success, the line could grow very large in the future.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, Beholder: Complete Edition, more added to Xbox Store
Microsoft is closing out the week with yet another Xbox Games Store update. Today, Xbox One owners will get the chance to purchase and download five new Xbox One games including The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and Beholder: Complete Edition.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a first-person mystery game where players will search for a missing boy and possibly stumble across a murder with ties to the occult.
Beholder: Complete Edition also plays into this sense of paranoia as players take control of a landlord who’s been tasked with spying on his tenants. Peep into their lives and eavesdrop on their conversations to keep the ominous-sounding totalitarian “State” happy.
You can learn more about all of today’s additions to the Xbox Games Store after the break. (more…)
Call of Duty: WWII was the best-selling game for all of 2017
Call of Duty: WWII earned a spot at the top of The NPD Group’s list of best-selling games for both November and December, and now the tracking firm has confirmed that Activision’s shooter was also the best-selling game for all of 2017.
It looks like Activision had a pretty good year, especially with Destiny 2 checking in at the #3 spot, but Nintendo was the publisher with the biggest presence on the NPD’s Top 10. The consolemaker can claim three games in the Top 10 including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#5), Super Mario Odyssey (#9), and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (#10).
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, The NPD Group also confirmed an uptick for the industry as a whole. Gamers spent $14.59 billion on their favorite hobby in 2017, an increase of 11% over 2016.
Sony’s PS4 was the best-selling console of the year, but the Switch and Xbox One have also benefited from brisk sales:
“Combined sales of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One continue on a record-setting pace,” [NPD Gaming Analyst Mat] Piscatella said. “Over the first 50 months in market for each console, the combined hardware installed base of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One now exceeds that of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 by 18 percent, and that of the PlayStation 2 and Xbox by 4 percent.”
The NPD’s Top 10 best-selling games for 2017 can be found after the break. (more…)