Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Has Another Big Night and Wins “Game of the Year” at the 2025-2026 DICE Awards
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- The Game Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Racks Up Nine Wins, Including “Game of the Year”, at the 2025 Game Awards
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
Mortal Kombat 11’s Kombat Pack includes Shang Tsung, Nightwolf, Sindel, Spawn, and two more special guests
Since the launch of Mortal Kombat in 2009, NetherRealm Studios has been packing their fighting games with a bevy of post-launch content, and that will not change now that Mortal Kombat 11 is available on store shelves. The developer unveiled the contents of the Kombat Pack today, giving fans a closer look at Shang Tsung, and confirming that Nightwolf, Sindel, Todd McFarlane’s Spawn, and two more guest characters will be added to the game later this year.
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa memorably portrayed Shang Tsung in 1995’s Mortal Kombat movie (and the Mortal Kombat: Legacy webseries), and NetherRealm has given him the chance to reprise the role in Mortal Kombat 11. Hearing Tagawa bellow “Your soul is mine!” at the end of the expansion’s trailer was thrilling.
But before that, we got to see the sorcerer put on quite the show, morphing into multiple ninja characters (Rain, Ermac, Noob Saibot, Reptile, Sub-Zero, and Scorpion) and flinging fireballs with abandon. It appears that Shang Tsung is also able to use his magic to temporarily turn a fight into a mirror match. Oh, and stick around for his Fatality, it’s a good one.
Shang Tsung will be available to download on June 18, and he’ll be followed by Nightwolf, Sindel, and Spawn. The two remaining guest characters are currently a mystery, though SOMEBODY is revving a chainsaw at the end of this trailer and I’d like to believe it’s Bruce Campbell as Ash.
Beamdog will bring Interplay’s classic D&D RPGs to consoles this Fall
A few months ago, publisher Skybound Games and developer Beamdog announced plans to bring Interplay’s classic range of RPGs based on Dungeons & Dragons to consoles for the first time. Today, we learned a bit more about how they plan to release those games this Fall.
The two companies will kick things off on September 24, with the launch of Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition and Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition. Both RPGs will be available to download individually for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. They’ll also be packaged together as a retail compilation (The Baldur’s Gate Pack) on all three platforms. The Tales of the Sword Coast and Siege of Dragonspear expansions will be included with the first game, as will the Throne of Bhaal expansion with the sequel.
Planescape: Torment – Enhanced Edition and Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition will also be available to download for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One that same day. Though they’re not part of the same franchise, both games will be collected together in a retail release, and Icewind Dale will come packaged with both of its expansions (Heart of Winter and Trials of the Luremaster) whether you buy the disc or a digital download.
Finally, a Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition will make its PS4, Switch, and Xbox One debut on December 3. Containing the original game and all ten of its expansions, players will be able to explore the city of Neverwinter in co-op and online multiplayer.
The developer has added a number of new features to each Enhanced Edition, including “support for high-resolution widescreen displays, optimized controls for console controllers, new standalone content, new characters and classes, new voice sets, expanded character creation options, improved multiplayer functionality, redesigns of the UI and UX, bug fixes, balance changes, and more.”
A trailer offering up some new gameplay footage of each Enhanced Edition has been embedded above.
Posted in News, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment
Nintendo adds VR Kit support to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Nintendo has announced that limited support for the VR Goggles from the Nintendo Labo: VR Kit has been added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as part of the game’s most recent update.
Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Version 3.1.0 Update is now available to download, and it adds an optional VR Mode to the “Games and More” menu. VR Mode is compatible with offline single-player battles and players can use it to explore dozens of stages with a deeper third-person view. You can even look straight down and see exactly what’s holding up some of those platforms (answer… not much).
You can get a look at Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s new VR Mode in action in the trailer embedded above.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
THQ Nordic will unveil Darksiders 4 at E3 2019
The Electronic Software Association has posted the descriptions for this year’s series of E3 Coliseum panel talks at the E3 Expo. Naturally, much of the descriptions are hidden behind “To Be Announced” text, but a few surprises did manage to squeak through.
Darksiders fans will want to tune in on June 13 when Geoff Keighley, E3 Coliseum’s Producer, sits down with the game’s developers and helps them unveil the next game in the franchise. The currently-untitled Darksiders 4 will presumably turn its focus on the only member of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse yet to receive his own game, Strife:
Darksiders: Action Adventure Evolved
A discussion about the inception of the Darksiders universe and where it’s headed next. This panel will coincide with the E3 2019 unveil of a brand new Darksiders game that takes the franchise in a fresh direction. This is a panel discussion about the art and business of creating and maintaining an action adventure franchise rich in-game and corporate lore.
The most recent game in the series, Darksiders III, launched last November, and it was developed by Vigil Games and published by THQ Nordic.
Activision confirms Call of Duty 2019 will launch on October 25 and that it’ll be known as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
With Infinity Ward at the helm, it was widely expected that Call of Duty 2019 would eventually be revealed as a new entry in the Modern Warfare series. Well, today is that day… but with a twist.
Activision has officially announced that the next Call of Duty game is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and it’ll be available on October 25. This new Modern Warfare is a reboot for the sub-series, but things might get confusing as it mostly shares a title with 2016’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered (which was itself a redo of 2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare).
OK, it’s probably not that confusing. And rebooted games do have a history of recycling the original title (say hello to Tomb Raider, Doom, God of War, and many others). But Activision and Infinity Ward want to redefine what Modern Warfare means to fans with an immersive new Campaign that, according to the Activision Games Blog, “shines a light on the changing nature of modern war”:
The new Modern Warfare delivers an emotionally charged and intense campaign that shines a light on the changing nature of modern war. Expect a single-player experience that is edgy, culturally relevant, and thought-provoking.
Players will fight alongside a diverse cast of international special forces and freedom fighters working within the grey area of their rules of engagement, in a number of heart-pounding covert operations set throughout iconic European cities and into the volatile expanses of the Middle East.
Missions include close-quarter, stealth operations and long-range combat that puts tactical decision-making to the ultimate test.
Fans of the franchise will also be pleased to hear that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will feature a brand new engine (which supports “the latest advancements in visual engineering”) and offer full cross-play between platforms in online multiplayer and co-op modes. Activision and Infinity Ward are also eliminating the traditional Season Pass to focus on “free maps and content” and “post-launch events” for all players.
“Every design decision has been made with our players in mind,” said Patrick Kelly, the Creative Director of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. “With the launch of Modern Warfare, we’re taking steps to unite the community. First, we plan for Modern Warfare to be played together across PC and console through cross-play support. Second, we’re eliminating the traditional season pass, so that we can deliver more free maps and content as well as post-launch events to all players. This is just the beginning… there’s much more to come.”
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is currently in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The seriously-minded first trailer has been embedded above.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Ghostbusters Remastered is coming to PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One this year
Dan Aykroyd spent decades trying to produce a third movie in the Ghostbusters franchise, but that dream ended in 2014 with the tragic death of Harold Ramis, Aykroyd’s writing partner on Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II. The comedian also anchored the original foursome on-screen with his brilliantly deadpan portrayal of Dr. Egon Spengler.
Aside from the cartoon series (which actually treated the films as fictional recreations of the “Real” story) and the 2016 reboot, Aykroyd came closest with 2009’s Ghostbusters: The Video Game, a collaboration with Atari that allowed him to bring back most of the characters from the film franchise for a new story set two years after Ghostbusters II. He even rounded up Ramis, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, William Atherton, and Annie Potts to provide their voices for the game.
Fast forward to today, and Saber Interactive has announced they will re-release Ghostbusters: The Video Game in celebration of the film franchise’s 35th anniversary as Ghostbusters Remastered for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One:
As the new rookie on the Ghostbusters crew, you’ll team up with your favorite characters from the films, reunited by the voices of Aykroyd, Ramis, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson as Stantz, Spengler, Venkman, and Zeddemore, alongside Annie Potts, Brian Doyle-Murray, William Atherton and Max Von Sydow. Manhattan is overrun once more by ghosts, demons and other paranormal creatures unleashed by a mysterious force, and only the Ghostbusters can drive this evil back to whatever dimension it crawled from and save the Big Apple.
Hunt, fight and trap a variety of new and familiar ghouls and phantasms, all remastered in HD resolution. Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered equips you with cool gadgets and upgradeable weapons to play with in huge boss fights and destructible environments. Scan and analyze targets with the P.K.E. Meter and Paragoggles, then strap on your Proton Pack to wear ghosts down with the blast stream before wrangling them with the capture stream.
Ghostbusters Remastered will be released sometime this year, and the first trailer has been embedded above.
Square Enix’s Avengers Project will make its public debut at E3 2019
It’s been more than two years since Marvel and Square Enix first announced their ambitious Avengers Project. Unlike the rapidly expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe (eight films have opened since the announcement, including the saga’s temporary finale, Avengers: Endgame), we haven’t learned much of anything about the game as neither the comics giant nor its developers (which include Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal) have felt the need to publicly discuss it in all that time.
Today, Marvel finally broke the silence and confirmed (via Twitter) that The Avengers Project will make its public debut ahead of this year’s E3 Expo. Representatives from Square Enix will reveal the game for the first time during their Square Enix Live presentation on June 10th.
Interestingly, the tweet also referred to the game’s title as Marvel’s Avengers:
Tune into Square Enix Live E3 2019 for the worldwide reveal of "Marvel’s Avengers"! ?️ The event begins June 10th at 6pm PT: https://t.co/SCYMbJYt8j #SquareEnixE3 #Reassemble #PlayAvengers pic.twitter.com/2fWM6ekUue
— The Avengers (@Avengers) May 29, 2019
The Avengers Project (or Marvel’s Avengers, if you prefer) is believed to be in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The game doesn’t currently have a launch date, but Square Enix has said they plan to release multiple games before the end of the year.
The Pokemon Company is working on Detective Pikachu 2 for the Switch
Detective Pikachu was a surprise hit on the 3DS in 2018, and this year’s film adaptation lead to more than one critic referring to it as “The Best Video Game Movie Ever.” That’s a strange stance to take in a world where the Mortal Kombat movie exists, but the franchise’s tough-talking version of Pikachu has certainly struck a chord with fans.
Naturally, The Pokemon Company wants to cash in on the phenomenon and they’ve announced that Detective Pikachu 2 is currently in development for the Switch:
The release of the Pokemon: Detective Pikachu movie has left fans wanting more of the famous Pokemon sleuth. The Pokemon Company announced today that Creatures Inc. has plans to create a new entry in the Detective Pikachu video game series, this time for Nintendo Switch. The original Detective Pikachu game for the Nintendo 3DS ended on a cliffhanger and this upcoming game will be a conclusion to that story.
With The Pokemon Company also hard at work on this Fall’s Pokemon Sword and Shield, they weren’t ready to announce a release date for Detective Pikachu 2 just yet. Hopefully we’ll learn more about the deerstalker-wearing crimefighter’s next adventure soon.