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
- 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
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- 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)
Most Recent: Xbox One
Kickstart This! Consortium: The Tower, Dragon of Legends, Wandersong
Hello, readers, and welcome back! Let’s blast off in a big way with the first Kickstart This! of 2016. Although January is typically the month people are digging behind the sofa cushions for any spare change, now that payday has passed, a number of smart game developers and studios have recently launched campaigns. By sheer coincidence, all of our choices in this edition come from Canada. First up, we have what is deemed “an immersive sci-fi simulation” with Consortium: The Tower from Interdimensional Games Inc. Next, there’s the Celtic-and-Norse-themed action RPG Dragon of Legends by Thrive Games. Last but not least, there’s whimsical side-scrolling musical adventure Wandersong.
Oh, Canada… (more…)
Xbox Store Today: This War of Mine: The Little Ones, Level 22, AIPD, more
Today’s additions to Xbox Games Store get a little serious, before quickly delving into a lot of silliness.
This War of Mine: The Little Ones is now available to download for the Xbox One. An expanded adaptation of 11 Bit’s survival game, The War of Mine: The Little Ones examines what a war is like from the civilian side, while also asking players to protect a group of children from the terrifying battles. After that, things get a little strange….
- Level 22 (Xbox One) is a cartoony stealth game where players have to avoid the wrath of their evil boss by sneaking into their cubicle without being seen.
- AIPD (Xbox One) is a futuristic twin-stick shooter built with Tron-like neon styling.
- The Living Dungeon (Xbox One) is a medieval-style board game where players take part in “a battle of wits, luck and skulduggery.”
- Amazing Princess Sarah (Xbox One) is a retro-styled platformer where a princess has to rescue her father from an evil demon.
More information about all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Michel Ancel talks about the future of Beyond Good & Evil 2 with Tim Schafer
In his spare time, Double Fine’s Tim Schafer also hosts Devs Play, a webseries where he invites developers to visit the Double Fine office to play their classic games. Michel Ancel, the creator of Rayman, recently closed out the second season with an in-depth discussion of Beyond Good & Evil. Naturally, Schafer (and his co-host, Greg Rice), couldn’t resist asking about Beyond Good & Evil 2.
As usual, Ancel tried to steer the conversation away from the long-in-development sequel, but he did admit that the pressure to live up to the reputation of the first game is substantial (the exchange starts around the 48-minute mark):
Michel Ancel: We did a nice trailer for Beyond Good & Evil 2…
Greg Rice: What can you say about Beyond Good & Evil 2?
Tim Schafer: Yeah, tell us everything we should know about Beyond Good & Evil 2.
Michel Ancel: Um… maybe we could continue playing Beyond Good & Evil 1. That’s the problem, [we have] no choice. [Beyond Good & Evil 2] has to be great. When we started [Beyond Good & Evil] there was not that much pressure. The crazy thing is that [Beyond Good & Evil] was really not that successful and nobody talked about the game. And Miyamoto talked about the game at E3 and wasn’t very happy. […] And now, year after year, more and more people are talking about [Beyond Good & Evil 2].
And towards the very end of the episode (at 1:07), Ancel admits that Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still in the works:
Tim Schafer: You’re still in the headspace of this game because you’re making a sequel right. You’re thinking about [the Beyond Good & Evil] world still.
Michel Ancel: Yeah, but it’s difficult because it’s hard for me to redo the same game two times. I don’t know how you’re going to manage that for Psychonauts 2.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 was first revealed during Ubisoft’s Ubidays event in 2008. Ancel has spoken about the game a handful of times since then, but it looks like we’ve still got a very long wait ahead of us… if it ever comes out at all.
TitanFall 2 gets a Late 2016/Early 2017 release date; New Battlefield, Mass Effect Andromeda still on track for 2016
Even though it has yet to be officially announced, EA is confident that TitanFall 2 will be released during the late 2016/early 2017 period. CEO Andrew Wilson delivered the good news during the company’s quarterly financial call yesterday, while also ticking off tentative release dates for the next Battlefield game (Fall 2016) and Mass Effect: Andromeda (late 2016/early 2017):
An all-new Battlefield game from DICE will arrive in time for the holidays, we’re excited to have a new TitanFall experience coming from our friends at Respawn and of course, Mass Effect: Andromeda from the team at BioWare will launch later in the fiscal year.
Wilson would go on to say that the next TitanFall is shaping up nicely, and that he can’t wait to talk about it “in the months ahead”:
Again, it’s a little early to start talking about the details of TitanFall in this juncture, and that wasn’t the purpose of raising it. What I would say, having seen the game, is it’s looking fantastic. Our relationship with Respawn is extremely strong; we have great faith in that entire team to build a spectacular game and are really looking forward to sharing more details in the months ahead.
While it’s possible we might learn more about all three of these titles this Spring, we’ll likely have to wait until this year’s E3 Expo. Though EA recently said they’re skipping this year’s E3 Expo and will instead hold their own event, EA Play 2016, in the days just before the convention.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Battlefield 1, E3 2016, Mass Effect: Andromeda, TitanFall 2
EA ships 13 million copies of Star Wars: Battlefront; Visceral’s Star Wars game might be “a few years out”
Star Wars: Battlefront was an extremely popular present this holiday season. Yesterday, EA revealed exactly how popular it was during their latest quarterly financial report.
Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen announced that EA has shipped more than 13 million copies of Star Wars: Battlefront to stores since it was released in November. And that number includes the more than one million copies of the game that were bundled with a brand new PS4.
Since Battlefront made a boatload of money for the video game megapublisher, it seems reasonable to assume they’d rush another Star Wars game into stores as quickly as possible. But you would be wrong. Near the end of the report, Jorgensen admitted that the company’s next Star Wars game, which is currently in development at Visceral Games and Motive Studios under the supervision of Amy Hennig and Jade Raymond, is likely still a few years away:
[W]e are obviously announcing that we are investing in some action-based SKUs by bringing people like Jade Raymond and Amy Hennig into our organization to help build those. And those are obviously a few years out in our SKU plan.
Very little is known about Visceral and Motive’s Star Wars game, though it’s widely believed to focus on a young Han Solo. Which is quite the coincidence when you think about it, because Disney plans to release a young Han Solo film in 2018. Or, if you prefer, “a few years” from now.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Star Wars: Battlefront, Star Wars: Visceral
Insomniac will partner with GameStop to release Song of the Deep this Summer
Insomniac Games is going under the sea for their next game. Song of the Deep is a Metroidvania-style side-scroller that takes place entirely underwater as the young Merryn attempts to save her father from the briny deep. Insomniac isn’t exactly known for side-scrollers, but Song of the Deep is the passion project of Chief Creative Officer Brian Hastings, so come hell or high water, it’s full steam ahead for the developer:
Merryn waits all night for her father to return from his fishing voyage. He never does. After a vivid dream showing her father trapped under the sea, Merryn is determined to save him. This unlikely heroine builds a small submarine from spare parts and sets off to rescue him. Along the way, she’ll make friends, discover lost civilizations and ruins, and upgrade her submarine to explore even deeper. The terrain and monsters of the deep are daunting, but Merryn’s courage, intelligence, and love for her father will help her overcome adversity.
In another amazing first, Insomniac has partnered with GameStop to publish Song of the Deep on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this Summer. GameStop’s 6,900 retail locations will be the exclusive home of Song of the Deep’s disc release… though the game will also be available through the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Steam.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Song of the Deep
2K will continue making WWE games for many more years
2K Games and the WWE have announced that they’ve reached an agreement to extend 2K’s contract to make games based on the WWE’s patented brand of professional wrestling. The two companies have yet to officially announce that WWE 2K17 will be released this Fall, but it seems like a good bet in the aftermath of this new multi-year deal.
“2K’s partnership with WWE over the past three years has resulted in a successful and important addition to the Company’s portfolio of profitable franchises,” said David Ismailer, 2K’s Chief Operating Officer. “We are thrilled with the positive momentum of the WWE 2K series, including generating year-over-year growth, as well as the success of WWE SuperCard. We are very pleased to extend our partnership with WWE and look forward to many more years of collaboration.”
“2K’s leadership in authenticity, quality and overall brand dedication has been a perfect complement for WWE,” said Casey Collins, the WWE’s Executive Vice President of Consumer Products. “Our continued partnership ensures WWE remains at the forefront of global video game brands as we continue innovating and publishing our offerings on multiple platforms.”
The most recent game in the franchise, last year’s WWE 2K16, was co-developed by Visual Concepts and Yuke’s. While WWE 2K17 still isn’t official, the publisher did say the two teams will continue to co-develop all future entries in the WWE 2K series.
Xbox Store Today: Lego Avengers, Sparkle 2, Roblox
A trio of titles have been added to the Xbox Games Store today, and fans of superheroes should be very pleased…
…And that’s because Lego Avengers is now available to download for the Xbox One and Xbox 360. Developer TT Games dug deep into the Marvel Cinematic Universe to produce a new Lego-ized adaptation based on Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Also available this week is Sparkle 2, a puzzle game for the Xbox One that asks players to match groups of colored marbles by shooting them out of a cannon. Finally this week, Roblox will give Xbox One owners access to the Roblox game creation community. It’s free-to-play, but you’ve got to have an Xbox Live Gold subscription.
More information about all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Lego Avengers