Search
Online Games Act Like Unregulated Banks, And The US Gov’t Has Noticed
4.4.2024
A new report from the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)—an organization focused on enforcing the laws that protect consumers—indicates the bureau is aware of and monitoring big online video games that are filled with in-app purchases, digital currencies, and shady...
Logan Paul Finally Offers Refunds For Failed NFT Game
5.1.2024
In case you forgot, controversial YouTuber Logan Paul promised to pay back millions of dollars to folks who fell victim to his NFT “game,” CryptoZoo. The game—a sort of Pokémon-like where you collect, sell, and trade exotic animals on the blockchain—never really existed, though, which left...
Kids Want Digital Currency And Subscriptions More Than New Games This Xmas
27.11.2023
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has revealed new data showing kids want video game-related gifts more than anything else this holiday season. But if you dig into the data a little bit more, you’ll discover that most kids don’t want a new physical game. Instead, what they’re really...
Diablo IV Freezes Trading After Dupe Trick And Gold Exploit Crash The Market
15.8.2023
The second-hand market for trading gold and items in Diablo IV is currently on hold as Blizzard investigates the rise of new item duplication glitches and gold exploits. The unusual economic intervention comes as the action-RPG’s market gets flooded with gold, and some players reportedly trade gear...
Twitch Bans Promotion Of Counter-Strike Gambling
3.8.2023
Streaming megasite Twitch has updated its community guidelines, and now prohibits streamers from promoting or being sponsored by Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skin gambling sites. This new ban could impact many CS:GO streamers who have lucrative deals with these controversial websites. Read more
Diablo IV’s Stingy Battle Pass Won’t Let You Afford Even A Single Item
24.7.2023
Like many battle passes for live-service games, Diablo IV lets you earn some of its premium currency as you grind your way through each of the tiers. And while fans might be ready to take the pass’s sweet 666 platinum to their wallets, they certainly won’t be taking it to the in-game shop,...
By The Way, Take-Two’s CEO Profits From All Your GTA Online, NBA 2K Microtransactions
7.5.2022
Microtransactions in games like Grand Theft Auto Online have become big business for video game publishers. And it’s likely this won’t be changing anytime soon. New details spotted in a recent contract extension for Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick explain that the CEO will earn a big bonus if more...
Halo Infinite's Cosmetics Will Be Cheaper Starting Next Week
15.1.2022
Since Halo Infinite’s multiplayer was released in November of last year, the free-to-play shooter’s cosmetics and microtransactions have been heavily criticized and debated, with many feeling the prices on in-game items are too high. According to 343 Industries, things are about to change. Starting...
Twitch Co-Founder Gets Discord Hacked, $150,000 Stolen From Users In NFT Scam
22.12.2021
Justin Kan, a co-founder of Twitch and the dude Justin.TV was named for, last week decided to launch a site called Fractal, which would be a ‘marketplace’ where in-game items could be bought and sold as NFTs. Later, in Fractal’s Discord server, a link appeared advertising a drop of 3333 NFTs....
Ubisoft First Major Pub To Befoul Own Game With NFTs
8.12.2021
Ubisoft just announced Ubisoft Quartz, an NFT initiative which allows people to buy artificially scarce digital items using cryptocurrency. This announcement represents the AAA-industry’s first real foray into NFTs, which a lot of people absolutely hate because they are a massive scam. Other major...
Woman Steals $680,000 To Spend On Gambling Game That Never Paid Out
26.11.2021
A woman has plead guilty to fraud charges after using her position as the accounts manager at a veterinary hospital to steal around $680,000, which she spent entirely on a mobile gambling game that did not and could not ever pay out with real cash.Read more
Yes, Far Cry 6 Has A Transmog Feature
8.10.2021
Far Cry 6, Ubisoft’s cockfighting game that includes a gazillion-hour open-world shooter, has a transmog feature. But you might not know so from the start. In fact, to take it from some players, it’s all too easy to glaze right over it.Read more
Avengers Adds Paid Experience Boosts, Pissing Off Everybody
8.10.2021
Last week Marvel’s Avengers was added to Xbox Game Pass, quickly becoming one of the most played games on the console. Perhaps capitalizing on this forward momentum, this week Avengers adds paid timed experience point boosters to its cash shop, something the developers said they were committed...
UK Cracks Down On In-Game Ads And Microtransactions
25.9.2021
The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has released new, updated guidance on how game developers and publishers should and shouldn’t advertise in-game premium currencies and other purchases. The ASA is pushing back against in-game timers, labels such as “Best Value!” and more. Read more
Renaissance Faire: The Kotaku Review
22.9.2021
Life doesn’t often let you know when your brain will flip. If you ever do receive such a heads-up, you’d be wise to heed it. I learned so while playing Renaissance Faire, a massively multiplayer real-world role-playing game that is only nominally about the Renaissance.Read more
Pokemon Unite's Pay-To-Win Is A Drag, Even If It'll Even Out Later
30.7.2021
I’ve had a surprising amount of fun with the Nintendo Switch’s latest Pokémon spin-off, the free-to-play arena fighter Pokémon Unite. Coming from the dense and inconsolable world of Valve’s Dota 2, there’s plenty I could nitpick about Pokémon Unite’s controls, interface, and balance, but man if...
Players Aren't Happy About Assassin's Creed Valhalla's Transmog Tax
17.3.2021
A couple months after release, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla finally has transmog, but not as some players had originally envisioned it. The feature falls short of how it’s been implemented in past games, and comes with a 50 silver tax on each transaction to boot, leaving a lot of us, myself included...