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
Sega to institute layoffs, early retirement program as company continues to struggle
Sega (which officially does business under the Sega Sammy Holdings name) has been dealing with financial difficulties for some time, but it looks like their latest round of problems will result in some big changes for the company.
Sega’s Board of Directors met this morning and hammered out a restructuring plan that they believe will help the company’s financial position in the future. Unfortunately, a key part of that plan will involve an unspecified number of layoffs and a voluntary early requirement program that the company will offer to 300 employees. Some of the layoffs will come from Sega of America, which will be moving from its current headquarters in San Francisco to a smaller facility somewhere in Southern California.
The restructuring, which is expected to be completed by the Summer, will also lead to a new focus on downloadable titles developed for smartphones and the PC. Sega is also heavily involved in big budget and mid-tier on consoles and the PC, but it’s currently unknown how this plan will affect the company’s internal development teams.
Life Is Strange launches tomorrow… so here’s the launch trailer
Dontnod’s Life Is Strange will be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One tomorrow, so the developer wants to get everyone ready by releasing a launch trailer for the game.
Life Is Strange is an adventure game that follows Max, a teenager who can rewind time, and Chloe, her best friend who always seems to be in danger. The game forces Max to make choices about when and where to use her powers to save Chloe, and sometimes this creates disastrous results. However, those results also include a quirky story that fans of indie movies will probably love.
Dontnod plans to tell Life Is Strange’s story across five episodes, so if you like what you see, get ready for a lot more of the game.
Ermac force punches his way into Mortal Kombat X
NetherRealm Studios streamed the latest “Kombat Kast” through Twitch this afternoon (archived at YouTube) and it revealed yet another Mortal Kombat X character… Ermac. Gone is Ermac’s palette-swapped red ninja garb and in its place is a hooded outfit that is likely meant to resemble a monk’s robe. But I think it’s safe to say that Ermac definitely did not take a vow of non-violence.
Like Reptile before him, Ermac reuses many of his special moves from 2011’s Mortal Kombat in Mortal Kombat X. His telekinetic powers return, as does his flying ability and his Force Ball. These special moves are well represented in Ermac’s three style variations: “Spectral”
(Gains ability to fly and unique attacks from the air), “Mystic” (Gains the telekinetic abilities Tele-Lift and Tele-Push), and “Master of Souls” (Gains Soul Ball and the ability to Vanish to avoid damage).
Be sure to watch the “Kombat Kast” linked above for even more Mortal Kombat X action and don’t forget that the game will be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on April 14.
Mythbusters will tackle a few myths from Doom on January 31
The Mythbusters will meet their Doom this weekend. On Saturday, January 31, the popular Discovery Channel show will devote an hour to several myths based on video games, or more specifically, questions related to Doom 3: 3 BFG Edition. Hosts Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage will receive an assist from id Software’s Tim Willits as they attempt to discover if it’s really possible for the Doomguy to carry all those “health packs, guns, and even a chainsaw.” I’m sure a few longtime Doom players already see a problem with this scenario (Hint: Doomguy never carries health packs).
The preview trailer above needs a bit more first-person action, but I’m thinking this will be a pretty fun hour of television. Here’s hoping we get to see a Gelatin Man Imp made out of ballistic gel.
WB Games announces Lego Jurassic World and Lego Avengers
WB Games has announced that Lego Jurassic World and Lego Avengers are both in development at TT Games for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Both games will be released in 2015, though the Avengers game will debut a bit later than you might expect.
Lego Jurassic World will launch in June, just ahead or just after Jurassic World‘s theatrical opening on June 12. The game will include levels based on all four films including Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III, and Jurassic World. Most important of all, do you realize what this means? Lego Muldoon mumbling “Clever girl…” before getting eaten by Lego Raptors!
Meanwhile, Lego Avengers will be released in the Fall, presumably around the same date as The Avengers: Age of Ultron‘s Blu-ray/DVD debut. Like Lego Jurassic Park, Lego Avengers will include levels based on The Avengers and The Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Finally, WB Games made two other Lego-related announcements this morning. First, the publisher confirmed that Lego Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin will be available for the 3DS and Vita on March 24. And second, they revealed that Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham will be released for mobile devices this Summer.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Lego Avengers, Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, Lego Jurassic World, Lego Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin
Get bonus XP in Evolve by playing Evolve: Hunters Quest, a mobile match-3 puzzler
Quick, grab your phone or tablet, because 2K Games has just released a free-to-play companion app to Evolve for mobile devices. But if you were looking for a little shooty shooty on the go, you might be disappointed. Evolve: Hunters Quest is actually a match-3 puzzler. Available through the iTunes App Store, the Google Play Store, and the Amazon Appstore, Evolve: Hunters Quest will offer 100 missions and the ability to earn Mastery Points which can be spent in the PC, PS4, and Xbox One edition of Evolve to level up your favorite characters:
Evolve: Hunters Quest is a match-3 puzzle combat game based on the Best of Show E3 award winner, Evolve. Use match 3 tokens of the same color to unleash devastating attacks on your enemies, and fill up energy bars to activate hunters’ special abilities. Earn Mastery Points to rank up your character in both the mobile and console games. Explore the planet of Shear in search of new wildlife and monsters. Discover and complete your collection of exotic wildlife in the Bestiary, and earn unique art for the Evolve console game. Enhance your Evolve skills by watching your multiplayer match replays from a strategic top-down view, and devouring intel in the Game Changer. Evolve: Hunters Quest lets you continue your Evolve experience from anywhere!
Evolve will be released on February 10.
PGA Tour 15 pushed back to Spring; Need For Speed, Star Wars: Battlefront on track for 2015
Electronic Arts delivered their quarterly financial presentation yesterday and the company’s executives gave investors a quick peek into what they have planned for 2015.
Andrew Wilson, EA’s Chief Executive Officer, confirmed that a more detailed dive into the publisher’s 2015 schedule would happen at their next quarterly presentation, but he was able to share a few new announcements. First, Wilson revealed that the release of PGA Tour 15 has been officially delayed. Originally planned for an early 2015 launch, the PS4/Xbox One game (which won’t star Tiger Woods) will now make its way to stores in the Spring.
The CEO followed up that announcement with the happier news that the next Need For Speed game and Star Wars: Battlefront are still on track for late 2015/early 2016. Battlefront will be released during the “holiday quarter” (presumably to coincide with Star Wars: The Force Awakens) while Need For Speed will be released sometime in “Fiscal Year 2016” (which runs from April 1, 2015 through March 31, 2016).
In addition to the titles mentioned by Wilson, EA has a massive number of semi-announced games in development including Mass Effect 4, Star Wars: Visceral, and Criterion’s Vehicle Game. While it’s unlikely that any of them will be released this year, we may learn more about them in future financial presentations and at this year’s E3 Expo.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Need For Speed, Rory McIlroy PGA Tour, Star Wars: Battlefront
Ice to see you… Latest Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel trailer features Lady Hammerlock
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel expanded today with the release of the Lady Hammerlock Pack, which adds Aurelia the Baroness to the game as a playable character. Lady Hammerlock is a master of ice-based superpowers and you can get a small taste of that in the trailer above. “On the Rocks” doesn’t even begin to describe it.
The Lady Hammerlock Pack is part of the Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Season Pass (which is priced at $29.99), but she can also be downloaded on her own for $9.99.