Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- 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
- Boss Fight Books to Get 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
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
Indiependence Day non-sale asks gamers to pay full price for indie games
It’s no secret that independent developers often have to struggle to make ends meat, especially in this world of deep discount Steam sales and bundles (both Humble and not). Cue the “Indiependence Day” movement. Today, a number of indie developers have banded together to not put their games on sale. Instead, they’re asking gamers to pay full price on this 4th of July (and to spread the word with the #IndiependenceDay hashtag):
We encourage fans of indie games to support their favorite developers by buying their games at full price. If you bought a game on sale and wound up really loving it, perhaps buy a copy at full price and gift it to a friend. Or pick up that game that’s been on your wishlist for a long time. (Steam’s new refund policy makes that a lot less risky!) Whatever your platform of choice, we’d love your support.
Dozens of games are included in the Indiependence Day including a few Warp Zoned favorites, such as Tom Happ’s side-scrolling Axiom Verge, Dejobaan’s wordy adventure Elegy For A Dead World, and Vertex Pop’s twin-stick shooter We Are Doomed.
A complete list of participating developers can be found after the break. (more…)
Telltale reveals first trailer, story details, voice cast for Minecraft: Story Mode
As promised, Telltale Games unwrapped our first look at Minecraft: Story Mode during this year’s Minecon expo. The episodic series (which will be spread out over five episodes) nails the look and feel of Minecraft with the added bonus of Patton Oswalt as the main character:
You’ll control protagonist Jesse throughout the season, as portrayed by actor Patton Oswalt. Jesse and his group of friends revere the legendary Order of the Stone; four adventurers who slayed an Ender Dragon. The Order are the very best at what they do: Warrior, Redstone Engineer, Griefer, and Architect. While at EnderCon, Jesse and his friends discover that something is wrong… something dreadful. Terror is unleashed, and they must set out on a journey to find The Order of the Stone if they are to save their world from oblivion.
An all-star cast of vocal talent will join Oswalt on his Minecraft adventure including Brian Posehn, Ashley Johnson, Scott Porter, Martha Plimpton, Dave Fennoy, Corey Feldman, Billy West, and Paul Reubens. You can hear a few of them in the game’s debut trailer, which has been embedded above.
Minecraft: Story Mode will be released this Fall for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile devices (iOS and Android).
Rumor: Nintendo’s NX system could be released as early as July 2016
In March, Nintendo announced that information on their next hardware platform, currently codenamed NX, would be revealed in 2016. Since then, everyone has been trying to get the notoriously tight-lipped company to open up about the system. Even President Satoru Iwata isn’t immune, as he had to remind shareholders that he wouldn’t be discussing the NX multiple times during the company’s recent annual meeting.
Yesterday, DigiTimes went one better and revealed that Nintendo has asked their manufacturing partners to begin production on a pilot run of NX components beginning this October, “at the latest.” The outlet’s source believes that final orders will be placed early next year with mass production of the system set to begin by May or June. The source added that a July 2016 launch for the NX “may” be possible.
DigiTimes believes that Nintendo wants to ship 20 million NX systems in its first year of a availability, which would be more than any previous home console. This number seems like a rather high estimate as the Wii U has yet to reach that number after three years on the market.
The schedule sounds a bit insane to me (The Legend of Zelda Wii U might not even be out by July 2016), but if it is true, I trust that Nintendo knows what they’re doing.
Donkey Kong and Bowser take center stage in this Skylanders SuperChargers trailer
Activision has released a new trailer for Skylanders SuperChargers that focuses on the game’s Nintendo-exclusive guest stars… “Turbo Charge Donkey Kong” and “Hammer Slam Bowser.”
Naturally, both characters will only be playable in Skylanders SuperChargers for the Wii U, Wii, and 3DS. However, that won’t stop Activision from releasing a Skylanders figure for both characters, which will be available exclusively in the game’s 3DS and Wii U Starter Packs. Bowser will be packaged with the 3DS version, while Donkey Kong will share a barrel with the Wii U version. Each figure will also include Amiibo functionality, as Nintendo has endorsed both figures (a switch on the bottom toggles the figure between Skylanders and Amiibo).
Skylanders SuperChargers will be released on September 20, and it’ll also be available for the iPad, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Skylanders SuperChargers, Skylanders SuperChargers Racing
WB Games is preparing to release Batgirl DLC for Batman: Arkham Knight on July 14
While the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight continues to be plagued by glitches and other assorted problems, WB Games is pressing ahead with the game’s DLC schedule and plans to release the Batgirl: A Matter of Family expansion in a few weeks:
Set prior to the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batgirl: A Matter of Family will allow players to take on the role of Batgirl for the first time in the Batman: Arkham franchise. This exciting story add-on features an all-new location with multiple missions, side quests and secrets; a new hacking feature to progress through the world and solve puzzles; and Dual Play functionality with Robin for dynamic take-down maneuvers.
Owners of Arkham Knight’s Season Pass will receive access to Batgirl: A Matter of Family on July 14. However, if you’d prefer to purchase the expansion on its own (for $6.99), you’ll have to wait until July 21. Naturally, the expansion will only be released for the PS4 and Xbox One as the PC version remains unavailable for purchase.
Batgirl: A Matter of Family was developed by WB Montreal, the same team behind Batman: Arkham Origins. This likely explains the speedy turnaround, and WB Games promised that all subsequent DLC additions to Arkham Knight will be developed by Rocksteady Studios.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: Arkham Knight
CoD: Advanced Warfare Supremacy Pack now available for PC, PS4, PS3
Consider this your reminder that the Supremacy Pack is now available for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare on the PC, PS3, and PS4. Just like every other map pack, the Supremacy Pack will include four new maps for the game’s competitive multiplayer mode:
- Parliament: Docked on the River Thames, this military cargo ship delivers a view of the London cityscape along with a fast-paced combat experience. Mixed site-lines provide opportunities for all styles of play to dominate this medium-sized map. Players can take control of the map-based scorestreak to unleash a barrage of missiles that annihilate enemies.
- Kremlin: Gamers must prepare for intense combat outside Russia’s presidential palace in the new map Kremlin, as they navigate the worn-torn buildings of Red Square in this medium-sized, three-lane map. Secure elevated positions to give the team a strategic advantage, or use exoskeleton capabilities to avoid being caught in the minefield that activates mid-match.
- Compound: Players take combat preparation to the limit in an Atlas training facility hidden away in the Colorado wilderness, as they’ll have to be quick on the trigger in this small, symmetrical map, which funnels high-speed combat through tight corners to the main tower structures.
- Skyrise: Players deploy to an Atlas Skyscraper overlooking the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Based on the fan-favorite, Highrise, from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 by Infinity Ward, this map brings new exoskeleton mechanics to the classic multiplayer layout. Gamers must dominate the power positions in the center of this small-to-medium sized map to control the key navigation points.
The Supremacy Pack will also include the third episode of the Exo Zombies cooperative campaign… now with an expanded role for the man with Hollywood’s most impressive chin, Bruce Campbell.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s final downloadable expansion, Reckoning, will likely be released in August (for Xbox players) and September (for PC/PlayStation players).
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4
Tagged Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
MKX: Predator will be available on July 7 for Kombat Pass players, July 14 for everyone else
After previously teasing The Predator’s Mortal Kombat X debut for this month, NetherRealm Studios is finally ready to announce when players will get a chance to play as the intergalactic hunter.
If you own the Mortal Kombat X Kombat Pass, The Predator will be available to download on Tuesday, July 7. In addition to the new character, Kombat Pass owners will also gain access to the Predator/Prey Pack, which includes new costumes for Jax (Carl Weathers as Dillon), Johnny Cage (Commando), and Scorpion (Infrared).
Mortal Kombat X players who wish to purchase The Predator or the Predator/Prey Pack on their own will have to wait until July 14. The Predator will be priced at $4.99, while the Predator/Prey Pack will be priced at $3.99. Both DLC items will be available together in a bundle for $7.99.
One more additional character for Mortal Kombat X remains and it’s likely Tremor will be released sometime this August.
New Dark Horse Comics… a CoD Black Ops III prequel, Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare, and the return of “classic” Lara Croft
Dark Horse Comics just announced a trio of new game-related projects ahead of next weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con.
The one that will surely get a lot of people talking is a prequel series to Call of Duty: Black Ops III. Set for release on November 4, the series will be written by Larry Hama, with art by Marcelo Ferreira. An exclusive minicomic promoting the series will be available Dark Horse’s booth during Comic-Con.
The Call of Duty: Black Ops III comic book series follows an elite group of cybernetically enhanced soldiers as they wage a secret war across a futuristic, war-torn world transformed by technology. In the first issue, the elite squad infiltrates Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to take down a double agent… but as they close in, the operatives uncover something much more sinister at hand.
Not so surprising is the expansion of the company’s line of Plants vs Zombies comics, which will continue to bloom with the launch of a Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare series on October 28. Serving as a prequel to this Fall’s Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2, it’ll feature a story by Paul Tobin and art from Jacob Chabot:
In the recently announced Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2, zombies have taken over, and now, for the first time in franchise history, the plants are on the attack. Delivering a story taking place between Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare and Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2, the Garden Warfare comic has the exclusive reveal of how Dr. Zomboss conquered Suburbia. The evil-genius leader is up to a whole new set of tricks—and this time, he’s succeeding, thanks to his mighty Imp and Z-Mech! But hope remains, as our zombie-battling champs Nate and Patrice discover horticultural help from the future and the past, and Crazy Dave misses out on an ice-cream cruise!
Finally, Dark Horse will bring back the “classic” Lara Croft from 1996’s Tomb Raider in Lara Croft and the Frozen Omen. Written by Corinna Beckho, with art by Randy Green, the first issue will go on sale on October 7:
In this all-new adventure, Lara must stop a group of cultists from causing world-wide cataclysmic devastation, and ancient ivory artifacts hold the key to both salvation and destruction! It’s a race against time in Lara’s new quest, filled with incredible action, dual pistols, and non-stop adventure.
You can take a look at the cover art of each #1 after the break. (more…)