Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Jordan Minor’s “Boss Fight Books: Super Mario Galaxy” is Now Available for Pre-Order
- 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
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
New Releases: Unravel, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles, Dying Light: The Following, More
Cute dolls, colorful assassins, and parkouring zombies highlight this week’s new release roundup.
After making a huge splash at last year’s E3 Expo, EA is ready to unleash Yarny on the world in Coldwood’s Unravel (PC, PS4, Xbox One). Using a combination of puzzle-solving and platforming, Yarny will navigate the harsh world (especially for a four-inch high yarn doll) to find out who’s on the other end of his string.
Another colorful platforming adventure will make its way onto store shelves this week as Ubisoft will bundle together all three Assassin’s Creed Chronicles games into a single collection. Players will be able to do battle with the Templars in three never-before-seen locales and time periods: China, India, and Russia.
Bandai Namco has a colorful new game of their own ready for release this week as Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, the latest game based on the pretty popular anime, will be available for the PS4 and Xbox One.
Deep Silver will re-release Dying Light this week in a special Dying Light: The Following – Enhanced Edition (PS4, Xbox One), which includes the original game and all four expansions (“Be the Zombie,” “Ultimate Survivor Bundle,” “The Bozak Horde,” and “The Following”).
Finally, Microsoft will launch their Xbox One 500GB “Name Your Game” Bundle, which lets prospective players choose from Forza Motorsport 6, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, and Rare Replay when they purchase an Xbox One system.
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Xbox Store Today: Marvel Puzzle Quest, Dad Beat Dads, Krinkle Krusher, more
It’s time to dig into another Friday update for the Xbox Games Store. These four games are now available to download for the Xbox One today:
- Marvel Puzzle Quest brings the superhero-starring match-3/RPG hybrid to the Xbox One for the first time.
- Dad Beat Dads is a four-player brawler that asks if your Dad can beat up somebody else’s Dad. Oh, and the winner gets to claim the loser’s kids.
- Krinkle Krusher is a castle defense game where players have to blast away at giant walking mouths known as Krinkles.
- Bike Mayhem 2 is a side-scrolling stunt game on two wheels. Radical!
More information on all of these games, direct from Microsoft, can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Marvel Puzzle Quest
Conan O’Brien meets his Doom with Von Miller, Josh Norman, and Marshawn Lynch
Last year, Conan O’Brien celebrated football’s beautiful brutality with a “Clueless Gamer” segment focusing on Mortal Kombat X. The ultraviolent fighting game was the perfect backdrop for Conan to trade jokes with Rob Gronkowski and Marshawn Lynch… and to gasp in horror at D’Vorah getting punched in her lady-nuts.
Lynch returns for this year’s pre-Super Bowl shenanigans, which once again resurrects a gory franchise from the early 90s. Conan and Lynch sat down with Von Miller of the Denver Broncos and Josh Norman of the Carolina Panthers to play id Software’s upcoming Doom reboot… and it went about as well as you’d expect. Let’s just say there was a chainsaw involved.
While both players seemed to do pretty well against Doom’s demons, Norman outlasted Miller in the game’s final level, which might mean a Panthers victory this Sunday. If nothing else, it backs up Madden NFL 16‘s prediction of a Panthers win in Super Bowl 50.
Doom will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on May 13. In what is surely a coincidence, and not at all a crass attempt at cross-promotion, id Software also unveiled a new Campaign Trailer for the game yesterday.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Doom (2016)
DICE announces a Closed Beta for Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst and reintroduces us to Faith in new trailer
EA and DICE are back with a new trailer for Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst, which attempts to reintroduce the gaming public to a “Runner” named Faith and the technologically-advanced city of Glass:
Faith Connors is a self-assured thrill-seeker and one of the best Runners in the city of Glass. But Faith’s carefree days are numbered. As she crosses paths with the evil Gabriel Kruger and the city’s oppressive Conglomerate, Faith finds herself running for something far more important. Playing Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst, you’ll experience a rich storyline with a heroine-to-be fighting for both the city and herself. Use the fluid movement and your combat skills to be the Catalyst of change.
The publisher and developer have also announced that Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst will receive a Closed Beta sometime in the near future on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. You can sign up for a chance to be a part of the beta at the game’s official website.
Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst will be released on May 24.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Mirror's Edge: Catalyst
Embrace your Doom on May 13; New Campaign Trailer and Collector’s Edition revealed as well
Bethesda has announced that Doom, the next entry in the pioneering first person shooter series, will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on May 13. In addition to a solid release date, developer id Software has also unveiled a brand new Campaign Trailer for the game and an absolutely demonic Collector’s Edition.
Priced at $119.99, Doom’s Collector’s Edition will include a statue of The Revenant that stands 12″ tall and includes an LED-lit base. Created by the expert model makers at TriForce, the statue’s design is based on The Revenant’s actual in-game 3D files. The Collector’s Edition will also include the Demon Multiplayer Pack, “a unique demon armor set with three skin variations, six metallic paint colors and three id logo patterns that can be applied to weapons and armor.” Players who pre-order the standard edition will also receive the Demon Multiplayer Pack.
You can take a closer look at the Collector’s Edition after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Doom (2016)
Xbox Store Today: Cobalt, Fortified
Mojang, the developer behind the ridiculously popular Minecraft, is getting into the publishing game today with Cobalt. Now available to download through the Xbox Games Store for the Xbox One and Xbox 360, Cobalt is a platformer that requires precision shooting and jumping to advance through the game’s slow-motion world.
Also available this week is Fortified, a third-person shooter blended with real-time strategy and tower defense mechanics. Players will take control of four pulp-inspired heroes to battle aliens and robots in aftermath of a 1950s Martian invasion.
More information on both of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
The Witness sells over 100,000 copies; Xbox One version is “under serious consideration”
The Witness was released for the PC and PS4 last week to near universal acclaim, and today developer Jonathan Blow is ready to share some sales figures.
According to a new post on the official website for The Witness (which is titled “Fun Sales Fakts,” by the way), Blow has revealed that the game sold over 100,000 copies in its first week of availability. He also said The Witness has accumulated more than $5 million in gross revenue, which means the total number of copies sold (at $40 per copy) is probably closer to 125,000. Blow added that these numbers absolutely blow away the sales figures for Braid‘s entire first year:
This is a good chunk more revenue in one week than Braid made in its entire first year, from August 2008-September 2009. (Braid initially launched on XBLA in August 2008, and it came to Steam in April 2009). Braid was considered a hit independent game at the time.
However, the “Fun Sales Fakts” news post wasn’t all business for Blow. The developer used the final paragraph to hint at a bright future for The Witness, writing, “After this, in the near future, we will start investigating the bringing the game to other platforms. Under serious consideration are: iOS, Android, Xbox One, OS X.”
This is great news, but it’s not entirely unexpected. Blow has been talking about a mobile version of The Witness since 2013 and the ESRB outed a possible Xbox One port last month.
First CoD: Black Ops III DLC, Awakening, is now available to download for PS4
Your wait for more Call of Duty: Black Ops III content is over as Activision and Treyarch have announced the Awakening DLC Pack is now available to download for the PS4. The Awakening DLC Pack is part of Black Ops III’s Season Pass (priced at $49.99) and it’s also available to download individually (priced at $15).
As usual, players who partake in Call of Duty’s DLC offerings will receive access to four new multiplayer maps, along with a new level for Zombies Mode:
- Skyjacked: High above urban Zurich, Skyjacked is a modernized version of the popular Call of Duty: Black Ops II multiplayer map Hijacked. Utilizing the new core movement system featured in Black Ops III, this map gives players new ways to explore the environment, while still retaining the same fast and frenetic gameplay players love.
- Splash: Dive into battle in this abandoned water park, featuring a vibrant and colorful environment, including waterslides, a wrecked pirate ship and a lazy river. Splash encourages an open flow of combat with opportunities for underwater gameplay.
- Gauntlet: Delivering three unique environments within one action-packed map, Gauntlet showcases Treyarch’s classic three-lane map structure, transporting players into battle through a sprawling jungle, sub-zero arctic zone and rainy urban cityscape.
- Rise: A versatile multiplayer map, Rise is set in the snowy outskirts of Zurich in the middle of an ongoing construction site for a massive subterranean Coalescence research campus. With multiple engagement areas throughout this larger map, each section caters to different styles of gameplay.
Awakening also introduces the first chapter of Call of Duty: Black Ops III’s Zombies DLC adventure with “Der Eisendrache” picking up where “The Giant” left off. Set in a chilling medieval Austrian castle during World War II, players will embark on an epic four-part journey with the Origin characters Richtofen, Nikolai, Takeo and Dempsey, spanning the DLC season. The ancient site on which the castle sits was the scene of unspeakable horror where massive deposits of Element 115 have recently been discovered. Players will discover a variety of exciting plot twists and surprises as they survive waves of the undead.
The Awakening DLC Pack will be available exclusively for PS4 players for at least the next 30 days, so PC and Xbox One owners likely won’t get a crack at the new maps until March. But for now, you can check out a video preview of each new multiplayer map after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III