Culture

Hong Kong Protests Are Growing Outside Of BlizzCon [Update]

When this year’s BlizzCon in Anaheim, California kicked off this morning, a crowd of more than 30 protesters gathered outside the convention center to show support for Hong Kong in the wake of Blizzard’s recent suspension of Hearthstone pro Chung “Blitzchung” Ng Wai. Update, 9:30 PM ET: This story has been updated since its original…

Overwatch 2 Announced With Emotional Trailer

Blizzard has finally announced Overwatch 2, the next iteration of the developer’s massively popular first-person hero shooter. It’s a sequel with all-new maps, heroes and modes, including player-versus-environment modes and a new player-versus-player mode called “Push.” In the new announcement trailer, revealed today at Blizzcon, Overwatch heroes Mei, Winston and Tracer touch down in Paris,…

Track: Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) | Artist: Darlene Love | Album: A Christmas Gift For You

The Next World Of Warcraft Expansion, Shadowlands, Takes Players Into The Afterlife

Announced today at the BlizzCon 2019 keynote, the seventh major expansion for World of Warcraft is called Shadowlands. The followup to Battle for Azeroth, coming in 2020, sees former Horde Warchief turned master villain Sylvanas Windrunner unleash death across the world of Azeroth and players venturing into the realm of the afterlife. In a dramatic…

Blizzard Announces Diablo IV

Diablo IV is coming, Blizzard said today, finally confirming the much-anticipated sequel after years of speculation. A new cinematic trailer for the game showed a group of treasure hunters fighting against what could be demons, or private equity executives. Blizzard says the game takes place “many years after the events of Diablo III, after millions…

‘We Moved Too Quickly’: Blizzard President Apologizes For Hong Kong Incident

Before Blizzcon’s opening ceremony, Blizzard president J. Allen Brack somberly addressed the crowd with an apology for Blizzard’s harsh punishment of Hearthstone esports pro Chung “Blitzchung” Ng Wai. “Blizzard had the opportunity to bring the world together in a tough Hearthstone esports moment about a month ago and we did not,” said Brack. “We moved…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for baking a cake. I think I could stand to eat a whole cake. I haven’t gotten very far in The Outer Worlds, so I’d like to spend more time with that. I’ve also been playing a lot of Lonely Mountains, which is so fun, even though I spend most of my…

How To Spot Fake Classic Video Games

Fake classic games are everywhere: At the flea market, in your local game store, on eBay, and maybe even mixed in with your own collection. The bootleggers who make them are churning them out, meaning that the market will only become more saturated with them as the years go by. If you’re going to collect…

Track: Hometown | Artist: French 79 | Album: Joshua 

Inspired by Death Stranding. Schiermonnikoog, the Netherlands. By Jesse Dijk | 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!

The Outer Worlds Does Colorblind Gaming Right

It’s cool that many modern games include colorblind options, so that those who struggle to differentiate between various hues can still enjoy the experience to the fullest. It’s even cooler, though, when a game is designed from the ground up with that support in mind. Obsidian’s Josh Sawyer shared this info in a Tweet earlier…

Disco Elysium’s Voice Acting Is Good Enough Not To Skip

I recently picked up Disco Elysium, an introspective detective game that launched on PC a couple of weeks ago. Like many people who have sat down with the game, I’ve found it very engrossing. It’s so engrossing that I’m not barreling through the dialogue as fast as I can read it, which I usually do.…

You Can Thank The Developer Of Everything For This Creepy Instagram Filter

David OReilly, developer of Mountain and Everything, is now making terrifying Instagram filters. OReilly creates work that one might call “weird,” as either a compliment or an insult. Mountain is a simulation game in an extremely literal sense. It simulates a mountain, which changes over time, as more and more stuff appears on it and…

Let’s Talk About Sports Video Games

Yesterday, the World Series ended with a stunning Game 7 victory by the Washington Nationals over the Houston Astros. It’s the sort of thing you watch sports for, a dramatic finish to a long, beautiful season. Now comes the difficult task of deleting MLB The Show 19 from my hard drive, and considering putting some…

Ask Dr. NerdLove: Is She Only Dating Me For My Money?

Hello, you electric angels of the Abyss, and welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the only dating advice column to help you get the BOO-ty call you’ve been waiting for on Halloween. This week, we’re going to get into the spirit of things by talking about relationship fears. What do you do when you’re afraid that…

Track: Corner | Artist: Iri | Album: Juice 

Sunset. Suncheon, South Korea. By Christian Mata | 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!

What If World War Two Tanks, But Also Mechs

Emerson Tung is a concept artist at id Software, home of Doom and Wolfenstein We’ve featured Tung’s work before back in 2013, but his recent series of “Tankhead” pieces—which also include aircraft and battleships—are so damn good I thought it was time for another showcase. Oh, and if you’re as into these designs as I…

Save Time In The Outer Worlds By Being A Huge Dumbass

There are all kinds of speedrunning strategies out there, from finding ways outside the boundaries of the game world to manipulating seemingly random elements for favorable outcomes. Some of the most interesting utilize legitimate gameplay mechanics in interesting ways. In The Outer Worlds, for instance, a decent chunk of time can be saved by simply…

Steam Is Now Asking Users To Re-Review Games After Playing Them Some More

There are plenty of reasons to distrust any given individual Steam review. It might be obsessively hyper-focused on a relatively slight issue or, god forbid, a game taking a political stance. It might be part of a review bomb. It might be a meme. Now, though, Valve has taken aim at one of its system’s…