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
Kickstart This! Deserted, Wanda: A Beautiful Apocalypse, Night City Assault
Kickstarter recently released a long-awaited Fulfillment Report, an independent analysis of its crowdfunding activities by Professor Ethan Mollick of the University of Pennsylvania. While the report contains a lot of interesting data, the number many media outlets are focusing on is the 9% failure rate of fully-funded projects. The report has this to say about the numbers:
Is a 9% failure rate reasonable for a community of people trying to bring creative projects to life? We think so, but we also understand that the risk of failure may deter some people from participating. We respect that. We want everyone to understand exactly how Kickstarter works — that it’s not a store, and that amid creativity and innovation there is risk and failure.
Let’s look at this another way. 91% of projects across all categories succeed and deliver. What industry can say that? There is an old adage in the film industry that mentions that 7 out of 10 features lose money, two break even, and one film makes enough money to cover the loss. This is almost the opposite.
Personally I have yet to support a successful project, video game related or otherwise, that has not delivered after receiving my funds (or at least been on course to do so). Yes, I practise what I preach and donate on crowdfunding sites. I recently had an update from lead developer James Fletcher about his long-gestating project Knite and the Ghost Lights. In a nutshell, he had to put the project on hiatus to work for six months so he could support his family and then return to the game. Despite waiting longer than I thought I would for the game, James’ commitment to do six months of commercial work in order to realise his dream keeps my faith alive in the crowdfunding community. There are people out there who seek to con others, but that’s why we have columns like Kickstart This!
So what games are we urging you to back this time around? We start off with RPG action-adventure Deserted, before shining a light on not one but two games from Australia. The first is cutesy robot puzzler Wanda: A Beautiful Apocalypse, while the second is the Streets of Rage-inspired RPG beat ‘em up Night City Assault. (more…)
Bandai Namco officially announces a US release for Tales of Berseria
Six months after the debut of its Japanese announcement, Bandai Namco is finally ready to confirm that Tales of Berseria will also be released in North America for the PC and PS4. There’s still no release date for the next Tales title, but we do know it’ll be the first game in the series to feature a female main character:
In Tales of Berseria players embark on a journey as they assume the role of Velvet, a young woman whose once gentle nature has been replaced and overcome with a festering anger and hatred after a traumatic experience three years prior to the events within Tales of Berseria imbued her left hand with a special ability. Velvet will visit a wide range of breathtaking environments as she travels the world in an all-new adventure developed by the celebrated team behind the Tales of series. Along her journey, Velvet will meet a whole cast of characters, including a young boy named Laphicet. If Velvet is the embodiment of “darkness,” then Laphicet is created in the image of “light” and will be an important ally to Velvet.
While Bandai Namco is being rather secretive about Tales of Berseria, the publisher did reveal a new trailer at this weekend’s Jump Festa, which has been embedded above. They also said that they’ve recruited several Tales veterans (Mutsumi Inomata, Kosuke Fujishima, Minoru Iwamoto, and Daigo Okumura) to create the characters and creatures for the game.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged Tales of Berseria
Remastered re-release of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter is now available to download on the PC
“I… Am… Turok!”
Night Dive Studios has reached into the past once again and pulled Turok: Dinosaur Hunter into the present. The first person shooter, originally published by Acclaim, was all the rage back in 1997 and this PC re-release adds a number of improvements for modern day players including support for high resolution and widescreen displays, improved gameplay and level design, and Steam Achievements.
Stephen Kick, the CEO of Night Dive Studios, is very proud of his studio’s latest remaster: “When Turok: Dinosaur Hunter was first released it was nothing short of revolutionary. To that point, no game had ever offered the combination of graphics and an open world environment that Turok featured. We are very excited to have had the opportunity to bring this great franchise back to life and to be able to share this great title with today’s gaming audience.”
A launch trailer for the remastered version of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter has been embedded above, and you can download it now from Steam, GOG.com, and the Humble Store.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
New Call of Duty: Black Ops III DLC teaser focuses on Nikolai Belinski and Zombies Mode
Treyarch has released a new teaser trailer for the Awakening DLC Pack, the first expansion in development for Call of Duty: Black Ops III. The teaser is more specifically focused on “Der Eisendrachen,” the next entry in the franchise’s Zombies saga. Starring a very weary Nikolai Belinski, the teaser asks players to take a seat at his campfire and contemplate his many regrets, his belief in destiny, and his hope for the future.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III’s Awakening DLC Pack will be available to download for the PS4 sometime in February. PC and Xbox One owners will get a chance to purchase it a month later.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Sefton Hill hints that Rocksteady might have at least one more Batman game in their future
Rocksteady recently released a new episode in their Arkham Insider video series ahead of next week’s launch of the Season of Infamy expansion for Batman: Arkham Knight. In addition to giving players a sneak peek at a quartet of returning rogues (Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, Mad Hatter, and Ra’s al Ghul), Brand Marketing Producer Dax Ginn also sat down with Game Director Sefton Hill to discuss the studio’s work on the Arkham series as a whole. But their pleasant chat may have inadvertently lead to a hint about the franchise’s future at Rocksteady:
Ginn: Sefton, for you, it must be a very emotional time. because this isn’t just the end of Batman: Arkham Knight, it’s sort of the end of Rockteady’s time with the Arkham trilogy. What’s going on in your head at the moment?
Hill: It’s been a very emotional and exciting journey for us. I’ve always said it’s a tremendous privilege and honor to be the custodians of the Batman universe and to live this for nearly ten years To be thinking about the big guy and all the adventures and coming out with new and exciting things we can do in that world. That huge period of time has been amazing, energizing, emotional… it’s been incredible. I really hope the fans are happy with the work we’ve done… that we’ve been able to let people become the Batman and really enjoy his world for such a long period of time.
Ginn: So Sefton, are you saying categorically that this is the end of the road for Rocksteady and Batman?
With a hopeful lilt in his voice, Hill began to reply, “Well…,” before being cut off by a supposed camera malfunction.
Ever since Arkham Knight’s initial announcement, representatives from Rocksteady have always asserted that it would be their final Batman game. While Hill’s “Well…” isn’t proof the studio will stay tuned to that “Same Bat-Channel” on future projects, it is certainly an interesting statement to make.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: Arkham Knight, Batman: Arkham VR
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is now available for iOS devices
Rockstar continues to muscle into Apple’s turf with today’s announcement that Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is now available to download through the iOS App Store. Liberty City Stories, which was originally released for the PSP in 2005, actually serves as a prequel to Grand Theft Auto III and gives players the chance to visit many of the same haunts:
In Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, former trusted wise guy for the Leone crime family, Toni Cipriani, returns home after spending time in hiding for killing a made man. Now, the streets of Liberty City are in turmoil, as warring families vie for control and the town begins to self-destruct under waves of political corruption, organized crime, drug trafficking and union strikes. Deranged hit men, morally depraved tycoons, cynical politicians and even his own mother stand in the way, as Toni tries to bring the city under Leone family control.
With the move to iDevices, Rockstar has added a number of new features and enhancements to the game. Priced at $6.99, the latest version of Liberty City Stories will treat players to “real-time lighting and shadows, upgraded textures and art, greater draw distance, performance enhancements for touch-based gaming, cross-platform cloud saves, support for Apple’s 3D Touch and more.” Players who purchase the game on the iOS App Store will also be able to unlock an “I Heart LC” t-shirt for their GTA Online character in Grand Theft Auto V on the PC, PS4, or Xbox One.
According to Rockstar, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories will soon be available to download for Android devices through Google Play and the Amazon Appstore. A new trailer for the game can be found after the break. (more…)
Hideo Kojima’s new Kojima Productions studio is working with Sony to produce a PS4 game
Hideo Kojima himself has confirmed that he’s left Konami to form his own studio, and that it’ll will once again carry the Kojima Productions name. Corroborating yesterday’s report from Nikkei, a short announcement video hosted by Sony Computer Entertainment President and CEO Andrew House has further revealed the developer’s partnership with Sony’s PlayStation platform. Kojima’s first project, which is only described as a “new franchise,” will be a “console-exclusive” on the PS4. This language makes it easy to assume that a PC launch for the game is also in the cards sometime down the road.
In a separate press release, House expressed excitement for the partnership: “PlayStation’s history is one of game innovation and great new franchises. Hideo Kojima has been a huge part of that history, and we are therefore delighted that he has chosen to bring his brand new project to life in partnership with PlayStation. We look forward to working with him on an exciting new game and warmly welcome him to the PlayStation family.”
Kojima himself also seems to be looking forward to this new chapter in his career: “I will be taking on a new challenge by establishing my own independent studio, and I am thrilled to be able to embark on this journey with PlayStation, who I have continued to work with all these past years. I cannot wait to deliver, with PlayStation, a game that will become a compelling franchise.”
Obviously, it is much too early to discuss specifics about Kojima’s next game. But hopefully Sony has more to say about it soon.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged Death Stranding
Hideo Kojima officially leaves Konami to start his own studio and possibly develop a PlayStation-exclusive title
A mountain of evidence has accumulated over the last six months about Hideo Kojima’s pending split from Konami, and now it looks like it’s official.
According to the Nikkei (via Wired), Japan’s largest financial newspaper, Kojima finally left Konami on December 15. The newspaper also learned that the veteran developer plans to start his own studio with several of his colleagues from Kojima Productions. The name of Kojima’s next venture is currently under wraps, but the Nikkei report said the team is in “final negotiations” to produce a game for Sony’s PlayStation platform (presumably the PS4). Though it’s important to note that this doesn’t rule out a PC or Xbox One release for Kojima’s next game.
Kojima began his illustrious career at Konami in the mid 80s, quickly rising to a lead developer on the original Metal Gear. Over the next three decades, he directed nearly a dozen sequels, as well as branching out to other projects like Zone of the Enders, Snatcher, and Policenauts. Kojima was set to produce his next side project, Silent Hills, alongside film director Guillermo Del Toro, but it was canceled by Konami in the Spring.
We don’t know what Kojima has planned for his new studio, but I’m sure many would like to see him continue the ideas found in Silent Hills in some form.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged Death Stranding