Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Has Another Big Night and Wins “Game of the Year” at the 2025-2026 DICE Awards
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- The Game Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Racks Up Nine Wins, Including “Game of the Year”, at the 2025 Game 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)
All Articles: PC
If it bleeds… Call of Duty: Ghosts Devastation Pack will feature the Predator
“You are one ugly mother…”
After resurrecting Michael Myers for the Onslaught Map Pack, Infinity Ward has revealed plans to bring a second horror icon to Call of Duty: Ghosts through the magic of downloadable content. A short teaser video posted to the official Call of Duty Instagram account gave us the briefest of glimpses of the Predator prowling the “Ruins” map from the upcoming Devastation Pack. And to make sure we know they’re serious, the developer even tagged the video with the film’s most famous quote: “If it bleeds…”
The teaser video has been embedded after the break, but don’t expect Arnold Schwarzenegger to save you this time. The Devastation Map Pack will be available to download for the Xbox One and Xbox 360 on April 3. The pack is expected to be released for the PC, PS3, and PS4 in early May. (more…)
Oculus VR acquired by Facebook for $2 billion
When the consumer version of the Oculus Rift ships sometime in the near future, it’ll come complete with a big Facebook logo as Mark Zuckerberg’s technology empire has purchased Oculus VR for $2 billion. Somewhere, Jesse Eisenberg is jumping for joy as his future portrayal of Lex Luthor just got a lot more credible.
I kid, I kid, but Zuckerberg plans to expand the Rift’s focus beyond games to also include “communications, media and entertainment, education and other areas.”
“Mobile is the platform of today, and now we’re also getting ready for the platforms of tomorrow,” Zuckerberg said. “Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate.”
Speaking to Polygon, Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey said that the deal will enable the company to procure better components at a keeper price and, ultimately, deliver a better version of the Rift: “There are things that piles of cash and having a $100 billion plus company behind you can do that you can’t do on your own. Overall, it’s going to be a better product at a lower price.”
However, not everyone is happy with the news. Markus “Notch” Persson revealed that he was in talks with Oculus to develop a version of Minecraft for the virtual reality headset. But he later tweeted that that deal is now dead because he finds Facebook “creepy.” An expansion on his thought process can be found on his official website.
So what’s next for Oculus? According to a Reddit post by Luckey, “We can make huge investments in content.”
Robotoki will use CryEngine to develop Human Element for PC, PS4, Xbox One
Robotoki and Robert Bowling, Infinity Ward’s former Community Manager, are hard at work on Human Element, their first game. Yesterday, Bowling confirmed that Human Element will be developed using Crytek’s CryEngine as well revealed the game’s launch plans.
Human Element is currently in development for the PC and will be released in November 2015 (so says Bowling via Twitter). In addition to the PC version, the game is in the works for next-generation consoles (specifically the PS4 and Xbox One), but it is unknown when the console edition will be available. A mobile spinoff of the open world game where players are tasked with rebuilding the world 35 years after a zombie uprising is also in development.
“The ambitious narrative and gameplay of Human Element required an innovative set of features in order to achieve our vision.” said Bowling. “CryEngine is the perfect fit for us because it delivers so many powerful features straight out of the box such as the physical based shading system and the infinite terrain from segmented worlds to create a massive open world experience but still allow the visual fidelity and detail our players expect from a first person experience from our team.”
Bowling also confirmed (again via Twitter) that a Human Element prequel originally in development for the Ouya has been canceled.
Batman: Arkham Origins will include hardcore “I Am the Night” Mode
Warner Bros. Montreal is definitely taking the “Origins” part of Batman: Arkham Origins seriously. Speaking to Eurogamer at this weekend’s Eurogamer Expo, Producer Guillaume Voghel confirmed that the “Initiation” DLC pack will send Bruce Wayne to Asia as part of his ninja training with the martial arts master Kirigi. The DLC will be the first time any part of the Arkham games take place outside Gotham City.
“It’s when he learned to be a ninja and learned those techniques. He goes to a monastery – custom content was created for the DLC. You’ll be in Asia in the monastery. The team did a great job on that, it looks really good,” said Voghel.
Voghel also talked a bit about the game’s “I Am the Night” Mode, an extremely hardcore test of Batman’s heroic abilities that opens up after players complete the main game and the New Game Plus campaign. In “I Am the Night,” players will have to complete the game’s entire 12-hour campaign using a single life.
You can find out if you’re up to the challenge when Batman: Arkham Origins is released for the PC, PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360 on October 25.
Valve announces unorthodox Steam Controller
Valve’s final announcement of the week (following on the heels of SteamOS and the Steam Machines living room PC) is a brand new controller they’ve dubbed the “Steam Controller.”
The Steam Controller will work with any version of Steam (including Windows and Mac) and won’t be limited to Steam Machines-branded PCs or other SteamOS devices. The controller will launch in 2014, and just like their Steam Machines prototype, Valve plans to offer 300 fans the chance to beta test the new controller. But why does it look so weird?
Instead of two analog sticks, the Steam Controller features two massive trackpads that feel more like a desktop mouse than an analog stick. Each trackpad is also clickable. The four face buttons have been shifted to the center of the controller where they encircle a large touchpad, which is also clickable. Four shoulder buttons also sit atop the controller in their standard spot. And finally, two buttons are nestled in the back of the controller next to the grips.
It’s likely that console gamers will be confused by the Steam Controller, but Valve believes it’ll bring PC games to the living room for the first time: “Whole genres of games that were previously only playable with a keyboard and mouse are now accessible from the sofa. RTS games. Casual, cursor-driven games. Strategy games. 4X space exploration games. A huge variety of indie games. Simulation titles. And of course, Euro Truck Simulator 2.”
Who knows if Valve can take over the living room, but they’ve definitely presented some interesting ideas this week.
Valve officially announces their living room PC initiative: “Steam Machines”
Here it is, your official “Steam Box” announcement from Valve… err, sort of.
Today, Valve announced “Steam Machines,” their SteamOS-powered living room PC initiative. Steam Machines won’t conform to a single hardware configuration like the current consoles from Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. And Valve won’t produce any of the Steam Machines themselves. Instead, the company plans to partner with hardware manufacturers to produce several different Steam Machine form factors optimized for “size, price, quietness, or other factors.” The first Steam Machines will be available to purchase sometime in 2014.
According to Valve, each Steam Machine will be completely customizable. In an FAQ on their site, the question was raised, “Can I hack this box? Run another OS? Change the hardware? Install my own software? Use it to build a robot?” Valve’s one word response? “Sure.”
To test their new platform, Valve has created a prototype Steam Machine that they want to give away to 300 beta testers. Interested? Head over to the Official Steam Machines Page now and read up on what you need to do to become one of the lucky 300. The beta testers will be chosen on October 25 and the beta will begin before the end of the year.
South Park: The Stick of Truth will honestly be available on December 10
Oh my god! Ubisoft killed Kenny finally announced the official release date for South Park: The Stick of Truth! The Obsidian Entertainment-developed RPG will be released for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on December 10.
The Stick of Truth began life as a THQ title and was originally scheduled to be released last Fall, but Ubisoft is in control now and they’re planning a big launch for game. Players who pre-order the game will receive the Ultimate Fellowship Pack, four exclusive costumes that come equipped with special abilities: The Necromancer Sorcerer will increase your fire damage, the Rogue Assassin can earn extra gold; the Ranger Elf can deal extra weapon damage, and the Holy Defender can raise your defense.
A special edition, known as the Grand Wizard Edition (Wait… really?), is also in the works at Ubisoft. The Grand Wizard Edition (Seriously, why?) will include the Ultimate Fellowship Pack in-game costumes, a six-inch Grand Wizard Cartman Figure from Kidrobot, and a Kingdom of South Park Map. The Grand Wizard Edition (Still?) has been priced at $79.99 and will also be available on December 10 for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
Posted in News
Tagged PC, PS3, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Xbox 360
Valve unveils Linux-based SteamOS for living room PCs
Valve has taken the first steps towards making their long-rumored “SteamBox” a reality with today’s announcement of SteamOS. SteamOS will be a freely-available, Linux-based operating system designed for living room PCs.
SteamOS will add a variety of new features to the Steam platform, including game sharing across accounts, parental conrtols, in-home streaming, and a place to purchase movies, TV shows, and music. All of these feature will available soon on the desktop version of Steam as well.
Valve is also working with “AAA publishers” to make their games natively playable in SteamOS in 2014. According to the company, “hundreds” of games already support SteamOS.
Hit the jump for a look at the full feature set of SteamOS and keep an eye on the official SteamOS page for more details about the operating system’s impending release. (more…)