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
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- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
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)
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2K will continue making WWE games for many more years
2K Games and the WWE have announced that they’ve reached an agreement to extend 2K’s contract to make games based on the WWE’s patented brand of professional wrestling. The two companies have yet to officially announce that WWE 2K17 will be released this Fall, but it seems like a good bet in the aftermath of this new multi-year deal.
“2K’s partnership with WWE over the past three years has resulted in a successful and important addition to the Company’s portfolio of profitable franchises,” said David Ismailer, 2K’s Chief Operating Officer. “We are thrilled with the positive momentum of the WWE 2K series, including generating year-over-year growth, as well as the success of WWE SuperCard. We are very pleased to extend our partnership with WWE and look forward to many more years of collaboration.”
“2K’s leadership in authenticity, quality and overall brand dedication has been a perfect complement for WWE,” said Casey Collins, the WWE’s Executive Vice President of Consumer Products. “Our continued partnership ensures WWE remains at the forefront of global video game brands as we continue innovating and publishing our offerings on multiple platforms.”
The most recent game in the franchise, last year’s WWE 2K16, was co-developed by Visual Concepts and Yuke’s. While WWE 2K17 still isn’t official, the publisher did say the two teams will continue to co-develop all future entries in the WWE 2K series.
RBI Baseball 16 will head for home this Spring
MLB Advanced Media is stepping up to the plate once again with the announcement that RBI Baseball 16 will be available this Spring. This year’s RBI Baseball 16 cover athlete will be Mookie Lynn Betts, an outfielder for the Boston Red Sox… and possibly the only “MLB” in Major League Baseball history. For their third trip to the plate, MLBAM has promised to include a number of new features in their retro-styled baseball sim including a “rebuilt defensive artificial intelligence system” and more realism on the field than ever before:
RBI Baseball 16 Features
- Defense: A redeveloped defensive AI will introduce new fielding capabilities including dives, wall catches, fake throws and more. This system will give users more control than ever before in making defensive plays.
- Baserunning: Built in part from MLBAM’s award-winning tracking technology, Statcast, baserunners’ abilities will be driven by on-field metrics from the 2015 MLB season.
- Batting: An improved batting engine will feature variable perfect timing. For the best outcome, swing earlier on inside pitches and later on outside pitches.
- Pitching: With a reworked pitching strategy AI, pitchers will play to their individual strengths. For example, a pitcher who features a wide range of velocity will mix speeds more often.
- Season Sim: During season mode play, sim a game or multiple games to quickly advance through the season and into the Postseason – should the team win its division or earn a Wild Card spot.
- Lineup: Modify a team’s lineup pre-game or in-game, including substitution strategies such as double switches. Lineups can be set from a franchise’s 40-man roster or the game’s classic 16-player rosters.
- Graphics: All 30 MLB ballparks will feature a new lighting system based on actual geographic locations, field views and additional hi-resolution realistic design elements.
RBI Baseball 16 is currently in development for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices (iOS and Android).
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt nabs eight nominations at 2016 SXSW Gaming Awards
South by Southwest Gaming recently announced the nominees for this year’s SXSW Gaming Awards and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, not surprisingly, has captured the most accolades. CD Projekt’s sprawling RPG is up for eight awards, including “Game of the Year.” It was also nominated for “Excellence in Gameplay,” “Excellence in Art,” “Excellence in Technical Achievement,” “Excellence in Visual Achievement,” “Excellence in Narrative,” “Excellence in Musical Score,” and “Most Enduring Character.”
Competing against Geralt of Rivia for “Game of the Year” is a familiar-looking quartet of games including Bloodborne, Fallout 4, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and Undertale. Bloodborne was actually a close second to The Witcher 3 with seven nominations.
Who wins at the 2016 SXSW Gaming Awards will be determined in part by a public vote that will hosted by IGN from Monday, February 1 through Friday, February 12. The winners will be announced on Saturday, March 19 at 9:00 PM (Eastern Time) and you can watch it live on Twitch.
The complete list of this year’s nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: Arkham Knight, Bloodborne, Fallout 4, Her Story, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Ori and the Blind Forest, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Rocket League, Splatoon, Star Wars: Battlefront, Superhot, Tabletop Games, The Order: 1886, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
A Day-By-Day Guide to All of 2016’s New Video Games (January – March)
After years and years of publishers packing the September through November “Holiday” season with an unmanageable number of new AAA titles, we might get a much more balanced release calendar in 2016. But can you believe it all happened by accident?
Video game fans have always had to deal with delays, but publishers got even more use out of their erasers than normal in 2015. Aside from the one-two punch of Fallout 4‘s E3 2015 announcement, and its eventual release on November 10th, no game felt safe… and more than a few big titles got pushed into 2016. So now we get to ring in 2016 with a release calendar that just might offer up something exciting all year long.
Are you ready? Because here… we… go… (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Features, Mobile, PC, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Amplitude, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia, Bravely Second: End Layer, EA Sports UFC 2, EVE: Valkyrie, Far Cry: Primal, Final Fantasy Explorers, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright/Conquest, Gone Home, Hitman, Hyrule Warriors, Killer Instinct, Lego Avengers, Life Is Strange, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Mega Man Legacy Collection, Mighty No. 9, Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, Pokken Tournament, Project X Zone 2, Rebel Galaxy, Resident Evil 0, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Rocket League, Street Fighter V, The Banner Saga, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, The Walking Dead: Michonne, The Witness, Tom Clancy's The Division, Umbrella Corps, XCOM 2
ESRB says The Witness is coming to the Xbox One too
Jonathan Blow’s The Witness will be available for the PC and PS4 on January 26, and it’s scheduled to make its iOS debut a few months after that. But according to a new Rating Summary published ESRB, the developer plans to bring the puzzle game to the Xbox One as well.
While Blow and his team haven’t made any official announcements about an Xbox One launch for The Witness, the “About” page on the game’s official website has always indicated it would someday appear on “other platforms”:
It will be released on the PC and the PlayStation 4 on January 26, 2016. The game will come to iOS some months after that, and other platforms a bit later.
However, it might be a while before we hear more about the Xbox One version of The Witness as Blow likely can’t say anything until after his timed-exclusivity contract with Sony runs out.
UPDATE: Jonathan Blow said on Twitter (1, 2) this afternoon that he currently has “no plans” to bring The Witness to the Xbox One: “There are no plans right now for an XB1 version of The Witness. We just put that on the rating form so if we ever do XB1, we won’t have to get the game re-rated. (Provided the content is the same, which it would be).”
Nominees for the 2016 DICE Awards have been announced with Rise of the Tomb Raider and The Witcher 3 leading the way
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced the nominees for the 2016 DICE Awards.
Square Enix’s Rise of the Tomb Raider and CD Projekt’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt lead all other games with eight nominations apiece, including “Game of the Year.” They’ll be competing for the AIAS’s highest honor against three other games: Bloodborne, Fallout 4, and Ori and the Blind Forest. All told, 53 different titles received at least one nomination.
“Looking at the nominees for the 19th Annual DICE Awards, I am especially impressed by the broad range of titles catering to gamers’ increasingly sophisticated and diverse tastes,” said Martin Rae, the President of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. “It is always gratifying to watch our industry and its many artists and craftsmen grow and continue to challenge and thrill audiences.”
In addition to this year’s awards show, Satoru Iwata will be honored with a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award and Hideo Kojima will be inducted into the AIAS Hall of Fame.
The ceremony for the 2016 DICE Awards will take place on Thursday, February 16, during this year’s DICE (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit. The full list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Bloodborne, Fallout 4, Forza Motorsport 6, Helldivers, Heroes of the Storm, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Mortal Kombat X, Ori and the Blind Forest, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Rocket League, Star Wars: Battlefront, Super Mario Maker, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Nominees for the 2016 Game Developers Choice Awards have been announced
Bloodborne, Fallout 4, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Rocket League, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will all be competing for “Game of the Year” honors at this year’s Game Developers Choice Awards, which will be held on Wednesday, March 16.
With four nominations apiece, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt became the most-nominated titles this year. In addition to “Game of the Year,” The Phantom Pain is also up for “Best Audio,” “Best Design,” and “Best Technology.” Meanwhile, The Witcher 3 will attempt to also take home “Best Visual Art,” “Best Narrative,” and “Best Technology.”
Fallout 4 and Bloodborne were just a step behind both titles with three total nominations of their own. However, they have a lot of company as Star Wars: Battlefront, Splatoon, Her Story, and Undertale all received a trio of nominations as well.
Viewers at home will be able to watch the 2016 Game Developers Choice Awards through Twitch, and a complete look at this year’s nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Bloodborne, Fallout 4, GDC 2016, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Rocket League, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Mini Metro, Her Story lead all nominees at the 2016 Independent Games Festival Awards
The Independent Games Festival has announced the nominees for their 18th annual awards, and two very different games lead the pack as Mini Metro, a tranquil public transportation sim, and Her Story, a detective story that uses 90s-era full motion video, will both be competing for the “Seumas McNally Grand Prize.”
The minimalist Mini Metro collected three other nominations including “Excellence In Visual Art,” “Excellence In Design,” and “Excellence In Audio.” Meanwhile, Her Story also racked up three additional nominations including “Excellence In Narrative,” “Excellence In Design,” and the “Nuovo Award.” Both games will be competing for the “Grand Prize” against Darkest Dungeon, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Superhot, and Undertale.
The 2016 Independent Games Festival Awards will be held on Wednesday, March 16, during this year’s Game Developers Conference. If you aren’t going to be in San Francisco to attend the show in person, you can watch the festivities live through Twitch. However, if you are attending GDC 2016, all of this year’s finalists will be playable on the show floor at the IGF Pavilion.
A complete list of the nominees and honorable mentions for the 2016 Independent Games Festival Awards can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged GDC 2016, Her Story, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Mini Metro, Superhot