71-year-old Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano—best known in gaming circles for the Final Fantasy concept art he’s made for developer Square Enix since 1987—is having a great weekend. Before I sit down with him at New York’s Japan Society, which was screening his film collaboration Angel’s Egg (1985) that night, he had…
Source: Kotaku – Interview: Final Fantasy Artist Yoshitaka Amano Working On New Game, Old Art
Yesterday, the cross-platform game engine company Unity announced a controversial new Runtime Fee, which would charge developers per installation for games built with the Unity engine after those games reached a certain threshold. Everyone disliked that, and Unity’s stock prices took a pretty significant dip shortly…
Source: Kotaku – Unity Bosses Sold Stock Ahead Of Scummy Dev Fees Announcement
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Teal Mask DLC may not fix all the performance issues the games have had since they launched in November 2022, but there is one thing it dramatically overhauls: the game’s godawful photo mode.
Source: Kotaku – Pokémon Scarlet And Violet DLC Fixes Its Terrible Photo Mode’s Biggest Flaw
If you’re just starting out in Starfield, chances are you’ll come across a vessel you can’t pilot for one reason or another. Maybe it’s a ship class outside of your skill set or maybe it has parts you can’t take advantage of due to a lack of training or maybe you’re just struggling to grasp the flight mechanics.…
Source: Kotaku – How To Level Up Starfield’s Piloting Skills Super Fast (And Fly Any Ship)
On September 12, Apple held an event showing off its entire line of iPhone 15 devices, including the iPhone 15 Pro, which features a USB-C port (thanks, Europe) and the ability to run modern AAA games like Death Stranding and the remake of Resident Evil 4. Apple predictably touted the news as the “next generation of…
Source: Kotaku – Apple Wants Its New iPhone To Be Your Next Gaming Device
Starfield’s first update is here and its… pretty small and not very exciting. However, Bethesda has confirmed that some highly desired features and improvements, including DLSS support, will be added to the RPG via future updates.
Source: Kotaku – Starfield Will Get DLSS Support, An FOV Slider, And More In Future Updates
The full list of 36 games for Xbox Live Gold’s replacement, Game Pass Core, has been revealed a day ahead of its launch. And they’re…they’re really good.
Source: Kotaku – Xbox Game Pass Core Reveals All 36 Games Ahead Of Launch
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s first DLC, The Teal Mask, is finally out, and it takes the player and all their pocket monsters on an exchange student program to the land of Kitakami. In this wondrous land they’ll find new Pokémon to catch, new friends to make, and, as fans have discovered, restrooms that are…
Source: Kotaku – Pokémon Scarlet And Violet’s DLC Has Gender-Neutral Restrooms
Square Enix is in a bit of a rough spot following financial setbacks and rocky game releases. While some titles like Final Fantasy XIV have delivered consistent quality and remained popular with fans, other entries from the series as well as newer games from the publisher have shipped in questionable states and…
Source: Kotaku – Square Enix Loses Stock Value, Development Process Under Fire
Starfield is a massive game. With hundreds of planets and solar systems to probe, Bethesda’s spacefaring RPG tasks you with traveling from galaxy to galaxy. Unfortunately, for all the space exploration the game has you doing, doing this by fast traveling amounts to a series of loading screens that trivializes…
Source: Kotaku – Starfield’s Fast Travel Cheapens Space’s Impact
The galaxy is a big place in Starfield. With an epic main quest, tons of side-quests, and so many other activities, it’s easy to overlook the smaller, environmental storytelling moments.
Source: Kotaku – Starfield: This Creepy Derelict Spaceship Goes All Dead Space
Cyberpunk 2077’s big, free 2.0 update and the paid Phantom Liberty expansion are around the corner. To prepare for this coming one-two punch, developer CD Projekt Red is suggesting you check your PC’s specifications ahead of time.
Source: Kotaku – Cyberpunk 2077 Dev Suggests Testing Your PC’s Stability Before Phantom Liberty Drops
Unity, the cross-platform game engine that powers games like Rust, Hollow Knight, and Pokémon Go, has introduced a new, controversial fee for developers, set to take effect next year. Indie developers quickly responded to the announcement, with many suggesting the costs of this policy would kill smaller games, while…
Source: Kotaku – Devs React To Unity’s Newly Announced Fee For Game Installs: ‘Not To Be Trusted’
Starfield launched on September 6, but was actually playable for some people on September 1. How did those folks get to play the game early? They paid extra for special editions that—along with other little trinkets and doodads—let them download and play Bethesda’s big RPG nearly a week before its “official” launch.…
Source: Kotaku – Publishers, Stop Holding Games Hostage Behind Paid Early Access
Writer Walter Isaacson spent two years following Twitter overlord Elon Musk as he worked on his biography Elon Musk, which released September 12. That thorough work paid off—readers can sleep easy knowing that one of the richest men in the world might be into Overwatch roleplay.
Source: Kotaku – Amber Heard Spent Two Months Designing Overwatch Mercy Cosplay For Ex Elon Musk
Baldur’s Gate 3 can be overwhelming in its options, and that extends to its various character builds, ability loadouts, and, yes, spells. They’re so numerous, in fact, that just narrowing them down to the very best for this list was a challenge, and I’m sure plenty of people will read these selections and have…
Source: Kotaku – Baldur’s Gate 3: The Best Spells To Teach Your Team
Starfield lets you take the controls of massive starships to both cruise the cosmos and blast hostile spacefarers into smithereens. It also has a pretty snappy, powerful ship-building feature, so you can come up with your own ship designs or, if you’re so inclined, recreate some of science fiction’s most legendary…
Source: Kotaku – 14 Classic Science Fiction Ships Recreated In Starfield
Lies of P, the upcoming Bloodborne-inspired action-RPG Soulslike based around the story of Pinocchio, featured an “All Cops Are Bastards” sign at one point. But if you go looking for it in the final game when it launches on September 19, you might come up empty-handed because the text was cut.
Source: Kotaku – Pinocchio Soulslike’s ‘ACAB’ Sign Was Cut For Being Too ‘Risky’
Attack on Titan, arguably the shonen anime of the decade by means of its exceptionally strong start back in 2013 and its significantly stretched-out final season, finally has a release date for its final episode.
Source: Kotaku – Attack On Titan’s Final Episode (For Real This Time) Gets Release Date
Previews for Assassin’s Creed Mirage, the thirteenth game in the Assassin’s Creed series and first since 2020’s Valhalla, released early on September 12, and they suggest a long-awaited return to the historical fiction series’ roots. That could come as good news—in the 16 years since the first Assassin’s Creed came…
Source: Kotaku – Assassin’s Creed Mirage Could Be Great News For Old-School Fans