Ethan Gach

Xbox Series X Pre-Orders Have Been A Debacle So Far [Update]

Despite advance notice, a set time, and links set up for all of the retailers who would be selling the Xbox Series X and Series S today, trying to pre-order Microsoft’s next-gen console has been a massive headache. Pre-orders in the U.S. were set to start at 11:00 a.m., which is also about the time…

Destiny 2 Teases The Return Of Variks

“Destroy mines, yessss?” Long-time Destiny players have those words and other morsels of dry sarcasm etched into their brains from spending dozens upon dozens of hours fighting enemy mobs in the first game’s Prison of Elders. Now, that jail’s warden, Fallen scholar Variks, The Loyal, appears set to make a fresh appearance in the game…

Elden Ring Fans Trolled By Fake Instagram Post Promising News About The Game

Over the weekend, Bandai Namco’s information page for upcoming game Elden Ring briefly redirected to a fake Instagram account. The account said more news about the long-silent game was “coming soon,” as if Elden Ring’s most devoted fans haven’t suffered enough. The Instagram account, called “bandainamcoenteurope,” has a couple hundred followers and three posts that,…

Future Bethesda Games Will Come To Other Consoles ‘On A Case-By-Case Basis,’ Microsoft Says

Following the announcement that Microsoft is buying Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax Media, Xbox boss Phil Spencer opened up the possibility that some of the newly acquired publisher’s future games could become exclusives. In an interview with Bloomberg, Spencer said that upcoming Bethesda games like its single-player sci-fi RPG Starfield will come to Xbox, PC, and…

The Legend of Dragoon’s Sprawling Soundtrack Is What Every Epic JRPG Deserves

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today’s tracks come from The Legend of Dragoon, Sony’s attempt to emulate the prestige JRPG adventures of the late ‘90s. Surprisingly, for all its faults, The Legend of Dragoon (longplay, VGMdb) nailed both depth and…

Dune 2000 Is A Good Soundtrack For The Coming Spice Wars

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. The year is 2000. Dune 2000 to be exact, and space gangs are fighting to the death while snare drums and ominous synth basslines blare in the distance. Won’t you join me? Good morning. Today’s…

Everything Sony Announced In Today’s PS5 Event

At long last we have the PlayStation 5’s release date, price, and teases for the next God of War and Final Fantasy XVI. Sony’s second PS5 showcase gave us most of the answers we didn’t get the first time around, including that the next-gen console will be out November 12 and cost $500. Today’s 40-minute…

Star Renegades Is A Gorgeous Turn-Based RPG Caught In Its Own Time Loop

There’s a ton to love in the beautifully pixelated RPG roguelite Star Renegades. I just wish all of its ambitious ideas came together as elegantly as its art style. In Star Renegades, the latest Steam game from Massive Damage, makers of the excellent Halcyon 6, you assemble a squad of charming cliches—the roguish bounty hunter,…

Gods & Monsters Isn’t The First Time Monster Energy Has Been Annoying About Naming Rights

Monster Beverage tried to stop Ubisoft from trademarking the name “Gods & Monsters” earlier this year to prevent confusion between its brand of highly caffeinated sodas and the upcoming action adventure game. It turns out this is the sort of thing Monster does a lot. Monster routinely challenges “monster”-related trademarks, including, tactical gear, ice cream,…

Rocket League is going free-to-play next week on September 23. That’s also when the game will move to the Epic Games Store and no longer be for sale on Steam. The game’s seasons will reboot then as well, starting back at one.

Nintendo Switch Bans Nicknames Like ‘ACAB’, ‘Nazi’, And ‘Covid’ In Latest Update

A 'bad word' list has expanded based on recent events

EA Is Killing Off The Origin Name Entirely

After nine anticlimactic years the Origin name is no more. Going forward, EA will simply refer to its PC gaming client as the “EA desktop app.” The video game publisher announced the move inan interview with GamesIndustry.biz, saying the name change is part of a larger overhaul of the platform intended to “to create a…

Pop-Up Ad For Sex During Magic Tournament Shows Why The Game Needs A Spectator Mode

A porn spam bot was the icing on the cake during a Magic: The Gathering Arena tournament this weekend, in an event whose technical problems reminded us all that the digital card game’s client desperately needs a spectator mode. “Hi, I’m looking for sex with a stranger,” a fake DM from a no doubt very…

The Outer Worlds’ First DLC Is Too Cynical For Its Own Good

Peril on Gorgon is a good excuse to return to the Outer Worlds’ retro-futurist dystopia. I only wish doing so had finally given me some hope that its neo-feudalist colonies might someday be saved. Out last week on PS4, Xbox One, and PC (it will arrive sometime later on Switch), Peril on Gorgon is the…

Destiny 2’s Weirdo Planetary Vendors Are Finally Getting Their Due

A bristly researcher taking a one-way trip into an ancient alien cave. A gruff warrior making one last stand against the odds. A fanatical cutlist watching the abyss stare back while trapped in a time maze. A brilliant engineer set on rescuing Earth’s last, most advanced artificial intelligence from cyber-death. The unifying thread? Some of…

The Mystery Around Control’s Next-Gen Upgrade Restrictions Takes Another Weird Turn

Owners of the original version of Control say they recently discovered it had automatically switched to the new Ultimate edition that ensures a free upgrade to next-gen platforms, raising even more questions about why the game’s upgrade process continues to be such a mess. The game’s publisher, 505 Games, had previously said that the only…

Everything Ubisoft Showed During Today’s Forward Showcase

Ubisoft held its second summer showcase today, giving updates on a number of its live games and new looks at upcoming ones like Immortals: Fenyx Rising, the revamped mythological adventure shown in years past as Gods & Monsters. The company tried to clear the air beforehand by having CEO Yves Guillemot apologize for the widespread…

Ubisoft Says It Will Donate To NAACP After Using Black Lives Matter Imagery To Depict Terrorist Group

During a pre-recorded video ahead of Ubisoft’s gaming showcase later today, CEO Yves Guillemot called the recent use of raised fist imagery in Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad “an oversight” and said measures will be put in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again. “I want to be clear, Ubisoft stands for equality and respect…

Ubisoft CEO Apologizes To ‘Everyone Who Was Hurt’ By Misconduct At The Company

Ahead of Ubisoft’s second summer showcase later today, the global video game publisher released a short video in which CEO Yves Guillemot apologized to all of those hurt by “certain Ubisoft employees” who failed to “uphold our company’s values.” “I am truly sorry to everyone who was hurt,” Guillemot said. “We have taken significant steps…

Warframe Devs Plan To Shave Another 15GB Off Its Install Size

Game sizes have spent the last several years ballooning, so it’s always a treat when an update actually makes a game smaller, and Warframe’s developers are making it a lot smaller as they slowly remaster the game. Digital Extremes plans to accomplish this by pushing out several updates modifying the game’s textures and other assets…