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: PC
CoD: Infinite Warfare’s Sabotage DLC Pack will be available for PS4 on January 31
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare will receive its first downloadable expansion from Activision and Infinity Ward on January 31. The Sabotage DLC Pack will be available first for PS4 players, and as expected, it’ll include four new multiplayer maps and a new Zombies chapter.
For Zombies fans, “Rave in the Redwoods” will give players the chance to dance with the dead in an “abandoned lakeside summer camp”:
“Rave in the Redwoods,” the next thrilling chapter of the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare zombies experience, continues the macabre narrative while transporting players into a new decade: the 1990s. Willard Wyler, the enigmatic movie director villain, returns and has trapped the protagonists inside another one of his twisted horror films. The four playable characters from the original story also return, but with fresh, over-the-top roles, as they learn more about Wyler’s evil plot while fighting all-new varieties of the undead in an abandoned, lakeside summer camp where zombie ravers have taken over and turned the grounds into a techno-fueled illusion. “Rave in the Redwoods” is a tense, spooky thrill ride with shocking twists, surprises, and a slew of new Easter eggs for players to discover.
And the new multiplayer maps will include several futuristic options, including a re-imagining of the “Afghan” map from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2:
Multiplayer Maps in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s Sabotage DLC Pack
- Noir – A dark, grimy city map inspired by futuristic Brooklyn at night, Noir is a classic three-lane map set against a backdrop of a dystopian future, filled with cafes and parks surrounding a brutal downtown warzone.
- Neon – A virtual training center designed for urban warfare, Neon is a unique, digitized battle arena where cars and other structures spawn out of thin air and enemies dissolve into hundreds of pixels when defeated. Middle lane sightlines will cater to long-range players while the outsides of the map allow for quick counter-attacks in close-quarter action.
- Renaissance – Set in Northern Italy, Renaissance pits players against each other on the narrow streets of Venice surrounded by classic architecture and buildings that promote continuous action through the canals and neighborhoods of this iconic city.
- Dominion – A re-imagining of the classic Afghan map from Modern Warfare 2, now set on Mars, Dominion retains all the memorable landmarks and gameplay of the original, anchored by the crashed ship in the center, with a few enhancements designed to take advantage of the new movement system.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s Sabotage DLC Pack is priced at $49.99, though PS4 players will also have the option to purchase each expansion as a standalone download for $15 apiece. If history repeats itself, PC and Xbox One players will likely be able to download the Sabotage DLC Pack sometime in early March.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
Finalists for The Steam Awards announced; Voting begins on December 22
The bean counters at Steam have tabulated your nominations and announced the finalists for the first-ever Steam Awards. We don’t know if this is something the game retailer plans to do every year, but we’ll all be able to cast our votes later this week.
Voting for the Steam Awards will begin on Thursday, December 22, at 1:00 PM (Eastern Time) with “The ‘Villain Most In Need Of A Hug’ Award.” Fans will have 24 hours to choose between Borderlands 2, Dead by Daylight, Far Cry 3, Far Cry 4, and Portal 2. Voting for a new category will open up once a day until Friday, December 30, which is when Steam will open up voting for the fan-created categories.
The winners will be announced on New Year’s Eve, and the complete list of finalists can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Dark Souls III, Doom (2016), Grand Theft Auto V, Portal 2, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Walking Dead
See a full 17-minute match from Friday the 13th: The Game in this new gameplay video
Jason Voorhees went on a blood-spattered rampage in the Friday the 13th: The Game trailer that Gun Media released earlier this year at PAX West. Well, good news, the publisher is back with another look at the game… though the slasher icon is a bit less kill-happy.
Late last week, Gun Media sat down to play a full Friday the 13th match with IGN First. Focusing on the camp counselor’s efforts to survive, they set traps, repaired the phone, found the car, and tried to escape a gruesome death by machete. Did they survive? You’ll have to watch the video to find out for yourself.
Friday the 13th: The Game will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One in Early 2017. It’ll be followed by a free single-player expansion in the Summer.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Friday the 13th
343 Industries is working on “super secret future stuff” related to Halo
Halo 5: Guardians was released late last year, so it’s pretty much assumed that Microsoft and 343 Industries have already begun work on Halo 6. That assumption was reinforced on Friday when Community Manager Brian “Ske7ch” Jarrard said the development team shared some “super secret future stuff” about the Halo franchise with him in a new post on Halo Waypoint:
I can’t really say anything of substance but yesterday we had a studio-wide presentation by Tim Longo, Halo Creative Director, on some super interesting topics pertaining to super secret future stuff. All I can say is that I left that meeting feeling very excited [me too – Grim].
Jarrard doesn’t specifically call out Halo 6, but believe it or not, the game was actually announced all the way back in 2011 as part of the “new trilogy” that began with Halo 4.
In other Halo news, Jarrard also revealed the Achievements for Halo Wars: Definitive Edition, which will be released as a “Game Preview” title on December 20 for everyone who pre-ordered Halo Wars 2. A total of 75 Achievements (including a mix of new and old Achievements) will be included and they’re worth 1,500 Gamerscore.
But hopefully, this mention of “super secret future stuff” is the first sign that an official re-announcement for Halo 6 is coming soon.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Halo Infinite, Halo Wars, Halo Wars 2
CoD: Infinite Warfare was the best-selling game of November 2016, but it sold less than Black Ops III
Ever since it was first announced, the public reaction to Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare has been less than kind. Fans furiously downvoted the debut trailer, while others pledged not to purchase something that strayed so far from the franchise’s roots. But it looks like not everyone felt that way.
According to the NPD Group’s latest report (via GamesIndustry.biz), Infinite Warfare was the best-selling game of November 2016. However, it performed much worse for retailers than the first-month sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops III last year.
Total game sales were down roughly 19% versus November 2015, but a few new releases put up big numbers including Pokemon Sun (#3), Pokemon Moon (#4), and Watch Dogs 2 (#8). And in hardware news, it was reported that Nintendo sold 196,000 NES Classic Edition consoles during its first month on sale.
The full Top 10 from November 2016 can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Retro, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Battlefield 1, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, FIFA 17, Madden NFL 17, NBA 2K17, NPD, Pokemon Sun/Moon, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, TitanFall 2, Watch Dogs 2
FOUR new trailers highlight For Honor’s Faction War mode, single-player campaign, and upcoming Closed Beta
Ubisoft wants players to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day in 2017 with For Honor, a game devoted to the eternal feud between Knights, Samurai, and Vikings. It’s an absolutely silly premise, but the publisher is building a plot-heavy single-player campaign around the conflict, which is on display in the brand new trailer embedded above:
Three legendary warrior factions – The noble Knights of the Iron Legion, the deadly Samurai of the Dawn Empire, and ferocious Vikings of the Warborn clans – are under threat from a mysterious and bloodthirsty warlord named Apollyon. Storm castles, defeat invading armies, and win epic duels as you battle for the survival of your people.
In addition to the single-player campaign, Ubisoft revealed a bit more about For Honor’s Faction War contest, which appears to be patterned after Mortal Kombat X‘s similarly-named metagame. In For Honor’s Faction War, players will choose a side and earn War Assets after competing in multiplayer matches. Players can use these War Assets to help other players fight for territory, and members of each faction will receive rewards based on their performance during each ten-week season.
Prospective players will get a taste of the Faction War metagame during For Honor’s Closed Beta, which will take place in January, and registration for a chance to join is now available at ForHonorGame.com/war.
Finally, Ubisoft wants to help with your faction decision by unveiling three new trailers (available after the break) that focus on a prominent Knight, Samurai, and Viking:
- The Peacekeeper: Selected from the desperate, the humbled or the devoted, they are sworn to secrecy by unbreakable oaths. Quick and lethal, they fight with a short sword in one hand and a dagger in the other. Peacekeepers are the deadliest duelists of all Assassins, capable of winning a fight before their enemy even knows they are here.
- The Shugoki: Once the guardians of the Samurai, they have become as family. Massive and fierce, their weapon of choice is the kanabo, a huge stick that they only can wield efficiently. The Shugoki might not have the same agility as the other Samurai, but their rock-like resistance and demon-like strength make them an unavoidable force on the battlefield.
- The Warlord: Warlord is a name from an ancient Viking tradition, a name that is earned by only the true leaders in combat, those who are ready to spend their whole life servicing all who need it. Warlords’ shields are as versatile as they are strong and their sword, while simple in design, is sharp and deadly.
For Honor will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on February 14. (more…)
Resident Evil 7: Beginning Hour “Midnight Version” Hands-On Preview: The Witching Hour Gives Us Our Best Look at RE7 Yet
I’ve gone hands-on with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard twice now, first with the original Beginning Hour demo and then with the VR Lantern demo. Both left me with very different impressions, but since the Beginning Hour demo received one last update following Sony’s PlayStation Experience event, I decided to jump back in with high hopes. How did it go? (more…)
Turtle Rock has partnered with Perfect World to produce a free-to-play co-op FPS with “dark fantasy” elements
When Turtle Rock parted ways with 2K earlier this year, they left the future development of Evolve in the publisher’s hands. But the developer has revealed they have no plans to stop creating co-op shooters after partnering with Perfect World on a new free-to-play title.
Steve Goldstein, Turtle Rock’s President, recently sat down with GamesIndustry.biz to discuss this new title, the team’s future, and the difficulty of being an independent AAA developer in today’s world. The executive confirmed that the game, which is currently untitled, won’t be released until “at least 2018.” He also said it shouldn’t be considered a spiritual successor to Evolve or the Left 4 Dead series because it takes place in a “dark fantasy” world:
According to President and GM of Turtle Rock, Steve Goldstein, the developer isn’t willing to go so far as to call the new IP a spiritual successor. “We think that kind of label has big expectations tied to it, also – it sets an expectation that we’re making something sequel-like that does not deviate too far from the original formula. And while we focus on awesome first-person shooting and co-op, we’d rather have the new game be something our players classify and designate and judge without us affixing the label ourselves,” he said.
“What we can say is that we are definitely going back to our moment-to-moment gameplay roots with a huge focus on co-op FPS. There will be plenty of baddies to shoot up, but it is not a ‘zombie game’ or anything post-apocalyptic. What we can say right now is there’s a strong dark fantasy element to it.”
Goldstein is also very impressed with the way developers are able to quickly respond to fan feedback in the free-to-play space. However, it’s likely the last thing we’ll hear about Turtle Rock’s next game for a long time.
UPDATE: An official press release from Turtle Rock has confirmed their free-to-play project is in development for “PC and console.”