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
Kickstart This! Orphan, Izzy’s Revenge, Orion Trail
How did it get to be February so soon? Now that the longest month of the year (in terms of having no money) is done and dusted, we can look forward to funding an exciting plethora of new video games that need a little help to push them from cool concepts into coffee-fueled development.
This week we have Limbo-esque puzzle-platformer Orphan, comic-style 2D platformer Izzy’s Revenge, and finally Star Trek-inspired space adventure comedy Orion Trail. Let us boldly go where many men and women have gone before! (more…)
New Releases: The Order: 1886, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Total War: Attila, More
Do you believe that a secret cabal of soldiers guards the citizenry from an encroaching force of half-human/half-beastly hybrids? And do you believe that these men and women are the only thing standing between the total collapse of society and these so-called werewolves? You do? Great! Because Ready At Dawn and Sony Santa Monica will release The Order: 1886 for the PS4 this week.
It’ll be joined on store shelves by the more colorful Kirby and the Rainbow Curse for the Wii U (no werewolves in that one) and the more vicious Total War: Attila on the PC (the strategy game from Creative Assembly stars one of the most feared warlords of the ancient world).
Finally this week, Koei Tecmo will re-release Dead or Alive 5 for the PS4 and Xbox One as Dead or Alive 5: Last Round.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Dead or Alive 5, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, The Order: 1886, Total War: Attila
Blizzard and Gearbox will talk about their future projects at PAX East 2015
Blizzard will make their presence known at this year’s PAX East expo with their “Blizzard Preview” panel. During this panel, which will be held on Friday, March 6, at 10:30 AM, the publisher plans to reveal new details about Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, and Overwatch:
Bold new heroes, exciting new cards, and epic new battlegrounds… Join a trio of Blizzard Entertainment developers for a look at just some of what’s in store for 2015, including upcoming content for Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, and Overwatch.
Gearbox Software will also be in attendance at this year’s show with their regular “Inside Gearbox Software” panel. At PAX East, they will likely use their time to talk about Battleborn and Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, both of which will be released this year. It’s probably too early for Gearbox to talk about Borderlands 3, but you never know. The “Inside Gearbox Software” panel will be held on Sunday, March 8, at 10:30 AM:
This is your opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at Gearbox Software and get the latest news and updates from the makers of Borderlands, Battleborn, Homeworld Remastered Collection and more! We will have never-before-seen reveals, exclusives and surprises, so don’t miss out!
Both developers usually have a big presence on the show floor, so expo attendees may get the chance to demo many of these games as well as hearing about them.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Battleborn, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, PAX East 2015
First Just Cause 3 trailer is on fire and the devs will answer your questions at PAX East 2015
The Just Cause series is known for its big action setpieces as Avalanche Studios has pushed protagonist Rico Rodriguez into (and out of) some of the biggest action movie-style moments ever. With Just Cause 3, the development team has made the jump to the PS4 and Xbox One for the first time and the game’s first trailer, dubbed “Firestarter,” gives you an idea of their ambition.
PAX East attendees will get an even closer look at Just Cause 3 as several members of the Avalanche team (including Chief Creative Officer Christofer Sundberg and Game Director Roland Lesterlin) will close out the first day’s festivities with a behind-the-scenes panel:
Join moderator Greg Miller (http://www.kindafunny.com/) and key members of Avalanche Studios – the makers of Just Cause – as they discuss the series’ inspiration and distinctive style and talk about the upcoming Just Cause 3. Panelists will include Christofer Sundberg (Avalanche Studios founder and Chief Creative Officer) Roland Lesterlin (Just Cause 3 Game Director) and Zach Schlappi (Art Director)
Finally, Square Enix has updated the game’s release date. Instead of “TBA 2015,” we now know that Just Cause 3 will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this Fall.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Just Cause 3, PAX East 2015
Boss Key Productions will bring BlueStreak to PAX East 2015
The PAX East 2015 schedule is live and in addition to all the tournaments and concerts, we’ve learned that Cliff Bleszinski will host a panel dedicated to his upcoming game, BlueStreak. Bleszinski will be joined by other developers from his new studio, Boss Key Productions, as they delve into what it takes to open a new studio in this day and age. Boss Key has previously described BlueStreak as a free-to-play arena shooter and Bleszinski and his team will disclose a few more details at PAX East:
Turning the Key: What It Takes To Create A New FPS Franchise
Saturday (3/7): 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Go behind-the-scenes with Cliff Bleszinski and the team at Boss Key Productions to discover what it takes to create a brand new studio and game from scratch. Why did Cliff move on from a huge franchise to start something new? What are Boss Key’s development philosophies? Is there an office beer of choice? All that and more, plus an opportunity to ask questions to the team and get exclusive swag! Trust us, you don’t want to miss it.
It’s currently unknown if BlueStreak will be playable on the show floor, but you never know when it comes to Cliff Bleszinski. As always, PAX East 2015 will be held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center and this year’s expo will run from March 6 through March 8.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged LawBreakers, PAX East 2015
Dying Light parkours to the top of the best-sellers list for January 2015
Question… if only one major new title made its way to stores in January, should we be surprised when that game takes the top spot in the monthly sales rankings from the NPD Group? We probably shouldn’t be, and yet, I was still mildly surprised that Techland’s Dying Light was the best-selling game during 2015’s first four-week frame. It was followed by the two biggest titles from 2014… Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare at #2 and Grand Theft Auto V at #3.
Minecraft, coming in at #4, continues to rise even without the holiday shopping season to bolster its sales rank.
Every other title in the top ten seemed to land in roughly the same position it held in December. NBA 2K15 held onto the #5 spot while Super Smash Bros. For Wii U / Super Smash Bros. For 3DS dropped two places to #6. Far Cry 4 was lucky number seven once more while the #8 spot was taken by Madden NFL 15 (which dropped five spots from #3). The final two spots were once again held by Destiny (#9) and FIFA 15 (#10).
While the best-selling software list was relatively stable (and saw a 5% year-over-year increase in sales), the PS4 reigned supreme on the console charts after a one-month hiatus. This turn of events was most likely due to Microsoft’s temporary suspension of the Xbox One’s $50 discount (it was reinstated on January 18).
If you’re looking for the full top ten from January 2015 in list form, you can find it after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Destiny, Dying Light, Far Cry 4, FIFA 15, Grand Theft Auto V, Madden NFL 15, Minecraft, NBA 2K15, NPD, Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Learn more about the story of Homeworld Remastered Collection in this new trailer
If you’re like me, you don’t know much about Homeworld and Homeworld 2. You’ve probably heard someone mention them before. You might even know that they’re critically-acclaimed strategy games from the turn of the century. But that’s probably it.
Gearbox wants to change all that with the Homeworld Remastered Collection, which is scheduled for release on February 25. In this new trailer, the publisher wants to give gamers a look at the improved graphics, audio, and visual effects found in the Remastered Collection. A short primer on the story is also included for those of us who missed them the first time around.
And for gamers who are looking to relive the Homeworld experience, the Homeworld Remastered Collection will include “Classic” versions of both games, perfectly recreating how they looked and played when they were originally released in 1999 and 2003.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Homeworld, Homeworld 2
Ex-Rare devs announce spiritual successor to Donkey Kong Country and Banjo-Kazooie
Before Rare became known as Microsoft’s Kinect team (though that’ll be changing soon), they developed a whole slew of well-received platformers for Nintendo. Now, the core developers behind those titles have left Rare and struck out on their own as Playtonic Games. Their first project? A spiritual successor to Donkey Kong Country and Banjo-Kazooie.
This project is currently known as Project Ukulele, and Playtonic plans to pull back the curtain on it in this month’s issue of Edge Magazine, which will be available on newsstands tomorrow. The team has also written a bit about Project Ukelele on their official website:
We’ve got the bloke who programmed Donkey Kong Country, the character designer behind Banjo and Kazooie, and the artist who made your console fit to burst with lavish environments across a decade’s worth of adventure games.
Together, our all-star ensemble is aiming to build its debut game, Project Ukulele, into a worthy spiritual successor to those fondly remembered platforming adventures we built in the past.
I highly recommend a visit to PlaytonicGames.com as the site also includes biographies of the team members and the first piece of concept art from Project Ukulele.