video games
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Source: The Game Awards / The Game Awards 2024
The biggest night in video games, The Game Awards 2024, has arrived, plenty of big announcements were made (we will share those in another post), and plenty of awards were given out.
Despite the bad news (layoffs and game studio closures), there is still plenty to celebrate this year in video games. As the night unfolded, the most significant award, Game of the Year, saw Astro Bot, Balatro, Black Myth: Wukong, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Metaphor: ReFantazio, and Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree contend for the prestigious title, which ultimately went to Astro Bot, capping Team Asobi/PlayStation Studios’ big night with four awards, including GOTY.
This year’s darling, Balatro, the highly addictive poker roguelike and Metaphor: ReFantazio, also had a big night, winning three Game Awards.
You can see all the winners from The Game Awards 2024 below.
Game of the Year
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE) – Winner
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Best Game Direction
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE) – Winner
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Best Narrative
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
Metaphor: ReFantanzio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega) – Winner
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
Best Art Direction
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega) – Winner
Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
Best Score and Music
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix) – Winner
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
Stellar Blade (Shift Up/SIE)
Best Audio Design
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios) – Winner
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
Best Performance
Briana White, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Hannah Telle, Life is Strange: Double Exposure
Humberly González, Star Wars Outlaws
Luke Roberts, Silent Hill 2
Melina Juergens, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 – Winner
Innovation in Accessibility
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
Diablo IV (Blizzard/Xbox)
Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare/EA)
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft) – Winner
Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
Games for Impact
Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios/Skybound Games)
Indika (Odd Meter/11 Bit Studios)
Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver) – Winner
Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine/Square Enix)
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
Tales of Kenzera: Zau (Surgent Studios/EA)
Best Ongoing Game
Destiny 2 (Bungie/SIE)
Diablo IV (Blizzard/Xbox)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE) – Winner
Best Community Support
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian) – Winner
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Best Independent Game
Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack) – Winner
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
UFO 50 (Mossmouth)
Best Debut Indie Game
Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack) – Winner
Manor Lords (Slavic Magic/Hooded Horse)
Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios/Kepler Interactive)
The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)
Best Mobile Game
AFK Journey (FARLIGHT/Lilith Games)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack) – Winner
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket (Creatures Inc/TPCI)
Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)
Zenless Zone Zero (miHoYo)
Best VR/AR Game
Arizona Sunshine Remake (Vertigo Games)
Asgard’s Wrath 2 (Sanzaru Games/Oculus Studios)
Batman: Arkham Shadow (Camouflaj/Oculus Studios) – Winner
Metal: Hellsinger VR (Lab 42/The Outsiders/Funcom)
Metro Awakening (Vertigo Games)
Best Action Game
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science) – Winner
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)
Stellar Blade (Shift Up/SIE)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment)
Best Action/Adventure Game
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE) – Winner
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)
Best RPG
Dragon’s Dogma 2 (Capcom)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega) – Winner
Best Fighting Game
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai Namco)
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (Arc System Works/Cygames)
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics (Capcom)
MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)
Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco) – Winner
Best Family Game
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE) – Winner
Princess Peach: Showtime! (Good-Feel/Nintendo)
Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)
The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)
Best Sim/Strategy Game
Age of Mythology Retold
Frostpunk 2 – Winner
Kunitsu-Gami Path of the Goddess
Manor Lords
Unicorn Overlord
Best Sports/Racing Game
F1 24 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
EA Sports FC 25 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports) – Winner
NBA 2K25 (Visual Concepts/2K)
Top Spin 2K25 (Hangar 13/2K)
WWE 2K24 (Visual Concepts/2K)
Best Multiplayer Game
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
Helldivers 2 (Arrow Game Studios/SIE) – Winner
Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)
Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment)
Best Adaptation
Arcane (Riot/Fortiche/Netflix)
Fallout (Bethesda/Kilter Films/Amazon MGM Studios) – Winner
Knuckles (Sega/Paramount)
Like a Dragon: Yakuza (Sega/Amazon MGM Studios)
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (Crystal Dynamics/Legendary/Netflix)
Most Anticipated Game
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/SIE)
Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/SIE)
Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar Games) – Winner
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Retro Studios/Nintendo)
Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)
Content Creator of the Year
CaseOh – Winner
IlloJuan
Techno Gamerz
TypicalGamer
Usada Pekora
Best Esports Game
Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)
DOTA 2 (Valve)
League of Legends (Riot Games) – Winner
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Moonton)
Valorant (Riot Games)
Best Esports Athlete
33 – Neta Shapira
Aleksib – Aleksi Virolainen
Chovy – Jeong Ji-hoon
Faker – Lee Sang-hyeok – Winner
ZyWoO – Mathieu Herbaut
ZmjjKk – Zheng Yongkang
Best Esports Team
Bilibili Gaming (League of Legends)
Gen.G (League of Legends)
NAVI (Counter-Strike)
T1 (League of Legends) – Winner
Team Liquid (DOTA 2)
On Fortnite Festival‘s first anniversary, the popular music-focused game is sharing stats from its first 12 months of play and unveiling an “all-access weekend” for users to celebrate the milestone. According to a blog post published Tuesday (Dec. 10), Fortnite Festival players smashed more than one trillion Gems on tracks from 236 artists and played […]
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Source: Rockstar Games / GTA 6
Suppose you’re one of the millions of gamers wondering where the second GTA 6 trailer or any news on the game is. In that case, a former GTA V developer explains why Rockstar Games is so silent about the highly-anticipated game.
We know the game is still slated for a fall 2025 release, according to the studio. We only got a tease of what to expect from the leaked trailer, forcing Rockstar Games to release ahead of its official premiere a year ago. Still, outside of that, the game studio has been very tight-lipped on the next installment in the iconic franchise.
According to Mike York, a former developer on GTA V, this is pretty much normal for Rockstar Games when it comes to its big releases; in fact, he says it’s all by design. He broke it all down on his personal YouTube page.
“It creates allure, and it creates mystery, and it creates people talking about it without them having to do anything, right?” York says. “The more they’re silent, the better it is, because the more people will be antsy and want to talk about it, and kind of have this feeling of not knowing what’s going to happen. They could easily release the trailer date and be like, ‘Hey, this is when the trailer’s coming out,’ but they don’t do it, and they don’t do it on purpose.”
When Is The Next Trailer For GTA 6 Dropping?
Basically, what he is saying keeps us talking about the game, hence this article. But honestly, does Rockstar Games even need to go this route because GTA is arguably one of the most popular game titles on the planet?
GTA V, which has lived in three console cycles, is still being played almost a decade later, thanks to the release of the enhanced version for the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles.
Who knows? Maybe another trailer has already been cut, and Rockstar Games will either surprise us with it or give Geoff Keighley the honor of blowing our minds by premiering it at The Game Awards next week.
Whatever the case, the ball is clearly in Rockstar Games’s court, and honestly, we don’t blame them for keeping this so close to the chest because we are tired of seeing things being “leaked” for clout.
Demi Lovato is getting gamified for a good cause. Starting on Tuesday (Dec. 3), the pop star will appear as an animated version of herself in the mobile video game Subway Surfers. Available as an in-app purchase, Lovato’s character will be available in the game through Jan. 5, 2025. All of the profits from Lovato’s […]
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Source: Bernard Smalls / iOne Digital / HHW Gaming / PS Portal / PlayStation
It looks like Sony is eager to return to the handheld gaming market after the surprise success of the PS Portal.
According to a Bloomberg report, Sony is developing a new handheld gaming console that will allow gamers to play PlayStation 5 games without being tethered to the internet or console.
The website reports Sony is making the console to rival Nintendo, which currently dominates the handheld gaming market, with the Nintendo Switch and its successor, rumored to be arriving in 2025, will only cement that dominance. Microsoft is also currently making its own handheld gaming device, which is a “few years out,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer revealed.
Portable PC gaming consoles, such as Valve’s Steam Deck and Asus’ ROG Ally, have also made great strides in the handheld gaming market.
PlayStation is looking to build off the success of the PS Portal, the eight-inch gaming device that steams PS5 games via the cloud over Wi-Fi, and the PS5 console’s remote play feature. Bloomberg reports that Sony originally intended for the PS Portal to be a standalone device to expand PlayStation’s gaming audience.
If this is the case, it will mark PlayStation’s return to a territory that it is very familiar with thanks to previous devices, the PSP (PlayStation Portable), and its successor, the PS Vita.
Social Media Is Smelling What Sony Is Cooking
Gamers have been reacting to this news because, believe it or not, plenty of people out there, like Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller, have been screaming at Sony to drop a follow-up to the PS Vita.
Well, that day is currently far away. Until Sony officially drops the bomb, you can peep more reactions to the rumored new PlayStation handheld device in the gallery below.
2. Mmmmhmmm
3. Never forget
4. Interesting
5. Yes please
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Source: EA Sports / Tiburon / Madden NFL 25
The Saquan Barkley spin hurdle is now one of the best signature football plays since Odell Beckham Jr.’s epic one-handed grab, and can now be done in Madden NFL 25.
In its latest Gridiron Notes, EA Sports shared that Madden NFL 25 players will see several new updates in the game following the release of the latest update.
The inclusion of Saquan Barkley’s spin hurdle heads those updates. It has easily taken the lead in being THE PLAY of the 2024-25 NFL season, so it should come as no surprise that the developers at Tiburon went out of their way to get the move into the game, showing off the impressive power of the new physics engine.
Here is a breakdown of how they got the incredible football play into the video game:
The next step was to pore through hours of real-life motion capture and figure out which animations could be combined, adjusted and tweaked to give us Saquon’s surrealism. Spade said the genesis of the animation came from old Superstar Mode motion capture, and with a little “animator magic,” what they concocted conjured the spectacle that is Saquon Barkley.
Madden Game Designer Spade spoke about the move, saying, “It’s rare, this day and age, to see something that’s never been done before. That’s when we knew we wanted it in-game.”
See Saquan Barkley pulling off the move in-game below.
So, how do you pull off the move? EA shared the instructions:
Triggering the Saquon Spin Hurdle – To trigger the spin hurdle the ball-carrier must be Saquon Barkley, the defender must be incoming from a 45 degree angle in front of the ball carrier, the defender must be within a close proximity to the ball carrier, and the user must press the hurdle button with the right timing.
Other Updates Coming To Madden NFL 25
Barkley’s incredible play isn’t the only addition to the game following the latest update. Madden gamers can expect many fixes, quality-of-life improvements, updates to players, game modes, and new gear.
Head here to see the full breakdown of the latest Madden NFL 25 update.
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Source: 2025 New York Game Awards / Sam Lake
The next recipient of the Andrew Yoon Legend Award at the 2025 New York Game Awards will be Sam Lake, and we hope there will be a dance routine when he accepts the awards.
On Thursday, Nov.14, the NYVGCC announced that Sam Lake, the chief of Remedy Entertainment, would take home one of the night’s biggest honors during the annual award show.
Lake is the writer and creative director at Remedy Entertainment and is the man who gave us classics like 2001’s Max Payne, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, Control, Alan Wake, and, most recently, Alan Wake 2.
Lake will follow previous Andrew Yoon Legend Award recipients, Neil Druckmann, Reggie Fils-Aimé, Phil Spencer, Tim Schafer, Jerry Lawson, Jade Raymond, Hideo Kojima, and other industry veterans.
Harold Goldberg Says It’s Honor To Celebrate Sam Lake
“What an honor it is to celebrate someone of Sam Lake’s caliber during the 14th annual New York Game Awards,” said Harold Goldberg, president and co-founder of NYVGCC. “You know a Remedy game when you see it, largely due to Sam Lake’s impact on the worlds he creates. It’s really cool to see how his 20-year career at Remedy has touched so many of our members and interns at the Circle, and we are thrilled to have him join the roster of esteemed game changers previously recognized with the Andrew Yoon Legend Award.”
“It’s not often that you see a video game studio deliver a superb sequel to a title a decade later, but it’s even rarer to see how it resonates with fans and spawns a whole connected universe comprised of its past franchises,” said Ryan O’Callaghan, executive director, NYVGCC. “I don’t think anyone expects anything less from someone like Sam Lake. He spoke with some of our students and interns a few weeks ago, and it was insightful to see where he draws his inspiration and the care that goes into crafting a video game. This will be a year to remember at the New York Game Awards.”
The Deets On The 2025 New York Game Awards
The 2025 New York Games Awards will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at the SVA Theatre in Manhattan. Circle President Harold Goldberg and former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé will again handle hosting duties.
Tickets for the event are now on sale via Eventbrite. There are two options: $80 for reserved seats and $100 for access to the awards afterparty with free drinks.
The night will also help a great cause; proceeds from all ticket sales will go directly to ongoing educational programs provided by NYVGCC for 2025.
So, if you’re a gamer, aspiring video game journalist, or creator and you live in NYC, you definitely should be in the building. It’s always a great event.
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Source: Nintendo / Mario & Luigi: Brothership
This a perfect example of “f*** around and find out.” One man is learning the hard way that Nintendo does not play with its IP.
Meet Jesse Keighin. According to a lawsuit filed by Nintendo in a Colorado District Court earlier this week, he had a hobby of streaming Switch games before they came out and boasting about it, which is a huge NO, NO for those who know.
The lawsuit alleges that he said, “[I] can do this all day,” in a letter to Nintendo, and in response, the Mario-maker was slapped with a lawsuit that could cost him up to $7.5 million.
First reported by 404 Media, Keighin is accused of streaming leaked Nintendo Switch games, such as the recently released Mario & Luigi: Brothership, using emulation software. The website reports that he committed the act as many as 50 times in the last two years.
Nintendo is seeking $150,000 in damages for each instance of alleged copyright infringement.
Per Kotaku:
“All of these streams were unauthorized and all compromise Nintendo’s legitimate prerelease marketing,” reads the legal complaint filed on November 6. “They also promote and encourage downloading of pirated copies of unpublished games. Defendant’s streams often consist merely of him playing Nintendo’s leaked games without commentary for extended periods of time.”
Recently, Nintendo has been on a renewed mission to crack down on emulation, leaks, and piracy, from people playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom ahead of release on PC to fans sharing art book scans ahead of publication on Discord servers. This year alone, it killed two popular Switch emulators with legal threats that quickly shut them down.
When Trolling Nintendo Goes Wrong
According to Kotaku, Keighin could have avoided the lawsuit, but his constant trolling of the company pushed Nintendo’s hands. The lawsuit claims that the video game company had already shut down his monetized YouTube channel and other accounts, telling Nintendo that he would help others find “newer and updated copies” of Switch emulators to help them pirate games.
In a post, Keignhin wrote, “LOVE YA’LL! CAPITALISM IS CANCER! MY CHANNEL IS BEING DELETED FOR SHARING GAMEPLAY VIDEOS! THIS IS YOUR REWARD!”
A spokesperson for Nintendo confirmed the lawsuit in a statement to Kotaku, writing, “We can confirm that we filed a lawsuit against an individual who has engaged and continues to engage in clear infringement of Nintendo’s IP rights, as well as violations of our Game Content Guidelines. Nintendo is passionate about protecting the creative works of game developers and publishers who expend significant time and effort to create experiences that bring smiles to all.”
We won’t be surprised if this guy wishes he could hit the reset button.
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Source: Rockstar Games / GTA 6
Following that disaster of a presidential election, we are in need of some good news. Thankfully, while Donald Trump is working to take America back to the stone age, GTA 6 will be out, and serve as a fun distraction.
Speaking with investors, Rockstar Games parent company, Take-Two Interactive assured them that GTA 6, easily one of the most highly anticipated games ever, is still on track for a fall 2025 release.
The recent development in the GTA 6 newscycle was share during a company earnings call.
“Looking ahead, we expect fiscal 2026 to be a milestone year as we plan to release several blockbuster titles, including Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto VI in fall of 2025, Borderlands 4 and Mafia: The Old Country,”Take-Two President Karl Slatoff said during the call.
The news around GTA 6 has been nothing short of a whirlwind. The game was first announced to be in development back in 2022. Then the leaks started happening with videos of game footage hitting social media later that year.
It wouldn’t be until December that Rockstar Games was forced to drop the trailer for GTA 6 ahead of its initial reveal date because it also leaked.
GTA 6 is the follow-up to the incredibly successful video game GTA V. Grand Theft Auto V was originally released in 2013 and has gone on to sell over 200 million copies and will span three console generations.
GTA V is regarded as one of the most lucrative pieces of media, making more money than any book, film or video game ever.
What We Know About GTA 6
While we don’t know much details about the game, we do know that it will be the first game in the franchise to feature a female protagonist, and it will be returning to Vice City and take us to Leonida, the GTA equivalent of Florida.
Recently a former Rockstar Games developer who has worked on the game before he left the studio said we should expect nothing but greatness from the game.
We need fall 2025 to get here expeditiously, because we need this game in our lives ASAP.