Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- 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
- “Animal Crossing” and Undertale” Lead the Way for New Book Series About Games at University of Chicago Press
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: Rocket League
Microsoft enables Cross-Network Play for Xbox One, Windows 10, and “other networks”
Chris Charla is the Director of Microsoft’s ID@Xbox initiative and he made a rather surprising announcement today on the Xbox Wire. With the Game Developers Conference set to kick off today, the executive revealed that a new feature will soon be available to ID@Xbox developers… Cross-Network Play.
Developers who choose to implement Cross-Network Play within their games will give Xbox One and Windows 10 players the opportunity to compete in online multiplayer matches against each other. Best of all, Microsoft will also open up this service to any “other networks” who choose to participate, essentially inviting Sony and Nintendo to come play in their sandbox.
This invitation is especially interesting as the first game to offer Cross-Network Play is Psyonix’s Rocket League. Will Sony take them up on it? Let’s hope so…
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture leads with 10 nominations at the 2016 BAFTA Games Awards
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) bestowed some absolutely rapturous acclaim on Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture yesterday. The game, which was developed by The Chinese Room and released exclusively for the PS4, was nominated in ten categories for this year’s BAFTA Games Awards.
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture will obviously be competing for “Best Game” at the 2016 BAFTAs, and also for “Best British Game,” “Artistic Achievement,” “Audio Achievement,” “Game Innovation,” “Music,” “Original Property,” and “Story.” Two nominations in the “Performer” category (one for Merle Dandridge and one for Oliver Dimsdale) round out its double digit list of accolades.
However, five other games (Fallout 4, Life Is Strange, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Rocket League, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt) are also up for “Best Game” and any one of them could easily steal the spotlight from Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.
We’ll find out who takes the top prize on Thursday, April 7, when comedian Dara O’Briain returns to host the festivities, which will be televised via Twitch and BAFTA.org. The complete list of nominees in all categories can be found after the break. (more…)
The Batmobile will rocket into Rocket League on March 8
“It’s the car, right? Chicks love the car.”
I’m pretty sure I enjoy Batman Forever more than most people (even liking it at all puts me in pretty rare company), and Val Kilmer is a big reason why. He was actually a pretty decent Batman, and a not-too-shabby Bruce Wayne. Plus, Tommy Lee Jones acting completely insane will never not be fun.
Anyway, Batman’s favorite mode of transportation, the Batmobile, will soon find its way into everyone’s favorite car soccer sim, Rocket League, on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Developer Psyonix has teamed up with Warner Bros. to add Ben Affleck’s Batmobile (from the upcoming Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice) to Rocket League’s slate of DLC offerings. Priced at $1.99, players who purchase the Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Car Pack will also receive a set of Antenna Flags featuring Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice will open in theaters on March 25.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Rocket League
Fallout 4 wins “Game of the Year” at 2016 DICE Awards
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences held their annual DICE Awards ceremony last night, and Bethesda’s Fallout 4 emerged from The Vault to take home “Game of the Year” honors. The expansive open world RPG also won in two other categories, “Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year” and “Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction.” However, it wasn’t a sweep for the post-apocalyptic adventure.
A trio of other games took home three awards last night including Moon Studios’s Ori and the Blind Forest (“Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition,” “Outstanding Achievement in Animation,” and “Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction”), Psyonix’s Rocket League (“Sports Game of the Year,” “Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay,” and the “DICE Spirit Award”), and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (“Outstanding Achievement in Game Design,” “Outstanding Achievement in Story,” and “Outstanding Technical Achievement”).
While the ceremony featured plenty of revelry and merriment, last night’s DICE Awards were also a bittersweet affair as Satoru Iwata was posthumously awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for his distinguished business leadership of Nintendo. And Hideo Kojima, who recently parted ways with Konami after more than three decades with the company, was named to the AIAS’s Hall of Fame.
A complete list of this year’s winners (which also includes Super Mario Maker, Mortal Kombat X, Star Wars: Battlefront, and many more) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Fallout 4, Forza Motorsport 6, Helldivers, Heroes of the Storm, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Mortal Kombat X, Ori and the Blind Forest, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Rocket League, Star Wars: Battlefront, Super Mario Maker, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Xbox Store Today: Rocket League, Layers of Fear, Pixel Piracy, more
If you ever wanted to combine rocket-powered cars and “The Beautiful Game,” then you’re in luck, Rocket League is now available to download for the Xbox One through the Xbox Games Store. Psyonix’s soccer sim will also feature a variety of Xbox One-exclusive content including cars patterned after the Warthog from Halo and the Armadillo from Gears of War.
Also available this week is Layers of Fear (Xbox One), a first-person “psychedelic” horror game that asks players to delve into the mind of an insane painter. I guess my question is, how is that different from any other painter? (Ba-Dum Tish).
Finally, Pixel Piracy will give players the chance to explore a retro-themed open world pirate sim, and Mitsurugi Kamui Hikae is yet another game where Japanese schoolgirls do battle with swords. Both games are available for Xbox One.
More information on all four titles can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Rocket League
Rocket League heads to the Xbox One on February 17
Psyonix has announced that Rocket League, their “soccer with trucks” simulator, will be available to download for the Xbox One on February 17.
And according to a post by Psyonix Vice President Jeremy Dunham on the Xbox Wire, the Xbox One version of Rocket League will include a pair of Xbox-exclusive vehicles (“The Armadillo” from Gears of War and a Warthog variant from Halo known as “The HogSticker”), several new Garage Items, and all three previously-released DLC Packs:
Rocket League’s Downloadable Expansions
- Supersonic Fury – 2 Premium Battle-Cars, 12 Decals, 5 Paint Types, 2 Rocket Trails, 2 Wheels
- Revenge of the Battle-Cars – 2 Premium Battle-Cars, 12 Decals, 3 Paint Types, 2 Rocket Trails, 2 Wheels, 4 Toppers, 2 Antennas
- Chaos Run – 2 Premium Battle-Cars, 12 Decals, 2 Wheels, 2 Rocket Trails, 3 Toppers, 3 Antennas
Xbox One owners will be able to download Rocket League from the Xbox Games Store for $19.99.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Rocket League
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt nabs eight nominations at 2016 SXSW Gaming Awards
South by Southwest Gaming recently announced the nominees for this year’s SXSW Gaming Awards and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, not surprisingly, has captured the most accolades. CD Projekt’s sprawling RPG is up for eight awards, including “Game of the Year.” It was also nominated for “Excellence in Gameplay,” “Excellence in Art,” “Excellence in Technical Achievement,” “Excellence in Visual Achievement,” “Excellence in Narrative,” “Excellence in Musical Score,” and “Most Enduring Character.”
Competing against Geralt of Rivia for “Game of the Year” is a familiar-looking quartet of games including Bloodborne, Fallout 4, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and Undertale. Bloodborne was actually a close second to The Witcher 3 with seven nominations.
Who wins at the 2016 SXSW Gaming Awards will be determined in part by a public vote that will hosted by IGN from Monday, February 1 through Friday, February 12. The winners will be announced on Saturday, March 19 at 9:00 PM (Eastern Time) and you can watch it live on Twitch.
The complete list of this year’s nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: Arkham Knight, Bloodborne, Fallout 4, Her Story, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Ori and the Blind Forest, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Rocket League, Splatoon, Star Wars: Battlefront, Superhot, Tabletop Games, The Order: 1886, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
A Day-By-Day Guide to All of 2016’s New Video Games (January – March)
After years and years of publishers packing the September through November “Holiday” season with an unmanageable number of new AAA titles, we might get a much more balanced release calendar in 2016. But can you believe it all happened by accident?
Video game fans have always had to deal with delays, but publishers got even more use out of their erasers than normal in 2015. Aside from the one-two punch of Fallout 4‘s E3 2015 announcement, and its eventual release on November 10th, no game felt safe… and more than a few big titles got pushed into 2016. So now we get to ring in 2016 with a release calendar that just might offer up something exciting all year long.
Are you ready? Because here… we… go… (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Features, Mobile, PC, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Amplitude, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia, Bravely Second: End Layer, EA Sports UFC 2, EVE: Valkyrie, Far Cry: Primal, Final Fantasy Explorers, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright/Conquest, Gone Home, Hitman, Hyrule Warriors, Killer Instinct, Lego Avengers, Life Is Strange, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Mega Man Legacy Collection, Mighty No. 9, Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, Pokken Tournament, Project X Zone 2, Rebel Galaxy, Resident Evil 0, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Rocket League, Street Fighter V, The Banner Saga, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, The Walking Dead: Michonne, The Witness, Tom Clancy's The Division, Umbrella Corps, XCOM 2