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
- 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”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- 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)
- In 2005, games started rewiring our brains – The AV Club (2025)
Most Recent: PS4
Content Crash #3: Will New Games Always Cost $60?
Welcome everyone to the Content Crash podcast. I’m your host, Dan Hartnack, and with as always, Keno Eastmond.
Today’s topic… we’d like to talk about the pricing of games. The standard has forever been that a brand new AAA release comes out and it is $60. That happened way back in the 90s with Nintendo and the Super NES. And all the way to today, that number has not changed, for the most part.
But why is that? And will it ever change?
You can subscribe to the Content Crash podcast on YouTube or SoundCloud.
SteamWorld Dig 2 also coming to PC and PS4 alongside Switch launch in Late Summer/Early Fall 2017
Image & Form has announced that SteamWorld Dig 2 will be available “soon-ish,” and they also revealed that it’s coming to the PC and PS4 as well. Community Manager Julius Guldbog had a bit more to say about the announcement on the developer’s official website:
We’re happy to reveal that SteamWorld Dig 2 is coming to Steam and PS4 in addition to Nintendo Switch. We plan to have SWD2 out on all [platforms] within a few days of the Nintendo Switch debut. A few years ago a multi-platform launch would’ve been completely impossible for us. Thanks to hard work and a bigger team we can finally make it happen. It’s like we’re a “real” game studio now!
Rest assured that these new versions of the game won’t delay the Nintendo Switch version, it’s just that multi-platform development is so much easier for us nowadays. Switch is still the main platform, and now more gamers can join in on the fun!
The addition of two new platforms means that SteamWorld Dig 2 won’t make its originally-planned Summer 2017 launch date. Instead, the game will be available on all three platforms in “Late Summer/Early Fall 2017” So Image & Form can apply some extra polish to it.
Finally, Guldbog said that Image & Form “have not forgotten where we came from,” and that “Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita are still important to us.” So it’s very likely that a portable version of SteamWorld Dig 2 will materialize at some point.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch
Tagged SteamWorld Dig 2
New Retail Releases: Call of Duty Modern Warfare Remastered, Crash Bandicoot Trilogy, Valkyria Revolution, More
This week’s New Retail Releases report is packed full of remakes, sequels, and spinoffs, which is perfect for the start to a likely lazy Summer…
Let’s start things off with Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, a compilation of the first three games in the series, now remade for the PS4. Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Crash Bandicoot: Warped helped put the original PlayStation on the map, and now’s a great time to play them again.
And Activision is striking back again this week with the upcoming standalone re-release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered on the PS4. You might already own it if you purchased the Legacy Edition of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare last year, but if not, here’s your chance.
Also available this week is a pair of spinoffs to two very Japanese franchises. First up is Sega, who will launch Valkyria Revolution on the PS4 and Xbox One, and add real-time combat to the franchise for the first time. Meanwhile, NIS America will deliver a side-story in the sprawling Danganronpa saga with Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls on the PS4.
NIS America will also bring RPG Maker Fes to the 3DS this week. Players won’t be required to have any programming skills, but they’ll be able to create (and share) their own RPG all the same.
Finally this week, two long-forgotten franchises will return to store shelves. Codemasters will zip around the house with the diminutive automobiles from Micro Machines World Series for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. And the famed Elite series will fly again thanks to Elite Dangerous: Legendary Edition on the PS4 and Xbox One.
You can read up on all of this week’s new releases after the break. (more…)
Sub-Zero will be added to Injustice 2 on July 11
Ed Boon has revealed (via Twitter) that owners of Fighter Pack 1 will be able to download Sub-Zero in Injustice 2 on July 11. Everyone else will get the chance to purchase the Lin Kuei’s Grandmaster on July 18.
NetherRealm has announced that nine additional characters will eventually be added to Injustice 2. The next, Starfire, will make her debut sometime in August.
And in case you missed it, you can check out Sub-Zero’s “Introducing!” trailer right here.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Injustice 2
Justice was served as Injustice 2 was the best-selling game of May 2017
NetherRealm Studios has done it again… The NPD Group (via GamesIndustry.biz) has revealed that Injustice 2 was the best-selling game in May.
In the midst of Wonder Woman-mania, the one-on-one fighter beat out the Switch’s heaviest hitters (Mario Kart 8 Deluxe at #2 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at #4), as well as Prey (#5) and Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow of Valentia (#7).
Grand Theft Auto V continues to sell well, landing at #3 in the monthly tally. And Blizzard’s Overwatch celebrated its first anniversary by squeaking into the top ten at #10.
A list of May 2017’s top ten best-selling titles can be found after the break. (more…)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered will get a standalone re-release on PS4 on June 27
Activision gave an extra push to last year’s Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare when they announced a Legacy Edition bundle that would also include Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered. For a long time, this was the only way to acquire the franchise’s most popular entry on the PS4 or Xbox One. But many felt that a standalone re-release of Modern Warfare Remastered was inevitable… especially after Activision said it would NEVER happen.
So it’s not at all surprising that Activision has announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered will receive a standalone re-release (on disc and digital download) for the PS4 on June 27. Similar to the publisher’s release schedule for downloadable expansion packs, a PC and Xbox One launch for the game has likely been penciled in for late July/early August.
The Launch Trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered has been embedded above.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Ubisoft unveils the first in-engine gameplay demo for Beyond Good and Evil 2
Michel Ancel’s pre-show fakeout fooled us all, which meant that Beyond and Good Evil fans were suitably thrilled when its sequel made its debut during Ubisoft’s E3 Press Conference. But that wasn’t the only E3 2017 appearance for Beyond and Good Evil 2.
In addition to the cinematic trailer they showed to the public, Ubisoft also produced a “closed door” gameplay demo for members of the media. Beyond and Good Evil 2 is still in an extremely early state, and the demo only offered viewers the chance to see what the game’s engine is capable of, but today, Ubisoft released a video of that demo to the public.
Now’s your chance to marvel at the massive cities of System 3, including the unique architecture built in to the massive structures you’ll be able to fly right up to. From there, blast off into outer space and get a feel for the game’s spaceship sections, and then crash back down to the craggy surface of the planet.
The UbiBlog offers up a similar description of the video:
In a new behind-the-scenes video, creator Michel Ancel will walk you through what Beyond Good and Evil 2’s new engine is capable of, showing off its massive scale, intricate level of detail, multiple methods of exploration, and more.
A prequel to the first Beyond Good and Evil, Beyond Good and Evil 2 tells a story of space piracy in System 3, a star system being colonized largely through the use of human-animal hybrids as slave labor.
Beyond Good and Evil 2 is currently in development at Ubisoft, with an unknown release date, for unknown platforms.
EA unveils NHL 18 gameplay trailer and cover athlete Connor McDavid
EA Sports has announced that Connor McDavid, a center for the Edmonton Oilers, will serve as the cover athlete for NHL 18. They also revealed that a Public Beta for NHL 18 will be available to download beginning July 25 (registration is open at EASports.com now), as well as the first gameplay trailer.
“Representing NHL 18 as the cover athlete is an incredible honor,” said McDavid. “I’ve played EA Sports NHL every year since I was kid. To appear on the cover, something that has been done previously by so many players that I respect and admire, is very exciting. I can’t wait to play NHL 18.”
In addition to the gameplay trailer’s focus on “speed, skill, and creativity,” NHL 18 will also include an Expansion Draft feature to build a custom team for the Vegas Golden Knights, along with an arcade-inspired 3-on-3 mode known as NHL Threes:
New Creative Attack skill moves give players the control to execute jaw-dropping plays. On offense, creative dekes include between-the-legs moves, one-handed dekes, back-handed toe-drags and much more — like the ability to branch moves together for moment-to-moment decision making. On defense, the new Defensive Skill Stick delivers the tools to counter attacks with poke check targeting, extended pokes, and controlled stick sweeps to cover zones of the ice and take away lanes. New Creative A.I. systems mean teammates now leverage the same tools as the player for intelligent decision-making all over the ice, including board passes and through-passing into space.
NHL 18 introduces 3-on-3 hockey in two bold new ways. First, NHL Threes is an arcade-inspired experience with fast-paced, over-the-top action that features faster gameplay, bigger hits and high-scoring action. Players can choose modes between fast-fun couch co-op and fully competitive online team play, or dive into the new NHL Threes circuit-style Campaign Mode to compete against different teams and leagues in a circuit-style journey where they can unlock objective-based rewards as they progress through the campaign. Second, NHL 18 adds an authentic 3-on-3 online team play option to the fan-favorite EA Sports Hockey League mode, allowing for more open ice and strategic, risk-vs-reward multiplayer competition.
NHL 18 will be available for the PS4 and Xbox One on September 15… though players who opt for the Young Stars Edition (with includes a ton of bonus content for Hockey Ultimate Team) will be able start playing on September 12.