Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- 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
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wins “Game of the Year” at 2025-2026 GDC Awards
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
New Retail Releases: Sea of Thieves, Ni No Kuni II, Detective Pikachu, More
Game publishers love to launch highly-anticipated new games just before the end of a financial quarter, so we’ve got a bounty of new games to choose from in this week’s New Retail Releases report.
Leading the way is Sea of Thieves, a multiplayer pirate simulation for the Xbox One from Microsoft and Rare. But if you’d rather explore a different kind of world, Bandai Namco and Level-5 will bring Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, an RPG sequel created in conjunction with animators from Studio Ghibli, to the PS4. Even players who are still attached to their 3DS handhelds will have new options this week with Nintendo’s launch of Detective Pikachu.
Several multiplatform titles will also make their way onto store shelves this week including Hazelight’s co-op prison break sim, A Way Out (PS4, Xbox One); MLB Advanced Media’s retro-styled baseball game, RBI Baseball 18 (PS4, Xbox One); and Koei Tecmo’s second adaptation of the Attack On Titan anime, Attack On Titan 2 (PS4, Switch, Xbox One).
Finally this week, THQ Nordic will bring back Titan Quest in an upgraded new re-release for the PS4 and Xbox One. And Badland Games will make Velocity 2X: Critical Mass Edition available on retail shelves for the PS4 and Vita.
That’s it for this week’s New Retail Releases report, but we’ll be back in a few days with a look at all the upcoming additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
Posted in 3DS, News, PS4, Switch, Vita, Xbox One
Tagged A Way Out, Attack On Titan 2, Detective Pikachu, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, RBI Baseball 18, Sea of Thieves
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is “Video Game of the Year” at 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild took home another trophy last night when the “open-air” adventure was named “Video Game of the Year” at the 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards. The Nintendo Switch launch title also scooped up awards for “Excellence in Design” and “Excellence in Gameplay”
PUBG Corporation’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds also picked up three awards last night (“Esports Game of the Year,” “Trending Game of the Year,” and “Excellence in Multiplayer”), and a handful of other games (Cuphead, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Nier: Automata) were two-time winners.
You can find the complete list of winners from the 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards at Video Game Canon.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Cuphead, Fire Emblem Mobile, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Nier: Automata, Night in the Woods, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Star Wars: Battlefront II, Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, What Remains of Edith Finch
Sonic Mania Plus will be available on store shelves (with bonus content) this Summer
Sega is planning a retail re-release for Sonic Mania, and players who have yet to purchase the side-scrolling platformer will be able to purchase the upgraded Sonic Mania Plus package this Summer for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Announced at the SXSW Gaming Expo (and via Twitter), Sonic Mania Plus will include an artbook and a Genesis-themed reversible cover, as well as new in-game content including remixed levels in an Encore Mode, a four-player Competition Mode, and two additional playable characters (Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel). All these extra goodies will push the game’s price to $29.99, a $10 premium over the currently-available downloadable edition.
But fans who already own Sonic Mania will be able to purchase all the new in-game content as a downloadable expansion.
EA announces revamped Progression System for Star Wars: Battlefront II will be available on March 21
Electronic Arts has announced that Star Wars: Battlefront II‘s revamped Progression System will “begin rolling out” on March 21. In a complete reversal from the pre-release Beta, the new Progression System ensures that any item impacting gameplay can only be earned through gameplay, and “will not be available for purchase.”
The developers provided more details about the update on the game’s official website:
With this update, progression is now linear. Star Cards, or any other item impacting gameplay, will only be earned through gameplay and will not be available for purchase. Instead, you’ll earn experience points for the classes, hero characters, and ships that you choose to play in multiplayer. If you earn enough experience points to gain a level for that unit, you’ll receive one Skill Point that can be used to unlock or upgrade the eligible Star Card you’d like to equip.
You’ll keep everything you’ve already earned and unlocked. You will keep all of the Star Cards, heroes, weapons, or anything else you have already earned. What you have earned will still be available to use with this update regardless of how much or little progress you have already made.
Crates no longer include Star Cards and cannot be purchased. Crates are earned by logging in daily, completing Milestones, and through timed challenges. Inside of these crates, you’ll find Credits or cosmetic items, such as emotes or victory poses, but nothing that impacts gameplay.
A secondary update to the Progression System will appear in April, allowing Star Wars: Battlefront II players to purchase cosmetic items with real money. But an earnable in-game currency, Credits, can also be used to unlock these customization items.
Star Wars: Battlefront II is now available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Star Wars: Battlefront II
Telltale’s latest Batman: The Enemy Within trailer offers a season recap ahead of the final episode’s March 27 launch
Telltale Games will close the book on Batman: The Enemy Within in a few weeks, but first they wanted to give their fans a look back at the season so far in a new trailer. Naturally, this trailer is chock full of spoilers, so don’t watch it if you’re not completely caught up with Batman: The Enemy Within.
Since the complete second season will soon be available for download, we’re excited to share the official full season trailer for Batman: The Enemy Within, the five-part episodic game series that continues Telltale’s unique take on the World’s Greatest Detective. This trailer recaps the events of the entire season but focuses primarily on the relationship players built with former Arkham Asylum inmate John Doe, a relationship that will soon culminate in the birth of The Joker.
Batman: The Enemy Within – Episode 5: Same Stitch will be available to download for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices on March 27.
UK-developed Hellblade leads the way at 2018 BAFTA Games Awards with 9 nominations
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was developed in the United Kingdom at Ninja Theory, and this hometown advantage helped it lead the way with nine nominations at the 2018 BAFTA Games Awards.
With so many nominations, it’s no surprise that Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is up for “Best Game,” and it’ll be competing against Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Origins, Guerrilla’s Horizon: Zero Dawn, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo’s Super Mario Odyssey, and Giant Sparrow’s What Remains of Edith Finch.
The BAFTA Games Awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, April 12, and hosting duties will once again be handled by comedian Dara O’Briain. If you weren’t able to score a ticket to the big show, you’ll still be able to livestream the entire ceremony through BAFTA.org and several other streaming platforms.
The complete list of nominees in all categories can be found after the break. (more…)
Geralt of Rivia officially joins the fight in Soul Calibur VI
Bandai Namco has announced that Geralt of Rivia, the “White Wolf” from The Witcher franchise, will join Soul Calibur VI. In addition to the brand new trailer embedded above, Dalton Link, the publisher’s Community Manager, teased Geralt’s inclusion in Soul Calibur VI on the PlayStation Blog this morning:
Wielding his signature steel and silver swords, Geralt is prepared to take on any opponent (man or monster) who dares cross his path. Both witcher swords are made of the finest quality alloys and precisely crafted to suit the needs of their wielder. While we don’t yet know why Geralt has entered another dimension, he was able to bring his weapons with him on the journey. The world he now finds himself in is filled with new foes and plenty of opportunities to fight!
On top of his swords, Geralt enters the ring armed with powerful Signs. From Aard to Igni, Geralt has the ability to unleash the devastating effects of Signs during one-on-one combat. Each Sign provides a different strategic opportunity to best your opponent or start powerful combos.
The Soul Calibur series famously started the guest character trend back in 2003 with the inclusion of Heihachi Mishima, Spawn, and Link in Soul Calibur II. A trio of Star Wars characters (Yoda, Darth Vader, and Starkiller) invaded Soul Calibur IV in 2008. And Ezio Auditore brought his Assassin’s skills to Soul Calibur V in 2012.
Soul Calibur VI will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One in 2018.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Soul Calibur VI
Square Enix will launch Shadow of the Tomb Raider for the PC, PS4, Xbox One on Sept. 14
As expected, Square Enix has announced that Shadow of the Tomb Raider will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on September 14. A short teaser trailer, embedded above, also gave us our first look at Lara’s next destination… the Mayan Pyramids of Central America.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is being jointly developed by Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal, and according to its official website, we’ll learn more about the game during a “Reveal Event” on April 27. Fans can also expect some kind of puzzle-based contest (with a developer meet-and-greet as a prize) to begin this Monday, March 19.
And don’t forget, the newest Tomb Raider movie, starring Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, opens in theaters today.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Shadow of the Tomb Raider