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
Activision will develop Call of Duty “cinematic universe” and Skylanders animated TV series
Activision is going to Hollywood! The megapublisher has announced the formation of Activision Blizzard Studios, a new film and television studio that will create content based on their most popular game franchises. Nick Van Dyk, a former executive at Disney, will co-lead the studio along another executive who will be named later.
Not surprisingly, the first project from the studio will be an animated television series based on the Skylanders range of games and toys. A premiere date wasn’t announced, but the series is alreadyy in production and Activision has lined up an impressive voice cast including Justin Long as Spyro, Ashley Tisdale as Stealth Elf, Jonathan Banks as Eruptor, and Norm MacDonald as Glumshanks. Eric Rogers, a writer best known for his work on Futurama, will serve as the showrunner.
Activision Blizzard Studios is also hard at work on laying the groundwork for a Call of Duty “cinematic universe,” which they hope to launch with “a series of Call of Duty feature films as well as the possibility of television adaptations.” It takes guts to promise multiple movies, a television series, and an interconnected cinematic universe.
Bobby Kotick, Activision’s CEO, is confident that his new division can make it work: “Activision Blizzard is home to some of the most successful entertainment franchises in history, across any medium [and we] intend to approach film and television development with the same unwavering commitment to excellence we are known for in game development.”
Posted in Etcetera, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Skylanders SuperChargers
Fallout 4 launch trailer is here and it features plenty of gameplay footage
I know that some other heavily hyped game is now available in stores as of today, but Fallout fans are also in a tizzy over the pending launch of Fallout 4. So now is the perfect time for Bethesda to deliver the game’s epic launch trailer.
Clocking in at almost three minutes, the Fallout 4 launch trailer features a ton of gameplay footage and one very loyal dog.
Fallout 4 will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on November 10. To further prepare yourself, I recommend watching Bethesda’s S.P.E.C.I.A.L. video series (Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, Luck) one more time.
Battleborn’s release has been pushed back to May 3, 2016
Gearbox Software and Take-Two Interactive have announced that Battleborn will miss its previously announced February 9, 2016 release date. The “hero shooter” will now launch for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on May 3, 2016.
During today’s quarterly financial report, Take-Two Interactive President Karl Slatoff said, “We believe that extending development by a few months will allow the team enough time to fully realize the creative vision for Battleborn and enable them to deliver the best entertainment experience possible.”
“Creating new IP is hard, and we can’t help but be Gearbox,” added representatives from Gearbox via the developer’s Twitter account.
In case you missed it, the developer released a “Multiplayer Reveal Trailer” for Battleborn a few days ago, and it’s been embedded above.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Battleborn
EA pushes up Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 and will release it on February 23
Spring planting season will come early next year as Electronic Arts has announced that the “Spring 2016” release of Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 has been pushed up to February 23. Whether Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow or not, that date firmly falls within the Winter, so good job EA.
The publisher also revealed the “Grass Effect Z7-Mech,” an in-game bonus vehicle that players will receive if they pre-order Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2. Created in conjunction with BioWare, you can go up close and personal with the “Grass Effect Z7-Mech” in the trailer embedded above.
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 will expand upon its predecessor with a number of new modes, maps, and character classes. PopCap and EA Canada have even added a few “fan-requested” features into the game:
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 goes above and beyond to deliver the funniest, craziest most over-the-top shooter yet. Players can go on the offensive as the plants in all-new modes including the 24-player Herbal Assault mode, or rally the zombies together and defend against the plants in the four-player co-op mode, Graveyard Ops. From the Great White North to Moon Base Z, all the hilarious action takes place across 12 fresh maps that are bursting with life and humor. Join the fight for Suburbia with six new character classes and over one hundred unique characters to collect. Experience even more ways to play, including the Backyard Battleground; players will have the freedom to explore this interactive environment by themselves or with friends. The Backyard Battleground is a wild playground with dynamic events and tons to discover, and is unlike anything that has been in a Plants vs Zombies game before.
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 is in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2
Red Barrels has announced that Outlast II will be released for PC, PS4, Xbox One in Fall 2016
Red Barrels delivered one of the most terrifying games of the decade when they unleashed Outlast on an unsuspecting populace in 2013. Taking control of an investigative journalist named Miles Upshur, players explored the mysterious Mount Massive Asylum through their fingers. Yesterday, the developer announced the game’s story will continue next Fall in Outlast II:
No conflict is ever black and white. But once the dust has settled, the victors get to decide who was right and who was wrong. Who is good and who is evil. Human nature pushes us to extremes of violence and depravity, which we then justify by divine inspiration and a promise of paradise to come. Horror rises from desperation and blind faith. Outlast II will test your faith, pushing players to a place where going mad is the only sane thing to do.
Aside from the teaser trailer embedded above, we don’t know much else about Outlast II. However, Red Barrels did say that their “twisted new journey into the depths of the human mind” is in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Rise of the Tomb Raider launch trailer includes Karen O’s theme song, “I Shall Rise”
Rise of the Tomb Raider will make its Xbox One and Xbox 360 debut next week, so now’s the perfect time for Microsoft and Square Enix to release the game’s launch trailer. The three-minute video is a deep dive into Lara Croft’s next adventure, which cribs from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with its paternal quest for immortality (and a watery escape is borrowed wholesale from Temple of Doom). While they might feel familiar, the stunning environments that Lara visits should be enough to entice fans of the franchise.
However, if they’re not, the trailer is also soundtracked by Karen O, the lead singer of Yeah Yeah Yeahs. She told Rolling Stone that her song, “I Shall Rise,” is about the exact moment that Lara Croft: Young Archaeologist transforms into Lara Croft: Tomb Raider…
“It all sounded really tasty. They wanted drama and high-stakes and melodrama. That was very appealing to me because I love making music connected to a storyline. It was all stuff I loved like having the theme song to [Lara Croft] becoming an icon and the creation myth to the moment she becomes Lara.”
You can listen to “I Shall Rise” in its entirety after the break. (more…)
Knight Squad, a Gauntlet/Bomberman hybrid, will be released on November 16
Chainsawesome Games has announced that Knight Squad, their two-to-eight-player party game that combines elements from Gauntlet and Bomberman, will be released for the PC and Xbox One on November 16. Xbox One owners will even be able to pick it up for free at launch as part of Microsoft’s Games With Gold program.
Players will compete in nine different game modes ranging from free-for-all deathmatches to capture the flag to playing soccer with a giant ball. But whichever mode is selected, all combatants will get the chance to wield a wide range of medieval weaponry as well as a few more modern implements (laser pistols, machine guns, etc). Knight Squad will also include a single-player Challenge Mode.
Best of all… if you previously purchased through Steam’s Early Access program, you’ll receive the Extra Chivalrous pack at launch. The Extra Chivalrous pack will include four new game modes (“Prison Break,” “Arms Race,” “Soul Hunter,” and “Serial Killer”) and three additional Knights.
Still not convinced? Check out the launch trailer above and you will be.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Knight Squad
New Releases: Call of Duty Black Ops III, Need For Speed, Yo-Kai Watch, More
Are you ready to answer the call of duty? Right on schedule, Activision and Treyarch will release Call of Duty: Black Ops III for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this week. Taking place in a near future where technologically-augmented soldiers form the backbone of modern war, the game will also be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360, though it won’t include the single-player Campaign Mode. Players in the market for a PS4 will also be able to pick up a 1 TB PS4 + Call of Duty: Black Ops III Bundle this week.
This week’s other major new release is Need For Speed, the latest entry in the long-running racing franchise. Developer Ghost Games considers the PS4 and Xbox One game a complete reboot of the series and has packed Need For Speed with five overlapping storylines and dozens of cars.
The kids will get their chance to play as well as Nintendo and Level-5 will release the Pokemon-like Yo-Kai Watch for the 3DS, while Little Orbit will launch Snoopy’s Grand Adventure for the 3DS, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Finally, a number of games are getting special edition re-releases including Evolve: Ultimate Edition (PS4, Xbox One), Lords of the Fallen: Complete Edition (PS4, Xbox One), and Shovel Knight (3DS, PS4, Wii U).
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Evolve, Lords of the Fallen, Need For Speed, Shovel Knight, The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy's Grand Adventure, Yo-Kai Watch