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: PS4
Doom’s latest Free Update adds bots, new SnapMap options, and more
The imaginatively-named “Free Update 5” is now available to download for id Software’s Doom. This no-cost patch adds a new competitive game mode to Doom’s online multiplayer, as well as the option to play against bots and a higher level cap for your Echelon Rank.
You can check out the trailer above for a look at everything available in “Free Update 5,” or read on for an overview of the update direct from the developer:
Multiplayer Additions
- Infernal Run: A new competitive game mode where teams fight for control of the ball and score in the opponent’s goal.
- Bots: Available on original multiplayer maps in Team Deathmatch and Deathmatch game modes.
- Echelon 11: Multiplayer rank now extends to Echelon 11. Once you reach the new highest ranking, you’ll unlock the signature Doom Marine Armor (Praetor Suit)!
SnapMap Additions
- Play as the Doom Marine in the Doom Marine Armor (Praetor Suit).
- More elements from the campaign, allowing you to play and create even more campaign-like experiences.
- Lazarus Lab themed modules and props.
To get the most out of Doom’s newest update, players will be able to take part in a Double XP Weekend from now until Monday, December 12, at 12:00 PM (Eastern Time).
Finally, id Software also announced that Bloodfall, Doom’s third downloadable expansion, will be released on December 15. The final DLC Pack will include three new multiplayer maps and the invisible Spectre Pinky demon.
More information about “Free Update 5” and the Bloodfall DLC Pack can be found at Bethesda.net.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Doom (2016)
Dragon Quest Heroes II will be released for PS4 on April 25
Square Enix has announced that Dragon Quest Heroes II (no ridiculously lengthy subtitle this time) will be released exclusively for the PS4 on April 25, 2017. The sequel will include online multiplayer for up to four players for the first time, and it’ll also take the story in interesting new directions:
Once upon a time, many years ago, there was a long and terrible war. When the war finally ended, the people of the world made a solemn pact never to fight again. The world was divided into seven realms and peace reigned for a thousand years.
One day, cousins and fellow knights-in-training Lazarel and Teresa reunite in the Kingdom of Harba, far from their Dunisian home. Little do they suspect that the Dunisian army is about to invade, with their old friend Prince Cesar at the helm.
The long-kept peace is broken and the world descends into chaos. With the aid of High King’s envoy the cousins must travel to Accordia for a meeting with the Supreme Sovereign of the Seven Realms to find a solution and bring back peace to the world!
The first trailer for Dragon Quest Heroes II has been embedded above.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged Dragon Quest Heroes II
Sony has sold 50 million PS4 consoles since its launch in 2013
Have you heard about this PlayStation 4 console? I think it’s pretty popular. Actually, I know for a fact that it’s very popular, because Sony announced today that they’ve sold more than 50 million PS4 consoles, worldwide, since it launched in 2013.
“We’re truly delighted that the PS4 community continues to flourish since launch three years ago,” said Andrew House, the President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment. “With tremendous support from our fans and partners across the globe, this year we were able to deliver an unprecedented lineup of hardware, including the new slimmer PS4, PS4 Pro, and PlayStation VR. We will continue to provide the best gaming experiences available through our ground-breaking software lineup and network services, as we focus on accelerating our business and expanding the PS4 ecosystem.”
Sony added that more than 369.6 million PS4 games have been sold in retail stores and through the PlayStation Store. A little quick math confirms that this means each PS4 owner has purchased an average of seven games for their console.
Batman: The Telltale Series will come to an end next week in Episode 5: City of Light
Making good on their promise to complete Batman: The Telltale Series by the end of the year, Telltale Games has announced the game’s final episode, City of Light, will be released on December 13.
In Episode 5, the leader of the Children of Arkham prepares to execute the final act of a plan to destroy the Wayne family name, and the people closest to you are in their path of vengeance. Can Batman’s ultimate secret be kept – his very identity – when it is causing chaos and death in Gotham? The fate of the Wayne family and of the city itself rests on your choices. What will you do? How far will you go? Which mask will you wear?
With Batman: The Telltale Series coming an end, the developer also wants to give fans a chance to try it out for free. The first episode, Realm of Shadows, is now available as a free download for the PC through Steam.
The fifth episode in Telltale’s Batman series will be available to download next week on the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile devices.
The Last Guardian, Ark Survival Evolved, Red Faction, more added to PS Store
After more than seven years in development, Team Ico is finally ready to unleash The Last Guardian on the PS4. Now available to download through the PlayStation Store, players should prepare their hankies, as Fumito Ueda and his team are definitely going to tug on some heartstrings with their story of a scrappy young boy and the massive creature known as Trico.
Another game featuring an array of fantastic beasts will be available to download this week from Studio Wildcard as their dino survival game, Ark: Survival Evolved, has also launched for the PS4.
Finally this week, THQ Nordic is bringing back one of the earliest FPS hits for the PS2 with Red Faction, the latest addition to Sony’s growing stable of PS2-On-PS4 titles.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. And a full look at this week’s new add-ons and discounts is available at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged The Last Guardian
First MLB The Show 17 gameplay trailer also introduces fans to Retro Mode
Sony hosted their annual PlayStation Experience event this past weekend, and we’re still sorting through all the trailer and announcements unveiled during the showcase. And for all you baseball fans out there, here’s a look at the first gameplay trailer for Sony’s MLB The Show 17.
The trailer also gave us a quick glimpse at Retro Mode, an SNES-styled mode that transforms MLB The Show 17 into something that more closely resembles 1994’s Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball. Here’s what Sony San Diego’s Ramone Russell had to say about MLB The Show 17’s Retro Mode on the PlayStation Blog:
Introducing “Retro Mode,” a retro gameplay experience that pays homage to the classic baseball games many of us grew up playing. Retro Mode allows you to move the pitcher across the pitcher’s rubber and move around the batter’s box with ease, classic on-screen displays, an old school soundtrack, unique sound effects, a throwback pause menu and more.
MLB The Show 17 will be released for the PS4 on March 28.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged MLB The Show 17, PlayStation Experience 2016
CoD: Infinite Warfare Update: “Terminal” map free to all and new Quartermaster weapons now available
Activision has announced that new downloadable content for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is now available for all players.
First up, a short tweet has confirmed that the “Terminal” map (which was previously exclusive to players who purchased Infinite Warfare at launch) is now available as a free download for everyone. And second, a new collection of weapons can be obtained from the Quartermaster with Keys or Call of Duty Points. A trailer for the Quartermaster update has been embedded above, and players interested in the new weapons can learn more about them right here:
A brand new collection of craftable Prototype weapons, plus new camos, Epic Taunts, and personalization items have arrived at the Quartermaster in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, including the EBR-800 Bomber sniper/assault rifle hybrid, DCM-8 Epitaph shotgun, Type-2 Atomic assault rifle/dual-SMG combo, and much more.
Activision and Infinity Ward will also support Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare with four downloadable expansions throughout 2017. The first is expected to launch in January or February.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
Housemarque teams up with Smash TV creator to announce Nex Machina
Twin-stick shooters are everywhere nowadays, but Housemarque is going back to the genre’s roots with Nex Machina, which was announced this weekend during the PlayStation Experience. Building on their previous games including Dead Nation and Resogun, the developer is also teaming up with Eugene Jarvis, the creator of Robotron and Smash TV, to create a game where robots have enslaved humanity:
In a world where humans have become more and more addicted to technology, machines have evolved from simple helpers to replacements for unwanted jobs — conscious entities with their own feelings. Robots surpassed mankind’s abilities, becoming the superior being, and started to refuse to serve us.
After the singularity, the rise of the machines was inevitable — and unstoppable. But nobody even noticed. Mankind’s best and brightest were too busy updating their status on social media. When all seems lost, out of the blue a mysterious hero appears: you. Who sent you? Will you save humanity from itself once again? And last but not least, are your skills sharp enough to confront an army of fiendish robots out for blood?
Writing on the PlayStation Blog, Housemarque’s Mikael Haveri said that Nex Machina (which means “Death Machine” in Latin) will be a “true arcade experience” that also serves as something of a spiritual followup to Robotron and Smash TV.
Nex Machina doesn’t currently have a release date.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged Nex Machina, PlayStation Experience 2016