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
- 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
- Boss Fight Books to Get a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
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)
Most Recent: PC
Battleborn’s Open Beta will launch on April 8 (for PS4) and April 13 (for PC, Xbox One)
Gearbox Software will fill the badass-sized hole in our hearts this May with their next project, Battleborn. But first, the developer has unveiled a brand new Story Trailer to fill fans in on the backstory of their new universe. They’ve also announced that an Open Beta is on the way for PC, PS4, and Xbox One owners.
Beginning on April 8, PS4 players will gain access to the Open Beta, which will include a ton of content: two Story Mode episodes, two Competitive Multiplayer Modes (Incursion and Meltdown), and 25 playable heroes that you unlock as you progress. PC and Xbox One owners will be able to join the Open Beta a week later, on April 13. Players on all platforms will be able to download the Open Beta on April 6, and it’ll shut down for everybody on April 18.
Gearbox helpfully put together a huge Open Beta FAQ at Battleborn.com.
Battleborn will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on May 3.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Battleborn
Resident Evil Reflections: 20 Years With Capcom’s Frightening Franchise
March 22, 2016 marked a true milestone. For it was 20 years ago this week that a groundbreaking video game franchise was born. A game that not only became an instant classic, but also helped create an entirely new genre, spawned several sequels and spinoffs, and launched a successful series of movies. That game was Resident Evil.
Few games have had the long lasting appeal that Capcom’s survival horror series provides, and despite a few bumps in the road, the Resident Evil series is still widely popular after all these years. (more…)
New gameplay trailer for Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes us back to a galaxy far, far away
WB Games released a new gameplay trailer for Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens this morning, and it gives us our first look at the game’s Multi-Builds system, as well as the new cover mechanic for blaster battles, and a flying Millennium Falcon.
The trailer also delves into some of the Expanded Universe content that Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens will add to the film’s story including the tale of how Han and Chewie captured the Rathtars, new adventures with Poe Dameron, and the backstory of Lor San Tekka (AKA The Old Man Who Gives Poe the Map and Then Dies).
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be released on June 28 for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Minecraft: Story Mode’s final chapter will be available next week; 3 bonus episodes will launch later this year
Telltale Games has announced that Minecraft: Story Mode‘s tale will come to an end next week with “Order Up,” the game’s fifth and final episode… though fans should get ready for more adventures with Jesse and friends. Later this year, the developer plans to launch a three-episode miniseries following the further Adventures of the New Order of the Stone. Unlike the standalone The Walking Dead: Michonne, these bonus episodes will be released as add-on content for Story Mode.
But first, let’s look at the upcoming finale:
In the upcoming Episode 5, on a tip from Ivor, Jesse and friends head to an abandoned temple holding mysterious treasures. Ambushed by former Ocelot Aiden and his crew, our heroes find themselves in an entirely new world: Sky City! As they explore, the Order finds that resources are at a premium, and nothing but ‘The Void’ exists below the known world. When Aiden convinces Sky City’s ruler that the New Order of the Stone are up to no good, you’ll need to make some tough choices to clear your name, and keep Aiden from destroying an innocent world.
Minecraft: Story Mode – Order Up will be available to download for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on March 29. Unfortunately, a release date for the episode’s Wii U launch wasn’t announced.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III’s “Nuk3town” map is now free for everybody
A lot of Call of Duty: Black Ops fans will be happy to tell you that “Nuketown” is one of the best multiplayer maps the series has to offer. So it made perfect sense when Activision announced they were going to remake it (as “Nuk3town”) for Call of Duty: Black Ops III and release it as a pre-order bonus.
But Activision wants everyone to get a chance to play a round or two in “Nuk3town,” so they’ve announced (via the Activision Games Blog) that the map is now free to download on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
The publisher also revealed that all players will also receive access to the Nuk3town Personalization Pack, which includes a Nuk3town-themed Weapon Camo, three Nuk3town-themed Weapon Reticles, and a Nuk3town-themed Calling Card.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Telltale reconfirms that The Walking Dead Season 3 will be released this year
We say it all the time, but Telltale Games really does have a lot on their plate. From The Walking Dead: Michonne to Minecraft: Story Mode to Batman, and beyond, the team probably has a dozen games in various stages of development. But it looks like one of those games is still on track for a 2016 launch.
Speaking to Mashable, Telltale’s CEO, Kevin Bruner, confirmed that The Walking Dead Season 3 will make its debut later this year. According to the executive, Telltale is working very hard to make Season 3 appeal to new players, as well as returning fans:
“How do we go back and make sure all Walking Dead fans can get in while still keeping all of our storylines going? I think where we’re landing with the story for Season 3 does a really good job of both of those things.
“It allows people who maybe haven’t played [the first two seasons] to come in and get up to speed really quickly. But it definitely respects, honors and facilitates all of the various end points that Season 2 had.”
Telltale plans to shamble into this year’s San Diego Comic-Con with the first details of The Walking Dead Season 3, so we definitely shouldn’t expect to see it before the Summer. For now, you’ll have to be satisfied with the second episode of The Walking Dead: Michonne, which will be released on March 29.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Comic-Con 2016, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier
Hitman, Brussels, and Showing Restraint After a Tragedy
This morning, I couldn’t sleep. At about 3:30 or 4:00 AM I went online; the first reports of what had happened in Brussels were just coming in. I switched on BBC News and felt like it was 7/7/05 all over again. Commuters and travelers were targeted just going about their day, just as they had been nearly 11 years ago in the London attacks. Not much was known this morning, as it had pretty much just happened, and amidst the chaos, everyone was just trying to get their bearings and get to safety. About the only thing that was known was that it had to be terrorism. Coordinated explosions in crowded public places during peak travel times are not a coincidence. It was terrorism, and someone had intended to hurt and kill people.
Last week, it was Ankara and Istanbul; in December, it was Tell Tamer and San Bernardino; in November, it was Beirut and Paris. Every time it happens, it catches us momentarily off guard, and we think, “Really? This crap is still going on? When is this going to end? Will it ever end?” And the usual societal discourse ensues: the condolences, avowals of justice and solidarity, strategies to prepare for the future. These we expect. This is how we grieve.
What we don’t generally expect is, I don’t know, let’s say, news for a video game whose objective is to target and kill people to be announced just a few hours after a horrible terrorist attack. (more…)
Doom’s six multiplayer modes include Freeze Tag, Soul Harvest, Team Deathmatch, more
While Doom has excited solo players with its promise of a 13-hour campaign, id Software’s reboot of the beloved franchise will also include six multiplayer modes for those with a competitive streak.
In addition to a traditional Team Deathmatch, Doom will include other multiplayer modes that prove you can always teach an old dog some new tricks. For example, Freeze Tag teleports the childhood favorite to Mars, while Warpath adds a rampaging Demon to a King-of-the-Hill-type mode. A new trailer, embedded above, will give you a quick overview of all six modes. Bethesda also provided a more in-depth description of each mode, which is available after the break.
And don’t forget, Doom will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on May 13. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Doom (2016)