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
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- 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
Rumor: Dishonored developer Arkane takes over Prey 2
Prey 2 has bounced around from developer to developer for years now, but it looks like the long-delayed sequel may have finally found a permanent home at Arkane Studios. And there’s a chance it’s no longer known as “Prey 2.”
Kotaku is reporting (along with an assist from Prey 2 fan site Alien Noire) that Prey 2 has found a new home at the Dishonored developer’s Austin studio. Their tipster also revealed that Bethesda has instructed them to throw out the entirety of Human Head’s work and start from scratch, or, “just treat it like a new System Shock.” The original design for Prey 2 already differed wildly from Prey, trading in the original’s alien spaceship (complete with kidnapped humans) for a wild west-like alien planet where humans live freely.
Arkane is actually the third studio to get their hands on Prey 2. Previously, Bethesda offered the game to Obsidian, who worked on it for a few months. According to Kotaku’s source, the team isn’t happy that their parent company is forcing them to work on someone else’s game, but the fresh start will allow them to put their own stamp on it.
This developer switch will cause another delay for Prey 2 and, according to Kotaku, it’s unlikely that the game will be released before 2016.
Crysis 3: The Lost Island DLC explores the franchise’s “spiritual roots” this June
Like a crazy bearded man shouting in an airport parking lot, Crytek has announced that they’re going back to the island in this June’s new downloadable expansion for Crysis 3: The Lost Island.
Taking place on a small island in the Philippines, the same locale from the original Crysis, The Lost Island DLC will add four new multiplayer maps (“Ascent,” “Coastline,” “Creek,” and “Crossings”), two new weapons (Claw and Rhino), and two new game modes (Possession and Frenzy.
“The gameplay in the Crysis series has always been deeply connected to the unique environments in which the action takes place,” said Crytek’s CEO, Cevat Yerli. “By transporting players out of the Liberty Dome and into the Lost Island setting, we’re not only returning to Crysis’ spiritual roots, but also introducing fresh ways to play that provide Crysis 3 fans with genuinely game-changing new tactical options, game modes and weapons.”
Crysis 3: The Lost Island has been priced at $14.99 (1200 Microsoft Points) and will be available to download on June 4.
EA: Online Passes now available “free of charge”
Continuing their efforts to do away with their Online Pass program, Electronic Arts has removed the restriction from many of their EA Sports title and made the Online Pass content/multiplayer features for many other games available for free.
Speaking to CVG, an EA representative had this to say about the end of the company’s Online Pass program: “Players will see it first with some EA Sports titles, where a prompt to enter an Online Pass code will no longer appear in-game; with other titles we are simply making Online Passes available free of charge online. These are rolling updates that are taking effect over the next several weeks. We hope players continue to enjoy our games and online services for a long time to come.”
A NeoGAF user has noticed that EA Online Passes are now available as free downloads on the Xbox Live Marketplace for the following games:
- Alice: Madness Returns
- Battlefield: Bad Company 2
- Bulletstorm
- Dragon Age: Origins
- Dragon Age II
- Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
- Mass Effect 2
- Medal of Honor
- Shift 2: Unleashed
- Skate 3
Presumably, this content will be available for free on the PlayStation Network and PC download services soon.
Blizzard’s Titan MMO delayed until at least 2016 as it undergoes huge design changes
It looks like World of Warcraft players will have to stick with Blizzard’s first MMO for the forseeable future. The company’s next generation MMO, known internally as Titan, has been delayed.
According to a report on GamesBeat, the release of Titan has been pushed back to 2016 “at the earliest” as development on the game has been completely scrapped. Blizzard plans to completely start over on Titan with a slimmed down team.
In an official statement, Blizzard’s Shon Damron said: “We’ve always had a highly iterative development process, and the unannounced MMO is no exception. We’ve come to a point where we need to make some large design and technology changes to the game. We’re using this opportunity to shift some of our resources to assist with other projects while the core team adapts our technology and tools to accommodate these new changes. Note that we haven’t announced any dates for the MMO.”
Whatever happens with Titan, Blizzard will soon have plenty of competition for MMO players as Bethesda plans to launch The Elder Scrolls Online this year.
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger Review: Blazing Saddle (Sores)
Strap on your trusty six-shooters because we’re heading back to the Old West in Call of Juarez: Gunslinger. You’ll hunt down the most notorious outlaws in history, while mowing down hundreds of henchmen in bloody gunfights in famous locales. Sounds like a blast, right? Well, it could be if it weren’t for some clunky and frustrating game mechanics.
Ubisoft plans to announce multiple next-gen games at E3 2013
Ubisoft’s Fall 2013 lineup will be well represented at this year’s E3 Expo as the publisher plans to display five titles at the gaming showcase, as well as multiple unannounced next-generation games:
- Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
- Rayman Legends
- South Park: The Stick of Truth
- Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist
- Watch Dogs
Ubisoft’s E3 Press Conference will take place on Monday, June 10 at 6:00 PM (Eastern Time). The company will post a livestream of the presentation on YouTube for everyone who can’t attend the E3 Expo. Updates from the show floor will also be posted on Ubisoft’s Facebook page, Twitter feed, and official blog during E3 week.
“This is a pivotal moment for the video game industry, and E3 is the opportunity for us to share our vision for the future,” said Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft’s CEO. “We have many incredible games in development, and we’re especially excited to share more on our next-gen titles, which will deliver more connected, immersive and interactive experiences to our fans.”
So, any guesses on what Ubisoft’s unannounced next-gen games will be?
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, E3 2013, Rayman Legends, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Watch Dogs
Mojang’s Scrolls will launch in open beta on June 3
Mojang, the people behind the massively popular Minecraft, are almost ready to release their next title, the card-based strategy game Scrolls. Instead of a traditonal launch, the game will be released as a paid “open beta” for the PC and Mac on June 3. Players will be able to purchase Scrolls for $20 and test/play the new game for themselves in a kind of rolling launch.
For more information about the world of Scrolls, you can check out the launch trailer above or you can peruse the game’s “mini-guide” over at the official site.
TT Games adds Venom, Human Torch to Lego Marvel Super Heroes
When WB Games first announced Lego Marvel Super Heroes, they confirmed that the game would include over 100 playable characters. So far, that list includes big names like Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine, Captain America, The Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, and Deadpool. But two more were added to the game’s roster this weekend at the London MCM Expo.
According to a tweet from TT Games’ Joe Moore, Venom and the Human Torch will both be playable in Lego Marvel Super Heroes. With (at least) 88 more names to come, we can probably expect more of these announcements between now and the game’s release this fall on the 3DS, DS, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii U, and Xbox 360.
I’m holding out hope for Lego Blade myself.