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
Grand Kingdom will be released on June 21 in Limited and Launch Editions
NIS America has announced their upcoming tactical RPG, Grand Kingdom, will be released for the PS4 and Vita on June 21.
The “Launch Edition” of Grand Kingdom, available on both the PS4 and Vita, will include a 32-page softcover art book, a soundtrack CD, and a collectible box. But the PS4-exclusive “Limited Edition” looks to be much more elaborate:
Grand Kingdom Limited Edition Contents
- Grand Kingdom Game Disc
- 128-page Faux Leather Hardcover Art Book
- Soundtrack CD
- Parade Character Poster
- Decal Sticker Sheet
- Limited Edition Collector’s Box
Grand Kingdom will be co-developed by Spike Chunsoft and newcomer Monochrome. The tactical RPG will be the first game from the Japanese development studio, which was founded by former Vanillaware designer Tomohiko Deguchi (Muramasa: The Demon Blade).
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Grand Kingdom
Xbox Store Today: Cobalt, Fortified
Mojang, the developer behind the ridiculously popular Minecraft, is getting into the publishing game today with Cobalt. Now available to download through the Xbox Games Store for the Xbox One and Xbox 360, Cobalt is a platformer that requires precision shooting and jumping to advance through the game’s slow-motion world.
Also available this week is Fortified, a third-person shooter blended with real-time strategy and tower defense mechanics. Players will take control of four pulp-inspired heroes to battle aliens and robots in aftermath of a 1950s Martian invasion.
More information on both of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Kholat will hike its way onto the PS4 on March 8
IMGN.PRO has announced that their scary survival horror game, Kholat, will be released for the PS4 on March 8. Originally released for the PC last year, Kholat takes place in Russia, and explores the aftermath of the infamous “Dyatlov Pass Incident.”
Kholat is based on the true story of a group of college students who went hiking on Kholat Syakhl (Russian for “Dead Mountain”) in 1959 and disappeared. Several weeks later, their horribly mangled and dismembered bodies were discovered by a search party, but the cause of death remains unknown to this day. The game picks up more than 50 years later as players take control of another hiker attempting to find out exactly what happened to his comrades.
IMGN.PRO is currently offering a 57% discount for Kholat on Steam to mark this week’s 57th anniversary of the Dyatlov Pass Incident.
The Witness sells over 100,000 copies; Xbox One version is “under serious consideration”
The Witness was released for the PC and PS4 last week to near universal acclaim, and today developer Jonathan Blow is ready to share some sales figures.
According to a new post on the official website for The Witness (which is titled “Fun Sales Fakts,” by the way), Blow has revealed that the game sold over 100,000 copies in its first week of availability. He also said The Witness has accumulated more than $5 million in gross revenue, which means the total number of copies sold (at $40 per copy) is probably closer to 125,000. Blow added that these numbers absolutely blow away the sales figures for Braid‘s entire first year:
This is a good chunk more revenue in one week than Braid made in its entire first year, from August 2008-September 2009. (Braid initially launched on XBLA in August 2008, and it came to Steam in April 2009). Braid was considered a hit independent game at the time.
However, the “Fun Sales Fakts” news post wasn’t all business for Blow. The developer used the final paragraph to hint at a bright future for The Witness, writing, “After this, in the near future, we will start investigating the bringing the game to other platforms. Under serious consideration are: iOS, Android, Xbox One, OS X.”
This is great news, but it’s not entirely unexpected. Blow has been talking about a mobile version of The Witness since 2013 and the ESRB outed a possible Xbox One port last month.
Gravity Rush Remastered, Crypt of the NecroDancer, Megadimension Neptunia VII, more added to PS Store
Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow yesterday, so that means Spring is right around the corner. But first, let’s talk about the first PlayStation Store update for February…
Leading the way this week is Gravity Rush Remastered for the PS4. Originally released for the Vita in 2012, the underappreciated game found a dedicated fanbase, which was enough to get Sony to greenlight a sequel and this Remastered re-release. So what’s Gravity Rush all about? Well, players take control of Kat, “a strong-willed girl with gravity-altering abilities” who has to save her floating home.
Also available this week is Crypt of the NecroDancer (PS4 + Vita Cross-Buy), a rhythm-based roguelike where players “move to the music and deliver beatdowns to the beat!” A second off-kilter RPG will be released this week for the PS4 as Idea Factory is moving their Neptunia series to the Sony’s latest console with Megadimension Neptunia VII.
Finally this week, the creators of OlliOlli (and its sequel) are back with Not A Hero, a pixelated platform shooter that looks more than a little deranged.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. And, as always, a full rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
First CoD: Black Ops III DLC, Awakening, is now available to download for PS4
Your wait for more Call of Duty: Black Ops III content is over as Activision and Treyarch have announced the Awakening DLC Pack is now available to download for the PS4. The Awakening DLC Pack is part of Black Ops III’s Season Pass (priced at $49.99) and it’s also available to download individually (priced at $15).
As usual, players who partake in Call of Duty’s DLC offerings will receive access to four new multiplayer maps, along with a new level for Zombies Mode:
- Skyjacked: High above urban Zurich, Skyjacked is a modernized version of the popular Call of Duty: Black Ops II multiplayer map Hijacked. Utilizing the new core movement system featured in Black Ops III, this map gives players new ways to explore the environment, while still retaining the same fast and frenetic gameplay players love.
- Splash: Dive into battle in this abandoned water park, featuring a vibrant and colorful environment, including waterslides, a wrecked pirate ship and a lazy river. Splash encourages an open flow of combat with opportunities for underwater gameplay.
- Gauntlet: Delivering three unique environments within one action-packed map, Gauntlet showcases Treyarch’s classic three-lane map structure, transporting players into battle through a sprawling jungle, sub-zero arctic zone and rainy urban cityscape.
- Rise: A versatile multiplayer map, Rise is set in the snowy outskirts of Zurich in the middle of an ongoing construction site for a massive subterranean Coalescence research campus. With multiple engagement areas throughout this larger map, each section caters to different styles of gameplay.
Awakening also introduces the first chapter of Call of Duty: Black Ops III’s Zombies DLC adventure with “Der Eisendrache” picking up where “The Giant” left off. Set in a chilling medieval Austrian castle during World War II, players will embark on an epic four-part journey with the Origin characters Richtofen, Nikolai, Takeo and Dempsey, spanning the DLC season. The ancient site on which the castle sits was the scene of unspeakable horror where massive deposits of Element 115 have recently been discovered. Players will discover a variety of exciting plot twists and surprises as they survive waves of the undead.
The Awakening DLC Pack will be available exclusively for PS4 players for at least the next 30 days, so PC and Xbox One owners likely won’t get a crack at the new maps until March. But for now, you can check out a video preview of each new multiplayer map after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Final Fantasy XV gets a new gameplay trailer… and a release date will be revealed on March 30
Square Enix has already confirmed that Final Fantasy XV will definitely be released sometime in 2016. But you can’t just announce the release date for a game that’s been in the works for the better part of a decade, you have to make it an event. And that’s just what Square Enix plans to do with “Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV,” a live presentation that promises to uncover everything about the game (including the release date) on March 30.
“Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV” will be hosted by Kinda Funny‘s Greg Miller and Tim Gettys, and fans can reserve a ticket for the event at FinalFantasyXV.com/uncovered beginning February 5. However, Final Fantasy fans who aren’t located in the Los Angeles area will still be able to watch the presentation via YouTube or Twitch.
The whet our appetites until the big arrives, Square Enix released a brand new gameplay trailer for Final Fantasy XV as part of the most recent Active Time Report with Director Hajime Tabata. Viewers will get a look at Noctis and his team infiltrating a Niflheim Base to battle with a bunch of soldiers and a towering Magitek walking tank.
The complete January 2016 episode of Square Enix’s Active Time Report has been embedded after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Final Fantasy XV
WB Games and TT Games will release Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens on June 28
WB Games has announced the Lego Star Wars series will make its triumphant return this Summer with the release of Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens on June 28. The game will include a Lego-ized retelling of the latest entry in the Star Wars saga, while also offering levels built around the events that happened after the end of Return of the Jedi.
The Lego Star Wars series has sold 33 million copies since making its debut on the PS2 in 2005, but developer TT Games still has new ideas in store for The Force Awakens. These new features will include “intense Blaster Battles,” aerial dogfights (in outer space and ground-based arenas), and the “Multi-Build” system, which will allow players to choose from multiple building options to advance in the game.
Players will get the chance to visit Jakku and Starkiller Base in Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as well as take control of Resistance and First Order fighters like Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, BB-8, Kylo Ren, General Hux, and Captain Phasma. Finally, PS4 and PS3 players will receive bonus content for the game including a Droid Character Pack and Phantom Limb Level Pack. More details on those add-ons will be announced at a later date.
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens will, not surprisingly, be released for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.