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
Life Is Strange 2: Episode 2 will be released this January
Square Enix and Dontnod Entertainment released Life Is Strange 2‘s first episode this past September. Players have been eagerly awaiting the second episode, but both entities have kept quiet about when fans can expect to dive back into the world of Life Is Strange 2.
Today, Dontnod reappeared with an update to their official website, and confirmed that Episode 2: Rules will be available to download for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this January. The four-month gap between episodes is longer than the developer originally intended, but it looks like they chose to delay Episode 2 to “meet the quality of play and storytelling that our vision for a game like this demands”:
The Life is Strange series is a project close to all of our hearts and one for which we do not want to rush development and thereby fail to meet the benchmark of quality and emotional impact that you, our players, deserve. This is why we so far have not announced an official release date – we want to ensure that we will be in a position to release something that we are proud of and that you will enjoy and remember forever.
We understand that there are certain expectations that episodes will be released at a similar cadence as previous Life is Strange games have. The ambition of Life is Strange 2, however, means that the previous frameworks no longer apply if we are to meet the quality of play and storytelling that our vision for a game like this demands and that you deserve.
Dontnod also promised that more information about Life Is Strange 2 – Episode 2: Rules will be made available sometime in mid-December.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Life Is Strange 2
The Video Game Canon – Half-Life
Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon with a look at how Half-Life’s opening tram ride changed first person shooters (and may even have created an entirely new genre). Here’s a teaser…
“Good morning and welcome to the Black Mesa Transit System. This automated train is provided for the security and convenience of the Black Mesa Research Facility personnel.”
It’s just another day at work for Gordon Freeman. The well-groomed scientist is running late for an important meeting and he’s forced to board the tram alone as he travels to the secure wing of the Black Mesa Research Facility.
It’s a rather lowkey introduction to one of the most ambitious games ever created, but easing the player into the game’s world was a big part of what made Valve’s Half-Life so ambitious. You’re free to move about the train car as you’re ferried from the facility’s living quarters to the research levels belowground, but for those five minutes, you’re also at the mercy of the developers and how they want you to interact with their game.
Visit VideoGameCanon.com to continue reading this article and to explore the complete Top 1000.
Alien: Blackout has been trademarked by 20th Century Fox for their next Alien game
Nearly a year ago, 20th Century Fox announced plans to produce a new shooter in the Alien universe with Cold Iron Studios. Earlier this week, we learned that the film studio may have settled on a title for the game, thanks to a new application with the European Union Intellectual Property Office.
There’s a chance it’s not connected to Cold Iron’s shooter, but according to the EUIPO, 20th Century Fox has trademarked the name Alien: Blackout for use with “computer game and video game software.”
That’s it for now, and we’re still quite a ways out from learning more about Alien: Blackout, but it tickles me that 20th Century Fox retained a law firm located on “Bishops Square” to file their EUIPO paperwork in London.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Alien: Blackout
WB Games and TT Games will release The Lego Movie 2 Videogame on February 26
WB Games and TT Games are putting the pieces together on their next Lego-styled collaboration, and they’ve announced that The Lego Movie 2 Videogame will be released for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on February 26.
Based on both The Lego Movie and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, players will need to team up with Emmet, Lucy, Batman, and all their friends to save Bricksburg from an alien invasion:
The alien monster invaders have left Bricksburg in ruins. It is now up to Emmet and a host of heroic characters to go beyond their world and save their friends from the strange inhabitants of the Systar System. Journey into outer space, discover new worlds, and test your Master Building skills.
“Packed with fan-favorite and exciting new characters, mysterious locations, and action from both the sequel and the original blockbuster, The Lego Movie 2 Videogame is a wild adventure for kids to explore,” said Arthur Parsons, the Head of Design at TT Games. “Players must scour the stars for rare items, materials and tools to complete their collections and help their journey across the Lego universe, experiencing a wide array of amazing environments, wacky vehicles, and incredible creatures along the way.”
More details about The Lego Movie 2 Videogame (along with a handful of screenshots) can be found at the game’s official website.
New Retail Releases: Darksiders III, More
With the “Fall Gaming Season” typically running from early September through Black Friday, it’s easy to see why there’s only a handful of new retail releases set to launch this week. But we’re thinking that more than one new title will surely catch your eye…
THQ Nordic leads the way this week with the release of Darksiders III. Developed by Gunfire Games (which was founded by the remnants of franchise originator Vigil Games), the third game in the apocalyptic action series stars follows the exploits of a new Horseman, Fury, and will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
A small number of additional games will also make their way onto store shelves this week, including Milestone’s latest motorcycle racing simulation, Ride 3, which will cross the finish line for the PS4 and Xbox One. Studio Wildcard’s dinosaur survival sim, Ark: Survival Evolved, and Saber Interactive’s offroad driving game, Spintires: Mudrunner – American Wilds, will also both make their Nintendo Switch debut this week.
Finally, Activision will bundle together Spyro Reignited Trilogy + Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy into a new package on the PS4 and Xbox One.
That’s all for now, but we’ll be back later this week with an update on the latest downloadable titles coming to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
CoD: Black Ops 4 comes out on top against Red Dead Redemption 2 in October 2018’s ranking of best-selling games
Once Red Dead Redemption 2 staked a claim on October 26, game publishers ran screaming in the other direction. Ubisoft notably subtracted three weeks from the usual late October launch for the new entries in the Assassin’s Creed series, and Activision pushed the release of the latest entry in the Call of Duty franchise up a full month from its typical early November slot.
But it looks like Activision’s gamble paid off, as The NPD Group has revealed that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was last month’s best-selling game. And at #3, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey also performed well in its earlier launch window. Red Dead Redemption 2, which was only on sale for nine days during the sale period, galloped away with the #2 spot.
The NPD Group further noted (via GamesIndustry.biz) that Black Ops 4 is now the owner of the eighth-best launch month (in dollar sales) since they began tracking video game sales in 1995. As you might have guessed, that means its also currently the best-selling game of the year. And it’ll probably hang on to that title through November and December, but it’s hard to completely count out Rockstar Games.
A complete look at The NPD Group’s list of the best-selling games from last month can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, FIFA 19, Madden NFL 19, NBA 2K19, NPD, Red Dead Redemption 2, Spider-Man, Super Mario Party, WWE 2K19
Kickstart This! Gigabuster
After several months, Kickstart This! returns refreshed and rejuvenated. Those following this column likely saw that I recently had a rather sour experience with the Pelda Pro, a battery expansion and dock for the Nintendo Switch. It is still sitting in its box and will probably stay there for all eternity.
However, one bad experience in over five years of crowdfunding various projects is a great statistic, and one that I think only serves to illustrate how well this model of funding has been embraced both by creators and consumers. I very nearly bought an automated cat toilet last week, but I narrowly missed all the early bird tiers.
Anyway, I digress. I’ve been eagerly awaiting a video game project I could rally behind after months in the wilderness of non-crowdfunding. I started writing about Omno, a pretty puzzle game from Jonas Manke that has smashed its funding target, but I prefer to shine a light on games that need your funding.
Games like Gigabuster (though Omno is definitely worth checking out). (more…)
Development on The Walking Dead: The Final Season resumes at Skybound Games
The reverberations from the closure of Telltale Games back in September are still being felt throughout the game industry. In one corner, you had discussions about a company’s responsibility to its employees after former Telltalers confirmed that they received little to no warning about the studio closure ahead of the announcement. And on the other hand, you had conversations about a company’s responsibility to its fans after the apparent cancellation of The Walking Dead: The Final Season.
Earlier today, one of those questions was publicly answered by Skybound Games, the interactive division of The Walking Dead comic creator Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment.
According to a new post on Skybound’s official website, development on The Walking Dead: The Final Season has resumed thanks to the efforts of part of the original team from Telltale:
After Telltale shut its doors, the game was, unfortunately, unable to be worked on and hence the release dates of Episodes 3 and 4 have been delayed. But, we’re excited to let you know that many of the talented, passionate team members who originally worked on the game are resuming development efforts today!
The first two episodes of The Walking Dead: The Final Season were released this Summer for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. Release dates for Episode 3: Broken Toys and Episode 4: Take Us Back will be announced “soon.”