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
Guerrilla unveiled a new trailer for Horizon: Zero Dawn… but also delayed its release to February 2017
If you’ve got three minutes, I highly recommend sitting down to watch the latest Horizon: Zero Dawn trailer. It’s fantastic, and provides plenty of new insights into the character of Aloy and the fusion of high technology and lumbering beasts in her post-apocalyptic world.
Unfortunately, this gift comes with a price, and Guerrilla Games sadly announced a short delay for Horizon: Zero Dawn on the PlayStation Blog today. Previously scheduled to launch in late 2016, the game’s release has now been pushed back to February 28, 2017. Here’s what Hermen Hulst, Guerrilla’s Managing Director, had to say about the delay:
As you can see in the trailer, we’ve decided to push the release date for Horizon: Zero Dawn to February 28, 2017. It wasn’t an easy choice to make; we know many of you have been anxious to play the game since we first announced it. However, we also want to ensure that Horizon: Zero Dawn lives up to the visuals and gameplay quality that our games are known for. The new date affords us the extra time required to deliver fully on our ambitious vision for Horizon: Zero Dawn.
Horizon: Zero Dawn is exclusively in development for the PS4 and will be published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged E3 2016, Horizon: Zero Dawn
International Edition of Final Fantasy XII will be released for PS4 in 2017
It’s a good time to be a Final Fantasy fan. Square Enix is currently hard at work on a brand new chapter (Final Fantasy XV), as well as a full remake of the most popular entry in the series (Final Fantasy VII). Today, the publisher added a high definition remaster of Final Fantasy XII to their schedule.
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age will be based on the previously Japan-only “International Zodiac Job System” version of the game. In addition to the never-before-seen character job progression system hinted at in the title, the remaster will also include the following features:
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age Features
- Latest-generation high-definition graphical capabilities, including characters and movie scenes fully remastered in high-definition.
- True 7.1 surround sound, including high-definition voicing and newly recorded background music utilizing the current generation of sound production.
- Option to switch between the original and the newly remastered soundtrack.
- New Trial Mode where players can take on monsters and enemies in up to 100 successive battles.
- Modern gameplay advancements including PlayStation 4 system Trophy support and Share functionalities, auto-save and shortened loading times.
- An endless amount of gameplay and adventure including hunts, battles, and mini-games.
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age will be exclusively released for the PS4 sometime next year, but first, Square Enix plans to put the remaster on display at this year’s E3 Expo, which will be held in Los Angeles next week.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged E3 2016, Final Fantasy XII
New Retail Releases: Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, Kirby Planet Robobot, Odin Sphere HD, More
You’ve gotta have Faith in this week’s new retail releases, because the star of Mirror’s Edge is back.
Eight years after her first adventure, Faith is back in Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst, a prequel/reboot for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Players will return to the city of Glass and use their first-person freerunning skills to climb skyscrapers and battle the oppressive government.
Another underdog is back on store shelves this week as Nintendo plans to release Kirby: Planet Robobot for the 3DS. Standing up to an alien invasion, Kirby will pilot a battle mech and blast his way through dozens of stages to take back Dream Land.
Also this week, Atlus and Vanillaware have teamed up to produce Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir, an HD remake of 2007’s Odin Sphere, for the PS4, PS3, and Vita. The side-scrolling action RPG includes five playable characters and a unique take on Norse mythology.
Finally this week, Koei Tecmo will release Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book, the 17th game in the Atelier series of RPGs, for the PS4, and Arc System Works will launch Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator, the latest game in the 2D fighting series, for the PS4 and PS3.
A few other games will also make their way onto store shelves this week, and you can find the complete list after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Kirby: Planet Robobot, Mirror's Edge: Catalyst, Odin Sphere
Yacht Club reveals a short snippet from Shovel Knight’s King Knight add-on
Yacht Club Games launched the beefy “Plague of Shadows” expansion for Shovel Knight late last year, but they’re not done updating their 2013 debut. The developer is also in the midst of creating add-on campaigns for King Knight and Specter Knight, and the current plan is to release both by the end of the year.
There’s still no ETA on when the King Knight or Specter Knight campaigns will be completed, but Yacht Club recently released this quick glimpse at King Knight in action:
We're creating two new Shovel Knight campaign updates! Specter is cool and King Knight rules. Here he is in action! pic.twitter.com/tkIwxcA2Xy
— Yacht Club Games (@YachtClubGames) June 2, 2016
I love the regal flourishes that have been added to the status bar.
Ed Boon is teasing Injustice: Gods Among Us 2 on Twitter
With the release of Mortal Kombat X last year, NetherRealm Studios is likely planning something new for their new project. But that something new might be a return to the twisted alternate universe of Injustice: Gods Among Us.
For the last few days, Ed Boon, NetherRealm’s Creative Director, has been posting tweet after tweet (and four more after that) about DC’s superheroes. The developer also erased the Mortal Kombat Dragon from his profile picture and replaced it with a “II” symbol.
Boon has a reputation for playful antics on his Twitter feed, and this Injustice 2 tease could just be an elaborate hoax. But the 2016 E3 Expo is less than two weeks away, and it’s just as likely Boon is doing his part to stir up interest in the announcement as NetherRealm’s resident hype man.
Either way, we’ll probably learn more about NetherRealm’s next project soon.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged E3 2016, Injustice 2
Mafia III’s Collector’s Edition embraces the 60s by including a 2-LP vinyl soundtrack
Mafia III is getting a groovy Collector’s Edition this Fall that includes not one, but two, soundtrack albums on vinyl.
The first album features a small sampling of Mafia III’s full in-game soundtrack, but the inclusion of The Rolling Stones’s “Paint It Black,” Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower,” and The Animals’s “The House of the Rising Sun” is certainly representative of the decade. A complete track listing for the soundtrack can be found after the break. Meanwhile, the second album will present “the flavor” of Mafia III’s New Orleans-like setting to listeners with Jesse Harlin and Jim Bonney’s score.
But don’t worry, even if you’re not a vinyl aficionado, the Mafia III Collector’s Edition will include a large batch of goodies:
Mafia III Collector’s Edition
- Exclusive Two-LP Vinyl Soundtrack and Score Collection: One disc features some of the 60s’ greatest hit makers and the artists that inspired them – and this is just a small sampling of the 100-plus song in-game soundtrack. This eclectic mix of Rock, Rhythm and Blues, and Pop, all colliding against a backdrop of war, civil unrest, and sweeping social changes that defined the 1960s.
- Exclusive Collectible Art Prints: Two frame-worthy prints from Playboy and the Alberto Vargas Estate representing the vast collection of art for players to discover in-game.
- The Art of Mafia III Collectible Art Book: A 56-page book examining the creation of New Bordeaux, the new world fashioned after New Orleans in the summer of 1968.
- Lincoln Clay Replica Dog Tags: 1960’s US military issue replicas, these are the tags of a combat-hardened Vietnam vet fueled by the need for military-grade revenge against the Italian Mafia
- Faux Leather Establishment Drink Coasters: Take a break from your revenge spree with a drink – and park them on these coasters. They represent the Paradiso Casino and Sammy’s in-game criminal establishments.
Mafia III will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on October 7. (more…)
Minecraft continues its quest for world domination after selling 100 million copies
Two years ago, Microsoft spent $2.5 billion to acquire Mojang and all rights to Minecraft. I think it was a wise investment… as Mojang announced today that more than 100 million copies of Minecraft (106,859,714 to be exact) have been sold since the game’s original release.
According to a nifty infographic on Mojang’s blog, the mobile version of Minecraft appears to be the most popular around the world. But over on the game’s official website, we can see that exactly 23,540,997 have been sold for the PC. That leaves console editions for the PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One to pick up the rest of the slack.
All told, more than 40 million people play Minecraft at least once a month, and that number probably won’t slow down anytime soon… more than 53,000 copies of the game are still sold each and every month.
Most Call of Duty: Black Ops III owners can now purchase “The Giant” Zombies map
Activision and Treyarch have announced that “The Giant,” a Zombies map that was previously only accessible by players who pre-ordered Call of Duty: Black Ops III, is now available as a standalone download for $5.99.
“The Giant” map, which is a remake of “Der Riese” and follows Dempsey, Richtofen, Nikolai, and Takeo as they battle the undead in a secret research facility, can now be purchased on the PC, PS3, PS4, and Xbox One. According to the Activision Games Blog, Xbox 360 owners will be able to download “The Giant” at a later date.
And in case you missed it last year, the trailer for “The Giant” has been embedded above.