Culture

The Plan One Guy Used To Get The World’s Highest Steam Level Overnight

The PalmDesert dynasty is, at least for now, over. As of today, a new guy has the world’s highest Steam level, and he managed it almost over night. His handle? St4ck. As for how he did it, well, it’s quite a story. St4ck’s current Steam level is 1,113, making it officially the highest in the…

Why, It’s Concept Art, My Dear Watson

Evgeniy Musienko, Andrey Roscha and Anna Bulavina are the three artists who worked on The Devil’s Daughter, the latest game in Frogware’s Sherlock Holmes series. Below you’ll see some examples of work from the game. It’s like Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, only with less murders. To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if…

Today Is Terrible, So Let’s Distract Ourselves By Watching People Play Video Games Really Fast

If you’re feeling miserable after a week full of horrifying news, you’re not alone. Why not distract yourself a little by watching people play video games? The Summer Games Done Quick speedrunning marathon has been going on since Sunday, and it’s been a lot of fun to watch. The quality of both play and commentary…

A Future Game About Cats

It’s a sci-fi adventure game about a cat. And you are the cat.

Kamen Rider Rides Again

Ah, always nice to be able to share some Kamen Rider Cosplay. This is from Kamen Rider Decade, and the cosplay is by SidneyKun and Aniki Cosplay. Photos by The Will Box

YouTubers Behind Counter-Strike Gambling Scandal Get Sued

In the wake of a scandal where it came to light that two prominent YouTubers, Trevor ‘TmarTn’ Martin and Tom ‘ProSyndicate’ Cassell, promoted a Counter-Strike gambling site they founded and owned sans overt disclosure, the two have been sued. Polygon reports that Martin and Cassell, as well as CSGO Lotto and its business partners, have…

Deadpool And X-Men Disney Infinity Figures Are The Stuff Of Broken Dreams

Disney Infinity’s demise didn’t just kill actual, planned projects, it also killed the dreams of millions. One of those affected is artist (and fan) Hector Moran, who came up with these awesome Deadpool and X-Men ideas for the game. They’d never have been made in a million years by Disney, but then I guess was…

Witness A Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Speedrunner Beat The Game Blindfolded

Using mist to leap off an enemy and reach a higher ledge would be tough enough on its own in Symphony of the Night, but doing so blindfolded? Let’s leave that to the experts, like amazing Castlevania speedrunner romscout. romscout used a combination of brute memorization, mental intuition, and audio cues to demonstrate how it’s…

Podcast: Building A PC Ain’t That Hard

Just how much of a pain is it to build your own PC? Is it worth the savings? And do you really need to use thermal paste? Today on Kotaku Splitscreen, Kirk walks us through the process of ordering parts and building a gaming computer from scratch. He says it’s actually not so bad, despite…

Why Speedrunners Use Glitches

Any time Kotaku writes about speedruns, we find that a good chunk of the community can’t understand why someone would willingly use glitches and cheats to play through a game. Doesn’t that make the playthrough less valid? Isn’t abusing glitches, you know, wrong? This piece originally ran 5/28/14. Let’s forget for a second that there…

Track: Next Year | Artist: Foot Fighters | Album: There Is Nothing Left to Lose Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Hey, It’s Spiral Cats!

We’ve posted plenty of pics from Korean cosplay supersquad Spiral Cats, but they’ve usually been studio photos shot locally. This year, at Anime Expo 2016 in LA, they were there in person. Photographer Mineralbluhad the chance to do a shoot with Spiral Cats’ Tashaand Doremi, and these are some of the pics he took. More…

XCOM 2‘s Last DLC Is Also Its Best

XCOM 2 is a phenomenal strategy game. The DLC Firaxis has released in its wake, on the other hand, has mostly been middling. Thankfully, Shen’s Last Gift is straight-up good. It lets you improve the shit out of your squad. With mechs. Like Alien Hunters before it, Shen’s Last Gift is comprised of two portions.…

Mass Effect Cosplay Is Almost Perfect

Blackwater Cosplay and photographer Paul Hillier have teamed up to basically bring Mass Effect’s EDI to life. The photos, shot in a studio, are incredible. As is the outfit itself, a collaboration between Blackwater and Kink Engineering (who have worked on Hollywood movies), which involved many layers of latex glued and layered atop one another…

YouTuber Trevor ‘TmarTn’ Martin has issued an “apology” over the CSGO Lotto scandal. In it, he claims his connection to the site was always a matter of public record and says he’s sorry that some people “felt like that was not made clear enough.” Check out my now updated story on the scandal for more…

Street Fighter Mods Are Getting A Little Too Nude

Today on Highlight Reel we have good bones and calcium, Mei bullfights, gravity deflects, smooth operators, and more! Watch the video then talk about your favorite highlight in the comments below. Be sure to check out, like, and share the original videos via the links below. Subscribe to Kotaku on YouTube for more! AC: Revelations…

Team Fortress 2 Finally Getting Competitive Mode Update

Team Fortress 2‘s last big update came in December, but now, finally, Valve is about to shake things up again. Much like TF2’s biggest inspiration, Blizzard’s Overwatch, Valve’s undying team shooter is adding a competitive mode. The Meet Your Match update, which will likely launch sometime this week, adds a ranked competitive mode to the…

Go Home, Krampus, It’s July

Nick De Spain is a concept artist at Turtle Rock, the developers of games like Evolve and the original Left 4 Dead You can see more of Nick’s work at his ArtStation page To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click…

Overwatch’s Bring Your Daughter To Work Day

Overwatch cosplay is quicklymoving past literal recreation into the world of…more fanciful things. Here, for example, are Soldier: 76 and D.Va. Who are probably pausing for a photo on their way to McDonalds D.Va is Vanessa Wedge, Soldier: 76 is Auzzie L Epilogue: She got McDonalds.

When Your Starship Needs Fixin’

Eoghan Cowan is a concept artist based in Ireland who has done work for companies like Ubisoft and Square Enix. You can see more of Eoghan’s work at his personal site To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click on the…