Culture

Modern Warfare‘s Lack Of A Mini-Map Will Change How People Play Call Of Duty

Last week, Activision revealed the multiplayer mode for the softly-rebooted Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. 2019’s Duty is dropping the iconic mini-map to add more “realism” to multiplayer, and it’s the design decision that’s caused the most consternation in the Call of Duty community so far. Call of Duty’s mini-map has been a feature of the…

Speedrunners Baffled By Mysterious Stranger Sending Silent Hill 2 Puzzle Solutions

One of the challenges of speedrunning Silent Hill 2 is getting past the game’s puzzles. Puzzles are semi-randomly generated and will change on each playthrough. In the past week, a mysterious stranger has been slipping into speedrunners’ Twitch chats and revealing future puzzle solutions to them. It wasn’t clear how this stranger was getting that…

Ask Dr. NerdLove: Is It Selfish To Want More Attention From My Girlfriend?

Hello you terrible skinsacks of the noosphere, and welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the dating advice column that charges into your love problems like 30-50 feral hogs. This week we’re tackling communication problems and how to not create new problems while trying to solve existing ones. How do you help your partner when their depression…

It Is Surprisingly Hard To Create An Incompetent Ass-Clown In Dungeons & Dragons

The great escapist fantasy of Dungeons & Dragons is that you are not a salaryperson shoveling handfuls of gummy bears into your mouth and rolling 20-sided dice. Rather, you are a singularly important hero with a singular capacity to disarm some impending plot bomb. It’s a time-tried formula, one that basically spawned an entire industry…

A new trailer just dropped for No Man’s Sky Beyond, the game’s upcoming expansion, and if you ever wanted to ride the weird alien animals, August 14 will be your lucky day.

Track: Catfish Kate | Artist: Pixies | Album: Beneath the Eyrie Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment. 

Digital Arts Museum. Kyoto, Japan. By Thomas Carney JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

Track: Fear Inoculum | Artist: Tool | Album: Fear Inoculum Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment. 

On The Road

Xi Zhang is an illustrator and concept artist from China. You can see more Zhang’s stuff at their ArtStation page and Instagram

Take-Two Sends Investigators To YouTuber’s House To Crack Down On Borderlands 3 Leaks

After two weeks of no uploads, a notable Borderlands personality on YouTube returned to the platform yesterday with a video explaining his absence. He said that the game’s publisher Take-Two Interactive hit his channel with several copyright strikes and sent investigators to his home in response to months of Borderlands coverage on his channel, which…

Blizzard Creates Tool To Help Old World Of Warcraft Buddies Find Each Other

If you’ve been a lapsed World of Warcraft player for the past 10-plus years, you’ve probably let some relationships fall by the wayside—for example, the entire guild that formed the core of your social life when you were in a suffocatingly small Christian high school in Texas. Maybe you’ve found yourself sipping a beverage in…

Destiny 2 Players Can’t Decide What This Weird Cat Statue Means

Last week, Destiny 2’s Solstice of Heroes event began, bringing with it a new activity set in a new area: the European Aerial Zone. Ever since, players have been scouring it for potential hidden lore or secret areas that could be tucked away somewhere in its many floating rocks and abandoned buildings. So far, all…

Riot Employees Say Company Has Made Real Progress Fixing Its Sexism Issues

In the year since Kotaku’s investigation into sexism at Riot Games, the 2,500-person company behind League of Legends, the company has crafted and self-injected its proposed antidote to its so-called “bro culture.” Over the last week, 14 current or recent Riot employees spoke with Kotaku about the game company’s forward momentum toward equitable workplace conditions.…

As Police Investigate Threats To Twitch Offices, Employees Told To Work From Home

After multiple threats were sent to Twitch’s offices in San Francisco, California, the company has asked employees to work from home for the day. Police are investigating. Business Insider first reported on the situation earlier today. Twitch confirmed the publication’s report in an email to Kotaku “We were made aware of a threat against our…

Perfect Character Balance Is ‘Boring,’ Says Samurai Shodown Director

During Evo 2019, I sat down with Samurai Shodown director Nobuyuki Kuroki to discuss his work on the new game. Since the game’s release in June, players have noticed some character balance issues in Samurai Shodown. In our interview, Kuroki admitted he’s not a fan of making the power diversity in the game’s cast “too…

ESA Says Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo Will Start Disclosing Loot Box Odds

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has announced that Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony will be required to implement new policies requiring the disclosure of all loot box odds for games on their platforms. “I’m pleased to announce this morning that Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony have indicated to ESA a commitment to new platform policies with respect…

Fire Emblem: Three Houses Captures The Challenge Of Fostering Your Students’ Passions

In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, you split your time between fighting battles and teaching students at a monastery. As you teach, there are key moments where you can encourage students down different paths toward new jobs. While the mechanic mostly exists for you to grind stats and try new battle combinations, these small moments realistically…

Latest Pokémon Sword And Shield Trailer Reveals Villain Team And New Galarian Forms

Fresh information about Pokémon Sword and Shield, shown this morning on the official Pokémon YouTube channel, tells more about the game’s cast. Alongside new monsters—including new Pikachu-adjacent creatures—there’s a quick look at some of the game’s rivals and villains. The trailer outlines a handful of monsters and characters coming to Sword and Shield. Among these…

A Bewitching Tree. Langøyene, Oslo, Norway. By Marcus Patai | Instagram JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

Fallen Angel

Yakun Wang is a character artist and illustrator at Tencent Games. You can see more of Wang’s workat her ArtStation page UPDATE: Some artwork removed at artist’s request.