Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Jordan Minor’s “Boss Fight Books: Super Mario Galaxy” is Now Available for Pre-Order
- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- BAFTA Games Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- With Grand Theft Auto 6 poised to take over the world, I reached out to Jack Thompson and it did not go well – PC Gamer (2026)
- Vib-Ribbon: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It – Aftermath (2026)
Author: John Scalzo
The Behemoth’s Pit People will get a Closed Beta this Summer
We still don’t when The Behemoth’s Pit People will be released, but the Xbox Wire has revealed that the turn-based strategy game will receive a Closed Beta sometime this Summer.
Microsoft held a special press event in San Francisco last week, where The Behemoth talked a bit more about the game’s many characters, including “a particularly memorable foe that fired a pair of Uzis while mounted atop a giraffe that floated onto the battlefield via a bouquet of helium balloons.” That’s a bit insane, but thankfully, players will be able to recruit more than 100 characters to do battle with these foes. Production Coordinator Ian Moreno added: “You can get robots… we have stuff like trolls, zombies and vampires. There’s also this weird spider lady that you can actually ride, and she will shoot webs and create walls.”
Somebody tell George Miller that the bar has been raised for the next Mad Max movie, and don’t forget that Pit People is in development for the PC and Xbox One.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Pit People
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is now available to download on Windows 10 PCs
Like the Locust Horde bursting out of the ground on Emergence Day, Microsoft surprise-launched Gears of War: Ultimate Edition for Windows 10 PCs today. Microsoft is touting the Gears Ultimate Edition as more than just a simple remake, and according to a new post on the Xbox Wire, the team responsible for the remake at The Coalition rebuilt everything from the ground up:
Cam McRae, Technical Director at The Coalition – the studio who’s spearheading Gears of War: Ultimate Edition’s transition to PC which is available today – is insistent that his team didn’t mess with the fundamentals that defined the classic shooter’s identity. By this, he means the countless little things that make Gears feel like Gears: the way the characters move, the timing of their weapons, and the tactile feel that you get when they collide with objects in the game’s world. “One of our goals with the PC version was ‘don’t touch the art.’ But beyond that,” McRae said, “we changed everything.”
While Gears of War: Ultimate Edition will feel very similar to the 2006 original, Windows 10 players will get the best-looking version of the game to date. Almost every object in the game has been “uprezzed” with 10-30% more polygons and it’ll be playable at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second in single-player (and very close to that in multiplayer).
To get players ready for the Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, a new video focusing on the first ten minutes of the game has been embedded above.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Gears of War
Superhot’s Launch Trailer is here and it’s super hot
The Superhot Team released their time-bending first person shooter, Superhot, for the PC last week. To celebrate the launch, the Polish has unveiled a brand new Launch Trailer for the game, which showcases a bit more of its “Time Only Moves When You Do” mechanic and its minimalist graphical style.
Superhot is now available for the PC (through Steam) and will be available for the Xbox One in March.
Watch two developers from Media Molecule create three cities in Dreams for almost an hour
Media Molecule is well known among PlayStation fans for their whimsical approach to game development. But their next game, Dreams, is still a bit of a mystery. And even though I just watched an hour-long demonstration of the title, I’d say that statement still stands.
However, if you’re still intrigued by developer’s latest PS4 project, sit down with Coder Anton Mikhailov and Artist Kareem Ettouney as they build three cities using the game’s creation tools. And be sure to catch up on all of Media Molecule’s previously released Developer Diaries at their YouTube page.
A beta for Dreams will be available sometime this year, though the final release date is still unknown.
The Combat Update (1.9) is now available for Minecraft on the PC
Mojang has announced that the long-awaited “Combat Update” (Version 1.9) for the PC version of Minecraft is now available to download.
As you might have guessed, the “Combat Update” makes a number of changes to Minecraft’s combat mechanics, including a cool-down mechanic for weapons. Players will also now be able to craft shields and hold two items at once (like a sword and a shield, for example). These new tricks will certainly come in handy, as Mojang has expanded The End and given Ender Dragons the ability to be resummoned.
A complete list of changes added to the “Combat Update” can be found at Mojang’s official website.
Nintendo adds a dozen titles to budget-priced Nintendo Selects line including Super Mario 3D World, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
Nintendo only rarely adds new titles to their budget-priced Nintendo Selects line, so it’s always big news when they do. Today, the consolemaker confirmed that eight games on the Wii U and 3DS will receive price drops in the near future, including fan favorites like Super Mario 3D World and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.
Wii U Games
- Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
- NES Remix Pack
- Pikmin 3
- Super Mario 3D World
3DS Games
- Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
- Mario Party: Island Tour
- Yoshi’s New Island
Nintendo also announced plans to reissue Super Mario All-Stars (a compilation includes Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World) for the Wii, as well as dropping the price on an additional trio of Wii classics:
Wii Games
- Animal Crossing: City Folk
- Donkey Kong Country Returns
- Super Mario All-Stars
- Super Mario Galaxy 2
All of these new additions to the Nintendo Selects line will be available from retail locations beginning March 11 for $19.99.
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii, Wii U
Tagged Animal Crossing: City Folk, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Mario Party: Island Tour, NES Remix, NES Remix 2, Pikmin 3, Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario All-Stars, Super Mario Galaxy 2, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Yoshi's New Island
Cyanide unveils first screenshots from their Call of Cthulhu adaptation
Cyanide Studios has announced they’ll tap into H.P. Lovecraft’s tales of the Old Ones for their next game, a Call of Cthulhu adaptation they plan to release for consoles and the PC in 2017. We know that Call of Cthulhu will be an “RPG-Investigation game with psychological horror and stealth mechanics,” but the rest of the game is still shrouded in mystery… much like the beings at the center of Lovecraft’s writing. However, Cyanide did share a bit more before disappearing back into the shadows:
Developed by seasoned studio Cyanide, Call of Cthulhu is an RPG-Investigation game with psychological horror and stealth mechanics, set in a deeply immersive world. On a mission to find the truth behind the death of an acclaimed artist and her family on a backwater island, the player will soon uncover a more disturbing truth as the Great Dreamer, Cthulhu, prepares its awakening…
Call of Cthulhu will be published by Focus Home Interactive and you can glimpse the first screenshots after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Cthulhu
Remedy registers trademark and URL for Alan Wake’s Return
Now that Remedy Entertainment has completed development on Quantum Break (which will be available for the PC and Xbox One on April 5), the team might be getting ready to return to the adventures of an old friend.
Alan Wake was released for the Xbox 360 by Remedy in 2010, and now a trademark application for “Alan Wake’s Return” has popped up on the website for the European-based Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs). Remedy also recently went to the trouble of securing the AlanWakesReturn.com domain.
Remedy’s Sam Lake has often discussed his desire to bring back the Alan Wake series. Last year, he even admitted that an “aborted prototype” for the game could be found in his office.
Obviously, the developer’s true intentions are still a bit of a mystery, but a free copy of Alan Wake will be included with every pre-order for Quantum Break. And that is certainly a great way to get a more-or-less dormant franchise back in the spotlight.
Posted in News
Tagged Alan Wake 2