Culture

The Smash player and streamer who got suspended from Twitch for drinking too much recently returned by chugging a beer. Clad in a kimono, Joseph “Mango” Marquez stabbed the can open with a knife before proclaiming that he’ll continue to be himself, and that he refuses to be “another fake streamer.” Later, he took an…

Longtime Twitch Streamer Summit1g Tops Ninja’s Subscriber Count

Jaryd “Summit1g” Lazar is no newcomer to Twitch. The mostly retired Counter-Strike pro has been one of the platform’s most recognizable faces since 2012, but over the past few weeks, he’s worked his way into Twitch’s highest echelon. According to third-party analytics site Twitchstats, Summit now has more subscribers than any other streamer—including the platform’s…

Fortnite’s New Update Adds Some Ice-Related Mysteries

Fortnite’s latest update brought scoped revolvers, brought back the ability to re-deploy gliders, and added new mysteries that players are already unravelling. Patch 7.20 dropped this morning, a day after Fortnite development studio Epic announced that it would let players re-deploy their gliders, a contentious feature that was removed from the game in November. It…

Let’s Hear It For Really Good Role-Playing Game Battle Music

I’ve got a song stuck in my head that’s somehow not getting old. A colleague recently wrote about a new Mario & Luigi remake, I dusted off an unfinished older Mario & Luigi game, and next thing I know, I’m on the subway and… am I bobbing my head to some boss battle music? Why,…

Track: The Pure and the Damned | Artist: Oneohtrix Point Never | Album: Good Time Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

The Wedding. Kyoto, Japan. By Leonis Caeli | Instagram | 500px 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! 

Bike Girl

Malcolm Wopé is a concept artist from South Africa. You can see more of Malcolm’s work at his ArtStation page

Valve Outlines Its Plans For Steam In 2019

As part of a lengthy 2018-in-review post published today, Valve outlined improvements it made to Steam in 2018, then broke out its internal corporate crystal ball for a glimpse into the future. If all goes according to plan, it’s gonna be a big year for Steam. But this is Valve, a company whose main contribution…

Dota 2 Custom Mode Is Either One Of Steam’s Top Games Or A Glitch

Before it became the megalith players know, love, and dedicate entire lifetimes to mastering, Dota was just a popular mod of other games like Warcraft 3. Perhaps, in a handful of years, we’ll be speaking similarly of Dota 2 mod Auto Chess—that is, if it really is as popular as it seems to be. Over…

Super Nintendo Game Names Are Buried In The Switch Online NES App

Switch Online’s NES classics app now has titles and descriptions for 22 Super Nintendo games buried in its code, according to dataminers who have looked at the program. That’s a welcome glimmer of hope for anyone hoping to play Super Mario World on their Switch, but it doesn’t necessarily mean those games will show up…

I Hit Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s Original Level Cap Before Seeing Half The Map

Every time I play Ubisoft’s gargantuan Assassin’s Creed Odyssey I’m astounded at how much of it I have left. I’m also left startled by how different an experience I seem to have had from many other players I’ve heard some people complain that Odyssey is a grind, that they level too slowly, and that they’re…

Once More Unto The Breach, Dear Friends

Chris Glenn is a freelance concept artist based in Los Angeles. You can see more of Chris’ work at his ArtStation page

Suspected Cosplay Stalker Destroys Seven Cars During Anime Con [Update]

A suspected arson attack, allegedly carried out by an “obsessed stalker”, has torched seven cars in the parking lot of a hotel where Anime Los Angeles attendees have been staying over the weekend. The incident took place early on Sunday morning, just before 2am. The night manager of the Azure Hotel & Suites in Ontario,…

Sunday Comics: Fox Meat

Hello! It’s time for Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published January 7. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published January 10. Read more of Corpse Run Double XP by…

Fortnite Streamer’s Friend Gives Him $75,000 Donation [Update]

“Wait a minute,” said Fortnite streamer Exotic Chaotic upon noticing the number of digits in a donation he received on Twitch earlier this week. “That can’t be right.” He was so stunned that he stopped playing to check his PayPal. There it was: $75,000. Exotic Chaotic stood up and lost his shit. “DUDE,” he bellowed…

One Of My Favorite Tales Role-Playing Games Just Got Better 

Tales of Vesperia is one of the best entries in the long-running Tales series. Originally released worldwide in 2008 for the Xbox 360, it came out on PS3 only in Japan in 2009 with extra playable characters, a more fleshed-out story, full voice acting, new mini-games and more. Nearly a decade later, Bandai Namco finally gives…

Track: Let’s Dance (Demo) | Artist: David Bowie | Album: N/A Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Otaru Canal. Hokkaido, Japan. By Reginald Pentinio | Flickr 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! 

Just Witcher Stuff

Piotr Foksowicz is a freelance concept artist and illustrator from Poland. You can see more of Piotr’s stuff at his ArtStation page

Atom Feels Like Old-School Fallout Set In Post-Apocalyptic Russia

Nearly every Steam review and description of Atom RPG I read said the same thing: It’s old-school Fallout, but Soviet. “That can’t be,” I said to myself as I waited for the game to download. “That’s too reductionist.” A few hours of playtime later, I’ve revised my opinion: Atom is old-school Fallout, but Soviet. This…