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: Xbox One
Destiny 2’s Story Campaign, and more, unveiled by Bungie
Bungie’s Destiny 2 is less than four months away, and earlier this week the developer revealed more details about their upcoming game in an hour-long livestream.
The biggest change coming to the Destiny universe is the brand new Story Campaign, which will include a dramatic and cinematic narrative structure that can be played solo or with friends:
In the story of Destiny 2, the last safe city on Earth has fallen and lay in ruins, occupied by a powerful new enemy and his elite army, the Red Legion. Every player creates their own character called a “Guardian,” humanity’s chosen protectors. As a Guardian in Destiny 2, players must master new abilities and weapons to reunite the city’s forces, stand together and fight back to reclaim their home.
The livestream also offered the first details on new game types (“Countdown,” a competitive multiplayer mode), new subclasses (“Sentinel Titan,” “Dawnblade Warlock,” and “Arcstrider Hunter”), and an online matchmaking service that Bungie is referring to as “Guided Games.”
Destiny 2 will be available for the PS4 and Xbox One on September 8, and a release date for the game’s PC launch will be announced at a later date. A closer look at the Story Campaign, and a playthrough of the first Story Campaign mission, can be found after the break. (more…)
Blizzard announces Overwatch Anniversary event, an upcoming Free Weekend, and Game of the Year Edition
In case you missed it, Blizzard has announced that Overwatch will play host to a special Anniversary in-game event beginning on May 23. The Overwatch Anniversary festivities will continue until June 12, and Blizzard kicked things off earlier this week with a “Year One” video thanking their fans for a great launch.
And if you’re someone who hasn’t joined the Overwatch community yet, Blizzard wants to entice you with an upcoming Free Weekend, scheduled for May 26-29, and a brand new Game of the Year Edition. The Game of the Year Edition will be available to download on May 23, and it’ll offer a range of goodies for all of Blizzard’s games:
Overwatch: Game of the Year Edition Contents
- Overwatch – 10 Bonus Loot Boxes — Enjoy 10 bonus Loot Boxes, which each contain random items that can be used to personalize your heroes. Loot Boxes may include skins, emotes, victory poses, voice lines, sprays, and highlight intros, as well as credits you can use to acquire many different customization options.
- Overwatch – Hero Skins — Pay homage to the original Overwatch strike force by wearing the vintage Blackwatch Reyes or Strike-Commander Morrison skins. Explore other heroes’ origins with Overgrown Bastion, Security Chief Pharah, and even Slipstream Tracer.
- Heroes of the Storm – Tracer Hero — Jump into the Nexus with Tracer and surprise your enemies in the blink of an eye.
- World of Warcraft – Baby Winston Pet — Adorably cuddly and highly intellectual, the Baby Winston pet will be at your side as you fight your way through Azeroth.
- Diablo III – Mercy’s Wings — Slay demonic forces throughout the High Heavens and Burning Hells as you don Mercy’s wings. All of Sanctuary will know of your allegiance to Overwatch!
- StarCraft II – In-Game Portraits — With portraits of Tracer, Reaper, Pharah, Winston, Bastion, and Soldier: 76, you’re sure to become a champion of the Koprulu Sector.
- Hearthstone – Card Back – You can also battle it out in Hearthstone with an Overwatch-themed card back fit for a hero!
Blizzard likely has big plans for Overwatch’s second year, and hopefully we’ll hear more about them soon.
New Retail Releases: Ultra Street Fighter II, Disgaea 5 Complete, Rime, More
After recording a huge retail victory in April, Nintendo and its third-party partners are storming back this week with another batch of fresh Switch software.
Leading things off, Capcom will release Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers for the Switch on Friday, May 26. The publisher is hoping that this re-release will introduce the arcade classic to an entirely new generation, but it also includes a brand new first-person minigame, new color variations for all characters, and two new fighters (Evil Ryu and Violent Ken). Another re-release will make its way to the Switch this week courtesy of NIS America. The import house will launch Disgaea 5 Complete on Nintendo’s console, which will include the original strategy RPG and all of its downloadable content.
If you’re looking for new and never-before-seen games this week, Tequila Works will bring their puzzle platformer Rime to the PS4 and Xbox One. Featuring a unique and moody graphical style, the exploration game should offer an interesting change of pace.
Finally this week, THQ Nordic will bring the original Darksiders to the Wii U as Darksiders: Warmastered Edition. This new version of the action/adventure game include enhanced visuals and redone graphical effects.
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Vita, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Darksiders, Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance, Rime, Street Fighter II
Xbox Store Today: Chroma Squad, Shadow Warrior 2, The Last Blade, more
It’s “90s Day” on the Xbox Games Store today, and that’s because three games inspired by the grungy decade are now available to download for the Xbox One.
That inspiration is front and center in Bandai Namco’s Chroma Squad, which uses “Inspired by Saban’s Power Rangers” right in its marketing. The tactical RPG follows five actors who want to create their own show like Power Rangers… but then an actual alien invasion throws a wrench into their plans.
Also available to download today is Shadow Warrior 2 from Flying Wild Hog. The “offbeat” shooter sequel features the “further misadventures” of Lo Wang as he lives out his days as a reclusive mercenary. Finally today, Xbox One owners will be able to download The Last Blade, a fighting game from SNK that was originally released in 1997.
You can learn more about all of these games (and a few other new releases) after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Chroma Squad
CoD: Infinite Warfare’s Continuum DLC Pack is now available to download for PC, Xbox One
The latest exclusivity period for a piece of Call of Duty add-on content has expired, and Activision can now launch Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare‘s Continuum DLC Pack on the PC and Xbox One. Like other DLC Packs for Infinite Warfare, the meat of the Continuum DLC Pack is four new maps for the game’s multiplayer modes:
Multiplayer Maps in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s Continuum DLC Pack
- Turista – A plush spa and resort, “Turista” is nestled in the middle of a giant skeleton of an ancient creature. With sniper spots scattered across a majestic, central waterfall, Turista also boasts tight interiors for fans of close-quartered combat and a three-lane design that caters to a variety of play styles.
- Scrap – Set in an abandoned junkyard on the Moon, “Scrap” features a combination of extended sightlines and tactical pathways that reward players who engage in both long and short range combat.
- Archive – Fast, frenetic engagements set the pace in “Archive,” a post-futurist art gallery where tight engagements contrast with open exterior battlegrounds in this wide three-lane style map.
- Excess – Perched atop a gilded penthouse in a sprawling future metropolis, “Excess” is a small, circular map re-imagined from the classic Modern Warfare 2 map, “Rust,” that retains the intense, fast-paced combat from the original.
The Continuum DLC Pack also includes “Shaolin Shuffle,” a new chapter in Infinite Warfare’s Zombies saga. The add-on is set during the 1970s, and Activision released a funk-tastic trailer for “Shaolin Shuffle” a few weeks ago:
“Shaolin Shuffle,” the next thrilling chapter of the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare zombies experience, features the return of Willard Wyler, the mysterious movie director villain portrayed with voice and likeness by Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday, Gotham). This time, Wyler has trapped the four protagonists inside a new horror film, set in the unforgettable 1970s. Players will face all-new zombie enemies across a variety of disco-era New York locations, including subways, flashy nightclubs and a martial arts dojo headed up by the Shaolin Sister, played with voice and likeness by Pam Grier (Jackie Brown, Foxy Brown). In addition to hallmark Call of Duty action, “Shaolin Shuffle” introduces four unlockable kung fu fighting styles, each with its own set of unique combat moves.
The remaining downloadable expansion packs for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare should launch for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this Summer.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier will conclude on May 30 with Episode 5: From the Gallows
Telltale Games has announced that The Walking Dead: A New Frontier will come to an end on Tuesday, May 30, with the launch of Episode 5: From the Gallows. If you’ve been playing along with the story so far, you know that it could all come crashing down for Javier and the rest of Richmond in this final chapter:
In Telltale’s most tailored episode to date, Richmond teeters on the brink of collapse as chaos reigns from all directions. The lives of its citizens and all those closest to Javier hang in the balance. The decisions you’ve made and bonds you’ve nurtured across the season will determine which characters now trust Javi to safeguard all they hold dear as the crisis pushes every relationship past its breaking point…
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier – Episode 5: From the Gallows will be available to download for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices.
Public Beta for Gwent: The Witcher Card Game begins on May 24
CD Projekt RED has announced that the Public Beta for Gwent: The Witcher Card Game will begin next Wednesday, May 24, on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
“Public Beta is the next step in the game’s development process, one that we’d be honored to continue alongside everyone who’s been with us thus far,” said Benjamin Lee, the Development Director at CD Projekt RED. “It’s also a chance for many new gamers to play Gwent for the first time and we’re looking forward to making the game even better with their help.”
The launch of the Public Beta will mark a complete refresh for the Gwent community. CD Projekt RED will reset all card collections and player progress to ensure that all players begin the Public Beta on equal footing. However, all players who participated in the Closed Beta will receive Card Kegs, as well as other in-game rewards.
To prepare players for the Public Beta, CD Projekt RED hosted an in-depth “Preview” stream, and it’s been embedded above.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Gwent: The Witcher Card Game
Xbox Store Today: Phantom Dust, Injustice 2, The Surge, more
Visitors to the Xbox Games Store today will be greeted by a blast from the past, the latest from NetherRealm Studios, and a new action RPG from Deck 13.
Phantom Dust was originally released for the Xbox in 2004, and was one of Microsoft’s first attempts to cater to the Japanese market. Microsoft’s push didn’t go as planned, but Phantom Dust became a cult hit that is available to download for free on the Xbox One and Windows 10. The re-release features the same gameplay that hooked fans more than a decade ago, as well as cross-device multiplayer, Achievements, and a new 16×9 presentation.
Also available to download today for the Xbox One is Injustice 2, the latest one-on-one fighting game from NetherRealm Studios. With Superman in prison and his Regime in disarray, players will once again be able to jump into its completely unpredictable alternate universe.
Finally today, Focus Home Interactive and Deck 13 will bring The Surge to the Xbox One. This action RPG features a futuristic setting involving augmented soldiers doing battle with dismemberment guns… no, really.
More information on all of these games (and the rest of today’s new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Injustice 2, Phantom Dust, The Surge