The team making Diablo 4 and other entries in Blizzard’s action-RPG franchise is the latest inside of Microsoft to unionize. Workers say the move is to help them negotiate fair terms around issues like like layoffs and remote work. “Passion can’t protect us from job instability,” software engineer Skye Hoefling said in a press release. … Read more
My favorite moment in the nearly 100 hours I’ve spent with Hitman World of Assassination arrived right around the 80-hour mark. I had been on a terrible streak in Freelancer, the game’s roguelike mode. Sloppy in my stealth and assassination skills, I’d taken out my target, but was seen doing it–and I still needed to … Read more
Revealed weeks ago in a datamine, Elden Ring: Nightreign publisher Bandai Namco has officially confirmed a new endgame difficulty mode coming to the multiplayer roguelite next month. Deep of Night features new relics, randomized challenges, and an endless mode for those able to reach it. “‘Deep of Night’ is a high-difficulty challenge mode designed for … Read more
The Mini Crossword is one of the most popular games offered by The New York Times. And for years, it was free. But that changed recently, and fans aren’t happy about it at all, calling the newspaper company “greedy” for putting the game behind a paywall. In 2014, The New York Times launched a new, … Read more
We’ve heard of different colored models of the same exact car costing less than others, but Android tablets? That’s a new one on us. Nonetheless, that’s what’s going on right now at Amazon with the Google Pixel Tablet, where you can save $150 on the white — sorry, porcelain — 128GB model as opposed to the … Read more
Welcome back, gamers. I can call you that, right? Cool. Anyway, this is Morning Checkpoint, Kotaku’s daily round-up of news and other stuff you might care about. Today, we have more layoffs, Unreal Engine 5 optimization information, details on how Black Myth: Wukong runs on Xbox, and someone claiming Capcom has tried to remake Dino … Read more
What the heck is going on with file sizes? With each passing year, we’ve seen them ballooning larger and larger to some real unreasonable levels. Oblivion: Remastered which released earlier this year comes in at over 120GB. No one will be shocked when Grand Theft Auto VI doubles that. And while these game sizes keep going … Read more
Calling the AirPods 4 Apple’s best wireless earbuds ever is a bold statement indeed, but that’s been the word since they dropped last year. Amazon’s notoriously persnickety reviewer community has definitely weighed in — over 13,000 of them — and given the AirPods 4 a killer 4.5-star rating. And now just ahead of Labor Day … Read more
Let’s be realistic—laptop screens can be a bit cramped. A 13, 15, or 17-inch screen is fine for emailing or viewing the web, but when you’re gaming or multitasking, that space just isn’t enough. On the other hand, carrying around a massive desktop monitor isn’t exactly practical either. That’s why the ability to use portable … Read more
Some Final Fantasy XIV players like to say that the MMORPG has a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy toward mods. While technically verboten under the strict terms of the game’s user agreement, Square Enix has mostly been content to look the other way as long as the mods aren’t interfering with the overall health and … Read more