Naughty Dog revealed Ellie’s sexuality in 2014, in a short interstitial game called The Last of Us: Left Behind. Social media bottom-dwellers protested in the usual manner of bombarding Mr. Druckmann’s Twitter account with bigotry and making YouTube videos accusing him of a “social justice warrior” agenda. When one fan asked Mr. Druckmann to leave […]
‘The Last of Us Part II’ Is a Dark Game for a Dark Time Read More »
Toy maker Spin Master grew to a $2 billion valuation with TV shows like Paw Patrol and toys like Air Hogs drones. But as shelter-in-place orders linger during the pandemic, the Toronto company is expanding into digital businesses, including games. Fredrik Loving recently joined as executive vice president of digital studios. A game development veteran
Spin Master ramps its game business as toys go digital Read More »
But in many cases those same companies offered little detail when it came to addressing their intentions on that last point — the one which most directly impacts gamers. The silence in that regard left many in and around the gaming community wondering why even basic, text-based instances of racism continue to persist in some
Video game companies vow to fight racism in their communities, but offer few details Read More »
We are well into the saga that is 2020’s “Not E3.” The organization that puts together the Electronic Entertainment Expo cancelled that event, and like seeds from a tree, game announcements rode the wind and landed randomly throughout the summer. We’ve already had a small Xbox event, Sony’s big PlayStation 5 blowout, and a number
If you’re any kind of a fan of The Simpsons you’ll remember Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge. In the episode Marge Be Not Proud, from season 7, Bart steals a copy of Bonestorm, the Mortal Kombat parody game that every kid in The Simpsons is obsessed with. Shenanigans occur and the end result is Bart, instead
Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge from The Simpsons is now a real video game you can play Read More »
AT&T is offering its Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) division up for sale, according to a CNBC report as well as our own reporting. Citing unnamed sources, CNBC said Friday that potential bidders included Take-Two Interactive, Electronic Arts, and Activision Blizzard. If the sale happens, it would be a major change for Hollywood and its
AT&T is offering Warner Bros. game division for sale Read More »
The world of Valheim got its debut at the PC Gaming Show today, as the developers showed a trailer that gave a feel for the environments and action in this Viking survival game. Valheim comes from Iron Gate Studio, a small Swedish development house working on its first game. You can register for the beta
Iron Gate Studio shows off Valheim, a survival game with Vikings Read More »
The pandemic has impacted all of us, including the game industry. Sure, many publishers are reporting record engagement and increased revenues as players flock to games for entertainment and distraction. But what about the people who make these games? Over the past couple of months, I’ve talked to some of the studios, creators, and software
How the pandemic has transformed work in the game industry Read More »
The content generation technology and techniques I’m going to demonstrate in this column would seem out of a science fiction novel, but they are real and freely accessible now. After I completed the coding experiments and started to write this piece, I pondered the positive and negative implications of sharing this information publicly. As you
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This time last year, E3 was in full swing, for better or worse. While it’s unclear if we’ll see another E3 in the future, publishers are taking their big summer showcases to the web. Sony’s livestreamed event just wrapped, and while it wasn’t as big or splashy as an E3 press conference (the annual gaming
