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
Batman: Arkham Knight Season Pass announced… sort of
WB Games has announced that Batman: Arkham Knight buyers can also purchase a Season Pass, which will entitle them to “six months” of additional content after the game’s launch. However, that content is still very much a mystery. You might even says it’s… an enigma.
According to the announcement, the Season Pass will include “new Story Missions, additional supervillains invading Gotham City, legendary Batmobile Skins, advanced Challenge Maps, alternative Character Skins, and new drivable Race Tracks.” The exact mix of Skins, Tracks, and additional Story Missions wasn’t announced, but WB Games did say the Season Pass will be priced at $39.99. A digital-only Premium Edition, which includes Arkham Knight and its Season Pass, will also be available for $99.99. The Arkham games are always packed with content, but $39.99 seems kind of steep for a Season Pass with a big question mark on it.
Batman: Arkham Knight will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on June 23. And don’t forget to check out the game’s brand new trailer, “All Who Follow You,” which was released yesterday.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: Arkham Knight
Avalanche and Square Enix unveil first Just Cause 3 gameplay trailer
Square Enix and Avalanche Studios have released the first gameplay trailer for Just Cause 3, going so far as to tell gamers it features “No cut scenes, no scripts, no staging.” Said to captured from “actual gameplay,” the cinematic presentation is thanks to “great camera angles.” I’m not sure I buy it, but the collection of explosions, gunplay, and aerial stunts are certainly impressive.
The trailer also serves as the debut of the Weaponised Vehicle Pack, which will be available as a free bonus to players who pre-order the game. The Weaponised Vehicle Pack includes three luxury vehicles all decked in the finest in heavy weaponry. Perfect for protagonist Rico Rodriguez to use in his quest to free the island of Medici from the evil General Di Ravello.
Just Cause 3 will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this Fall.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Just Cause 3
Minecraft on consoles gets female character; Sony platforms receive Simpsons Skin Pack
Mojang made three big Minecraft-related announcements today…
First, Mojang has announced that all console players will be able to play as Alex, a female character, beginning Wednesday. According to Mojang’s Owen Hill (writing on the company’s official website), Alex was added to the game because “jolly old Steve doesn’t really represent the diversity of our playerbase.” All eight “Alex” skins will be available as a free update on the PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Alex has been available for PC players since last year.
Today’s second big announcement is that The Simpsons Skin Pack will be available to download on PlayStation platforms this Wednesday. It’ll be priced at $2.99 and include 24 of your favorite Springfieldians.
Finally, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition will receive 30 additional Achievements that were introduced to the game in Minecraft: Xbox One Edition. A few extra music tracks will also be included in this update.
Watch Shigeru Miyamoto play Mario Maker on GameCenter CX
UPDATE: The video has been removed from YouTube.
Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto recently appeared on GameCenter CX (AKA Retro Game Master) to take part in a unique challenge presented by host Shinya Arino. Nintendo gave Arino early access to Mario Maker and the host was able to create one of the most deranged Mario courses I’ve ever seen…
Cannons belch a neverending stream of Coins!
Giant Koopa Troopas pop out of Question Blocks!
Springboards bounce on top of other Springboards!
Cats and dogs! Living together! It’s mass hysteria!
Thankfully, some kind soul has posted the segment on YouTube for all the world to see. Sadly, Miyamoto admits defeat after several tries. Mario Maker will launch exclusively for the Wii U in September.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Super Mario Maker
Batman: Arkham Knight “All Who Follow You” Trailer… Play as Robin, Nightwing, Catwoman
As promised, Rocksteady Studios released a new trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight, which confirms gamers will be able to play as Robin, Nightwing, and Catwoman in the upcoming game. Taking a page from Grand Theft Auto V, Arkham Knight’s “Dual Play” mechanic will allow players to “switch seamlessly between The Dark Knight and his allies.”
After watching this trailer, I’m more convinced than ever that Batman is going to need all the help he can get. He may be “Vengeance” and “The Night,” but the Arkham Knight has a whole army…
Batman: Arkham Knight will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on June 23.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: Arkham Knight
Rumor: Gears of War remake developed by Splash Damage coming to Xbox One
Microsoft has gone back and forth for over a year now about the possibility of a Gears of War remake on the Xbox One. According to a new report on Polygon, it looks like the pendulum has officially swung back to the “let’s do it” side.
Citing unnamed sources close to the project, Polygon said the remastered game will include “updated visuals and reworked cutscenes.” After the story went to press, an additional update revealed development on the game is currently taking place at Splash Damage. The developer, best known for Brink and Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, recently posted a variety of job listings on their Careers page looking for employees to work on a “very well known and highly popular AAA title with next gen technology.”
Microsoft acquired the Gears of War franchise from Epic Games last January. At the time, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer said, “I think if you look at what we did with 343 and getting them up to speed for Halo 4, you can maybe anticipate some things that are similar to that.” Many people assumed this meant a Gears of War remake was on the way, just as Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary was released shortly after Microsoft purchased the rights to Halo from Bungie.
Rod Fergusson, the Studio Head of Black Tusk Studios, seemingly put the kibosh on this rumor (via Twitter) last month. But Fergusson specifically said there was no “Marcus Fenix Collection” in development, which means he was telling the truth if only the first game is being remade.
Whatever happens, we’ll probably find out for sure at this year’s E3 Expo… if not earlier.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Gears of War
Konami cancels Silent Hills but says “We will continue to develop series”
Konami has issued a statement on the future of Silent Hills to GamesRadar and it seems to corroborate all our worst fears.
First, Konami confirmed that Norman Reedus will no longer be involved with the game. In a statement, the publisher said their contract with the actor had expired. Possibly related to Reedus’s departure, Konami also stated the “distribution period” of PT had expired. The “Playable Teaser” was added to the PlayStation Store last year, and is scheduled to be delisted this week.
The Silent Hills project has likely been canceled as Konami made no specific mention of the future of the project in their statement. Though they were quick to clarify that “the Silent Hill series” will continue.
Director Guillermo Del Toro, who would have collaborated with Hideo Kojima on the game, was disappointed by this news. Yesterday, he told an audience at the San Francisco Film Festival that Silent Hills featured “truly cutting edge stuff” and that it was being designed to “[****] with your brain really bad.”
So, to recap, Silent Hills is dead and an unrelated Silent Hill 7 will probably soon enter production.
UPDATE: Konami revealed to Game Informer that Silent Hills has officially been canceled: “Also, in response to what Del Toro said during the Q&A, Konami is committed to new Silent Hill titles, however the embryonic Silent Hills project developed with Guillermo Del Toro and featuring the likeness of Norman Reedus will not be continued.”
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged Silent Hills
CoD: Black Ops 3 “World Reveal” trailer is here… 11/6 release, pre-order beta confirmed
Call of Duty: Black Ops III‘s “World Reveal” gameplay trailer is now available for all to watch and we certainly know more about the game now than we did a week ago. For starters, the rumors from Friday are true. Black Ops III will indeed launch on Friday, November 6 for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and those who pre-order the game will receive access to a multiplayer beta test. This doesn’t mean the game won’t be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360, but Activision only wants to talk about the current-generation version today.
So what does Treyarch have in store for this far-future sequel? First of all, Black Ops III will bring a four-player cooperative campaign to the franchise for the first time. Players will also be able to augment their soldiers with a variety of futuristic tech and do battle with a army of Terminators killer cyborgs. Let me turn it over to the Activision Games Blog for a second to fill us in on the rest:
Call of Duty: Black Ops III will thrust players into a dark, gritty future, where cybernetics and biotechnology have given rise to a new breed of soldier. Empowered by Direct Neural Interface (DNI) technology, players will assume the role of Black Ops soldiers that are interconnected, faster, and more lethal than ever in a new four-player co-op campaign and a completely redefined multiplayer experience.
With a new momentum-based, chained movement system that allows players to move fluidly through environments and maintain constant control of their weapon, Call of Duty: Black Ops III is packed with new multiplayer features. In addition to a new weapon customization system that lets players create unique weapon variants, Call of Duty: Black Ops III introduces the new Specialist system, which lets players choose and rank up nine elite Black Ops soldiers, each with their own unique look, personality, backstory, and devastating weapons and abilities.
Finally, Activision revealed that Treyarch’s signature Zombies Mode will be back with “its own unique story and XP progression system.” More details on Zombies Mode will be announced later this year and we’ll surely learn a lot more about Call of Duty: Black Ops III as we get closer to this year’s E3 Expo.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III