Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- 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
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- 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)
Most Recent: News
Konami removes Hideo Kojima’s name from the cover of Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain
As the secret war between Konami and Hideo Kojima continues to rage, the publisher has taken another public shot at the developer with the release of the final cover design of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. In an attempt to distance Kojima from the title, Konami has officially removed the developer’s name from the game’s packaging. This includes an above-the-title text credit (“A Hideo Kojima Game”) and the Kojima Productions logo. A previous version of the Phantom Pain cover included both. The original cover and the updated version can both be found after the break.
Though Kojima publicly states he is “100% involved” with The Phantom Pain’s development, this redesign of the game’s cover is more proof of the strained relationship between the developer and the publisher. It could even be said that the removal of Kojima’s name is a personal attack on the developer as he’s been given a text credit on the cover of every Metal Gear Solid game since 2001’s Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will be released for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on September 1. Two weeks later, the game will also be released for the PC. While still unconfirmed, Kojima is expected to leave Konami after the completion of The Phantom Pain.
Last year, Kojima announced an intent to resurrect the Silent Hill franchise in collaboration with director Guillermo Del Toro and actor Norman Reedus. That game, Silent Hills, was canceled by Konami back in April. (more…)
Deep Silver confirms Yager is no longer developing Dead Island 2
Earlier this year, Deep Silver delayed Dead Island 2 after they said that development on the game wasn’t meeting up with their expectations. Today, the publisher issued a short statement confirming that Yager will no longer be the developer behind Dead Island 2:
With Dead Island 2, Deep Silver has always been dedicated to delivering the sequel that Dead Island fans deserve. After careful consideration, today we announce the decision to part ways with development partner Yager.
Development on Dead Island 2 will continue, and Deep Silver plans to announce further details about the game “at a later stage.” It’s unknown if this developer shuffle will further push back the game’s release date (currently penciled in for 2016), but it will likely be a while before we get the chance to play Dead Island 2.
The original Dead Island and its sequel, Dead Island: Riptide, were developed by Techland. After Deep Silver and Techland parted ways, the Polish developer teamed up with WB Games to release Dying Light, another first-person zombie game, earlier this year.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Dead Island 2
Fans petition Nintendo to create an Amiibo figure of Satoru Iwata
Satoru Iwata’s death has greatly affected the game industry, with heartfelt tributes and tearful eulogies appearing in every corner of the Internet. Nintendo’s President and CEO lost his battle with cancer a few days ago, and now fans are asking the consolemaker to honor him with an Amiibo figure.
The Change.org petition has nearly 15,000 signatures as of this writing. The creator of the petition included this note in support of his goal:
“On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer.” – Iwata-san
Satoru Iwata’s importance to modern gamers is more than words could ever describe. After helping to create some of Nintendo’s biggest fanchises such as Pokemon, Earthbound and Super Smash Bros., Mr. Iwata’s legacy influences and inspires anyone who has ever picked up a Wiimote or 3DS stylus.
Mr. Iwata’s business knowledge and work ethic as Nintendo’s CEO will always be remembered. Being responsible for Nintendo’s most profitable times and taking responsibility for Nintendo’s financially turbulent times, Mr. Iwata has made several tough decisions based on a simple tenet: “Is this Nintendo?”
These are just a few reasons why we should honor Satoru Iwata with his very own amiibo. Even if the amiibo itself lacks in-game functionality, it serves as a small reminder of Iwata’s legacy and accomplishments.
Enough cannot be written about how important Satoru Iwata was to the game industry. Personally, I think an Amiibo figure would be a wonderful tribute to the man and I hope Nintendo seriously considers it.
Songs from Paramore, Disturbed, Foster the People, more added to Guitar Hero Live
Activision has announced ten more songs that will be included in this Fall’s Guitar Hero Live, bringing the total number of announced songs to 84. This time around, players can look forward to tracks from Paramore, Disturbed, Foster the People, and more. Here’s the latest tracklist update:
- Asking Alexandria – “The Final Episode”
- Cypress Hill (Featuring Tom Morello) – “Rise Up”
- Disturbed – “Down With the Sickness”
- Foster the People – “Coming of Age”
- The Mowgli’s – “San Francisco”
- OneRepublic – “Counting Stars”
- Paramore – “Now”
- TV On the Radio – “Lazerray”
- The Vines – “Metal Zone”
- Wolf Alice – “Moaning Lisa Smile”
Guitar Hero Live will be released for the PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile devices on October 20.
N++ will be released for the PS4 on July 28
We’ve all been waiting patiently for the return of the N series and its gold-stealing ninja protagonist. Today, Metanet Software confirmed that N++ will be available for the PS4 beginning on July 28.
They also confirmed a few other facts about N++’s development process in the trailer embedded above. For example, the game requires 166,092 lines of code, which took two and a half years to write. N++ also includes 2,360 “unique handcrafted levels” which contain 63,335 pieces of gold. And according to the PlayStation Blog, N++’s first big update “will effectively double the size of the game.”
Be sure to watch the trailer above for more N++ facts and start celebrating that the game is only two weeks away.
Trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops III Zombies pre-order bonus map “The Giant” released
Are you a big fan of the twists and turns found in Treyarch’s Zombies Mode? If so, you’ll want to check out the trailer for “The Giant,” a bonus map available to all players who pre-order one of the Call of Duty: Black Ops III collector’s editions:
Zombies returns in all of its undead glory with “The Giant,” a Nazi research facility featuring the weapon upgrading Pack-A-Punch Machine. Re-live the chaos of Treyarch’s classic “Der Riese” Zombies map, picking up the Zombies story with Dempsey, Nikolai, Richtofen, and Takeo where Origins left off.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III will be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on November 6, though the collector’s editions are limited to the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. If history is any guide, “The Giant” will also be released as standalone DLC at some point in the future.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Comic-Con 2015
Nintendo still plans to publish Devil’s Third; More info coming soon
The rumor mill went into overdrive last week, with multiple people saying that Nintendo had relinquished the publishing rights to Devil’s Third. Originally announced by THQ in 2010, the “hack and slash” game was re-announced by Nintendo last year.
Writing on Twitter over the weekend, the consolemaker put all the rumors to rest and confirmed they still plan to publish the Wii U game in North America:
We know you are eager to hear more about Devil’s Third. We are excited to bring the game to Wii U and will have more to share soon.
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) July 11, 2015
Devil’s Third, which is in development at Valhalla Game Studios under the supervision of Tomonobu Itagaki, is currently scheduled to be released in Japan and the UK this August.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Devil's Third
Bandai Namco is “pretty far” into development of Tekken X Street Fighter
Remember Tekken X Street Fighter? If you were worried Bandai Namco had forgotten all about their crossover fighting game, don’t be, Tekken Series Producer Katsuhiro Harada recently told Famitsu (via Siliconera) that the game is deep into development:
“I’ve been saying this since before, but the fact of the matter is that we’re at a pretty far stage into [Tekken X Street Fighter’s] development.”
“It might seem like we haven’t started on it at all, but the character lineup has been decided upon since a very long time ago, and we’ve already finished the polygon models, moves, and systems.”
Originally announced in 2010, and barely mentioned in the half-decade since, Tekken X Street Fighter appears to be closer now than its ever been before. We still don’t know many concrete details, but progress is apparently being made. Harada’s busy schedule is likely the cause for the game’s delay, as Harada recently oversaw the development of Tekken 7 and Pokken Tournament. With both of those games ready to make their arcade debut, the developer can now turn his full attention to Tekken X Street Fighter.
Street Fighter X Tekken has been available since 2012.
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Tekken X Street Fighter