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
September 1 release date for MGS5: Phantom Pain leaked ahead of big announcement
It’s hard to believe that news this big would just sneak out of Konami, but it looks like Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will be released on September 1. The news comes courtesy of a a behind-the-scenes interview with Hideo Kojima that IGN accidentally published a day earlier than planned. Several sites (including Game Informer) peeked at the video before it was pulled and shared the good news with the world.
Kojima had a few other interesting tidbits to share in the video including the fact that Snake will be more of a “silent protagonist” in The Phantom Pain. If that’s true, then why hire Kiefer Sutherland? Rather than expound on that puzzling question, Kojima reiterated (again) that The Phantom Pain will be his last time directing a Metal Gear Solid game:
“I always say this will be my last Metal Gear, but the games in the series I’ve personally designed and produced: Metal Gear on MSX, Metal Gear 2, Metal Gear Solid 1, 2, 3, 4, and Peace Walker, and now Metal Gear Solid V are what constitute a single Metal Gear saga,” he says. “With Metal Gear Solid V, I’m finally closing the loop on that saga. In that sense, this will be the final Metal Gear Solid. Even if the Metal Gear franchise continues, to me, this is the last Metal Gear.”
Konami acknowledged the leak on Twitter, but they also promised players that more Metal Gear-related announcements will be made tomorrow (at 12:00 PM Eastern Time) when their countdown expires.
Mad Max will go beyond release on September 1
Two generations enter, one generation leaves…
WB Games and Avalanche Studios have announced that Mad Max will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on September 1. If you remember, the game was also in development for the PS3 and Xbox 360 but, according to Game Informer, those versions of the game have been “left by the wayside.” Avalanche made the decision to cancel the previous-gen versions of Mad Max so they could focus on creating the best game possible without also trying to make it work on lower-powered hardware. This new focus will allow the team to deliver “stunning vistas and effects that will challenge your expectations of what the Wasteland might look like.”
But anyone who wants to travel through the Wasteland will need transportation and Avalanche is providing just such a vehicle for Mad Max. “The Ripper,” a fully upgradeable car body with “a powerful V8 engine, upgraded exhaust with custom off-road tires, a ramming grill and a tuned suspension,” will be available as a pre-order bonus to all players who pre-order the game.
Xbox 360 owners can now claim Xbox One’s Games With Gold titles
Did you know that gamers without an Xbox One have been able to claim the monthly Games With Gold offerings through Xbox.com as long as they have an Xbox Live Gold account? I had no idea. Way to drop the ball Microsoft. This is the kind of feature that your customers (and prospective Xbox One purchasers) would have loved to learn about this earlier.
So why are they talking about it now? Well, according to Major Nelson, Xbox 360 owners can now claim the latest Games With Gold offerings for the Xbox One from the Xbox 360 dashboard. All you have to do is open the Games With Gold section and then “purchase” it there.
This month’s Games With Gold selection on the Xbox One is Rayman Legends. If you’ve itching to try out Ubisoft’s popular platformer, now’s the time… even if you don’t own an Xbox One.
A mobile version of Mortal Kombat X is also in development
In years past, NetherRealm’s mobile team has produced a scaled down version of Injustice: Gods Among Us, as well as fighting game spinoffs of Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Origins. Earlier this year, they turned WWE wrestlers into superheroes and supervillains for the similarly styled WWE Immortals. Today, the developer has confirmed that Mortal Kombat X will get the same treatment this April.
Like their previous efforts, the mobile version of Mortal Kombat X will be a free-to-play fighting/card-battler hybrid. Fatalities will definitely make the cut in the mobile version, as will X-Rays and the “iconic visceral combat” the franchise is known for. Mortal Kombat X on mobile will link up with the PC/console edition and players will be able to unlock content within each version by completing tasks and Achievements/Trophies in the other.
“NetherRealm Studios has created a Mortal Kombat X mobile experience that allows more players than ever before to play this over-the-top fighting game through their ever-present smartphones, tablets or other devices,” said Ed Boon, Creative Director, NetherRealm Studios. “What’s more, we’ve expanded the unique cross-connectivity feature that links the mobile and console versions of Mortal Kombat X, delivering unique rewards to all players for simply playing the mobile game.”
Mortal Kombat X will be available in April for all iOS (iPhone, iPad, iOS Touch) and Android devices.
The Scarecrow takes over in Batman: Arkham Knight’s “Gotham is Mine” trailer
John Noble has brought eccentricity and menace to his roles as Walter Bishop on Fringe and the Horseman of War on Sleepy Hollow, but only his voice is required to strike fear into the heart of Gotham in the upcoming Batman: Arkham Knight. Noble will play Jonathan Crane (AKA The Scarecrow) in Rocksteady’s trilogy-capping entry of the Arkham series. And like on Fringe and Sleepy Hollow, he has a plan.
In this new trailer, dubbed “Gotham is Mine” by the developers, The Scarecrow reveals how he will bring together Batman’s greatest rogues. Two-Face, The Penguin, The Riddler, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and the all-new Arkham Knight will join forces to kill the Dark Knight once and for all.
Will they succeed? We’ll all find out together on June 2, when Batman: Arkham Knight launches for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: Arkham Knight
New Releases: ScreamRide
You’re going to feel a bit lonely if you head out to your local game shop this week in search of new releases. Microsoft’s ScreamRide, which will be released for the Xbox One and Xbox 360 is the only new game receiving a retail release this week.
ScreamRide is a roller coaster construction that was developed by Frontier Developments. If you recall, Frontier is also the team behind the popular RollerCoaster Tycoon series as well as the later Thrillville. If anybody could be called experts in the rather niche “roller coaster construction simulator” genre, it’s Frontier Developments.
If ScreamRide isn’t your thing, don’t worry, there are plenty of downloadable games planned for a digital release this week including the start of Sony’s Spring Fever promotion.
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged ScreamRide
Xbox Store Today: Pneuma: Breath of Life
Are you ready to get philosophical at the end of your Friday? I hope so because Deco Digital and Bevel Studios have added Pneuma: Breath of Life, their first-person puzzler that explores “the fundamental nature of being” is now available to download for the Xbox One from the Xbox Games Store. You can check out the launch trailer or you can read a deeper explanation of Pneuma direct from the developer:
Pneuma: Breath of Life ($19.99)
Pneuma provides players with a sense of awe and a relentless determination to solve every puzzle and progress through a narrated story of self-discovery, exploring the fundamental nature of being. This is the first person puzzler of 2015 which is designed to force players think outside the box and explore beyond what they know as reality. This game isn’t about your skill with a controller, it’s about how you perceive and analyse situations. Push your brain to its limits in this exciting new first person puzzler as Pneuma contemplates the nature of reality and you explore the ontological mystery of the Breath of Life.
The Simpsons Skin Pack now available for Minecraft on Xbox One, Xbox 360
Are you ready to rasta-fy your Minecraft experience by 10%? Microsoft has announced that “Simpsons Skin Pack” is now available to download through Minecraft: Xbox One Edition and Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition. The pack includes the five members of the immediate Simpson family (apologies to Grandpa Simpson) and 19 characters you’ll often find roaming the halls of Springfield Elementary School.
The full list of characters included in the “Simpsons Skin Pack” can be found right here:
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You’d think that going for the “Sherri, but not Terri” joke would be pretty obvious. And yet, there they both are at the bottom of the list.