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
New Releases: Fallout 4, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void, More
It is time. Bethesda is ready to open the Vault and unleash Fallout 4 on the world. The first-person RPG will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and it’ll let players explore a post-apocalyptic New England and craft a new world to their heart’s content. And if that kind of openness and epicness doesn’t appeal to you, there’s always Super Mutants to shoot.
Bethesda has also partnered with Microsoft to offer a 1TB Xbox One + Fallout 4 Bundle in case you haven’t made your new-generation console decision yet.
Speaking of Microsoft, the consolemaker will also partner with Square Enix this week to exclusively launch Rise of the Tomb Raider for the Xbox One and Xbox 360. Lara Croft’s next adventure will eventually make its debut on the PC and PS4 in 2016, but for now, you’ll need to raid tombs and make insane archaeological discoveries on a Microsoft platform.
Stepping out of the past and rocketing into the future, this week will also see the release of Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void, the finale to Blizzard’s StarCraft II trilogy. Focusing on the Protoss, the standalone game will actually “unite the three races in the ultimate battle for survival against an ancient evil threatening all life in the universe.”
Finally this week, a pair of Wii U exclusives prove that Nintendo’s little corner of video gaming is still an interesting place to be. Nintendo themselves will publish Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival, a board game that is changed and shaped as Amiibo figures and Amiibo Cards are dropped into play. And NIS America will release Rodea: The Sky Soldier, another skybound adventure from Yuji Naka, the creator of Nights Into Dreams.
The complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival, Fallout 4, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Rodea: The Sky Soldier, StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void
Activision will develop Call of Duty “cinematic universe” and Skylanders animated TV series
Activision is going to Hollywood! The megapublisher has announced the formation of Activision Blizzard Studios, a new film and television studio that will create content based on their most popular game franchises. Nick Van Dyk, a former executive at Disney, will co-lead the studio along another executive who will be named later.
Not surprisingly, the first project from the studio will be an animated television series based on the Skylanders range of games and toys. A premiere date wasn’t announced, but the series is alreadyy in production and Activision has lined up an impressive voice cast including Justin Long as Spyro, Ashley Tisdale as Stealth Elf, Jonathan Banks as Eruptor, and Norm MacDonald as Glumshanks. Eric Rogers, a writer best known for his work on Futurama, will serve as the showrunner.
Activision Blizzard Studios is also hard at work on laying the groundwork for a Call of Duty “cinematic universe,” which they hope to launch with “a series of Call of Duty feature films as well as the possibility of television adaptations.” It takes guts to promise multiple movies, a television series, and an interconnected cinematic universe.
Bobby Kotick, Activision’s CEO, is confident that his new division can make it work: “Activision Blizzard is home to some of the most successful entertainment franchises in history, across any medium [and we] intend to approach film and television development with the same unwavering commitment to excellence we are known for in game development.”
Posted in Etcetera, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Skylanders SuperChargers
Fallout 4 launch trailer is here and it features plenty of gameplay footage
I know that some other heavily hyped game is now available in stores as of today, but Fallout fans are also in a tizzy over the pending launch of Fallout 4. So now is the perfect time for Bethesda to deliver the game’s epic launch trailer.
Clocking in at almost three minutes, the Fallout 4 launch trailer features a ton of gameplay footage and one very loyal dog.
Fallout 4 will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on November 10. To further prepare yourself, I recommend watching Bethesda’s S.P.E.C.I.A.L. video series (Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, Luck) one more time.
Battleborn’s release has been pushed back to May 3, 2016
Gearbox Software and Take-Two Interactive have announced that Battleborn will miss its previously announced February 9, 2016 release date. The “hero shooter” will now launch for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on May 3, 2016.
During today’s quarterly financial report, Take-Two Interactive President Karl Slatoff said, “We believe that extending development by a few months will allow the team enough time to fully realize the creative vision for Battleborn and enable them to deliver the best entertainment experience possible.”
“Creating new IP is hard, and we can’t help but be Gearbox,” added representatives from Gearbox via the developer’s Twitter account.
In case you missed it, the developer released a “Multiplayer Reveal Trailer” for Battleborn a few days ago, and it’s been embedded above.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Battleborn
EA pushes up Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 and will release it on February 23
Spring planting season will come early next year as Electronic Arts has announced that the “Spring 2016” release of Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 has been pushed up to February 23. Whether Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow or not, that date firmly falls within the Winter, so good job EA.
The publisher also revealed the “Grass Effect Z7-Mech,” an in-game bonus vehicle that players will receive if they pre-order Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2. Created in conjunction with BioWare, you can go up close and personal with the “Grass Effect Z7-Mech” in the trailer embedded above.
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 will expand upon its predecessor with a number of new modes, maps, and character classes. PopCap and EA Canada have even added a few “fan-requested” features into the game:
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 goes above and beyond to deliver the funniest, craziest most over-the-top shooter yet. Players can go on the offensive as the plants in all-new modes including the 24-player Herbal Assault mode, or rally the zombies together and defend against the plants in the four-player co-op mode, Graveyard Ops. From the Great White North to Moon Base Z, all the hilarious action takes place across 12 fresh maps that are bursting with life and humor. Join the fight for Suburbia with six new character classes and over one hundred unique characters to collect. Experience even more ways to play, including the Backyard Battleground; players will have the freedom to explore this interactive environment by themselves or with friends. The Backyard Battleground is a wild playground with dynamic events and tons to discover, and is unlike anything that has been in a Plants vs Zombies game before.
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 is in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2
CoD Black Ops III (Friday), Need For Speed, Dragon Fin Soup, more added to PS Store
It’s that time again as Sony has updated the PlayStation Store with most of this week’s new releases.
I say “most of” as the biggest game of the week is clearly Call of Duty: Black Ops III, which won’t be available for the PS4 and PS3 until Friday. Players on the PS4 will be able to take part in a near-future Campaign involving augmented soldiers and other high-tech weaponry, while players on both platforms will have access to Competitive Multiplayer and the co-op Zombies Mode.
Also available this week is EA’s Need For Speed reboot on the PS4, which will attempt to reinvent the long-running racing franchise once again. This time out, developer Ghost Games is touting their “Five Ways to Play” system, which will reward players for driving fast and looking good.
If you’re looking for something a little less modern and a little more mature, I want to direct you towards the Cross-Buy (PS4 + PS3 + PS Vita) compatible Dragon Fin Soup, a roguelike RPG that pits an alcoholic Red Riding Hood against hordes of monsters.
Mature is not the word I would to describe Snoopy’s Grand Adventure, a PS4 game meant to tie-in to the upcoming movie. Players will take control of Snoopy in a side-scrolling adventure where he does his Snoopy thing, including an appearance from the Flying Ace and his nemesis, the Red Baron.
Finally this week, Lab Zero Games has released a “Prototype Beta” for their side-scrolling RPG, Indivisible. I don’t quite know what separates this beta release from an early demo, but Indivisible shares a similar art style with Lab Zero’s Skullgirls and should interest retro-minded players with its “Free” price tag.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. And a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found, as always, at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Dragon Fin Soup, Indivisible, Need For Speed, The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy's Grand Adventure
Harmonix has a “Lust For Life” for this week’s Rock Band 4 DLC Update
Harmonix has taken the stage to announce this week’s DLC Update for Rock Band 4, and its another trio of songs that should be familiar to fans of classic rock.
The highlight of this week’s update is clearly Iggy Pop’s “Lust For Life.” The song, which was co-written by David Bowie, pushed Iggy into the spotlight for the first time. Also available this week is “Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)” from The Hollies and “Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)” from Robert Palmer. As always, each song can be purchased for $1.99 apiece.
Harmonix also announced that a new version update for Rock Band 4 will be available today that will “introduce some new features, broaden legacy instrument support, and address various other issues.” The full list of new features and bug fixes can be found at the developer’s official website.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Rock Band 4
Red Barrels has announced that Outlast II will be released for PC, PS4, Xbox One in Fall 2016
Red Barrels delivered one of the most terrifying games of the decade when they unleashed Outlast on an unsuspecting populace in 2013. Taking control of an investigative journalist named Miles Upshur, players explored the mysterious Mount Massive Asylum through their fingers. Yesterday, the developer announced the game’s story will continue next Fall in Outlast II:
No conflict is ever black and white. But once the dust has settled, the victors get to decide who was right and who was wrong. Who is good and who is evil. Human nature pushes us to extremes of violence and depravity, which we then justify by divine inspiration and a promise of paradise to come. Horror rises from desperation and blind faith. Outlast II will test your faith, pushing players to a place where going mad is the only sane thing to do.
Aside from the teaser trailer embedded above, we don’t know much else about Outlast II. However, Red Barrels did say that their “twisted new journey into the depths of the human mind” is in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.