Overwatch has a huge, diverse fanbase with a ton of non-male players, so where is the official representation? Most talented female players stop short of considering themselves professional competition, knowing the kinds of harassment they’re likely to endure. If you want more female players to compete, you have to make the game itself more hospitable for everyone. The first team with the “token” femaleKotaku’s Nathan Grayson asked members of the Overwatch League about the lack of female players

Multiple high-level, professional YouTubers and Twitch streamers have come out in the past few weeks to talk about an important aspect of their careers and mental health: burnout. Burnout in the Twitch and YouTube community isn’t new. Trying to produce daily content while also balancing anxiety and depression was difficult, they said in videos and on Twitter. “I just don’t feel entertaining anymore and don’t really know why people continue to watch,” Lirik said earlier this month. This is especi

Hello and welcome to The Polygon Show! This week, we’re talking about cardboard — beautiful, folded, Joy-Con-integrated, Nintendo-producing cardboard by the name of Labo. If there’s a question you’d like to ask the hosts, tweet it with #PolygonShow and we may answer it on the air. The Polygon Show will be available for you to listen to every Friday on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. If you like what you hear, don’t forget to rate and review The Polygon Show on Apple Podcasts — seriously, every litt

YouTube’s new monetization rules will affect smaller creators the most. A cursory glance at Reddit, Twitter and, of course, YouTube will demonstrate just how upset people are with YouTube’s overhaul of the Partner Program. It’s much easier to find more content creators than it is to woo new advertisers. This screening process should prevent objectionable content, like Logan Paul’s controversial video containing footage of a dead body, from being monetized. It’s bad news for a lot of content crea

But for as perfect as the first Metal Gear Solid is — and in large part because of Snake’s unshakeable bravado — he has nothing on his successor, Metal Gear Solid 2’s Raiden. But when it comes to what defines the legacy of Metal Gear Solid, the introduction of Raiden to the series is crucial. The first level with Raiden is almost a perfect recreation of the beginning of Metal Gear Solid, right down to the dialogue. He’s a playable version of imposter syndromeWhere Metal Gear Solid is the story o

ESL, the company behind some of the world’s biggest esports tournaments, announced today that Facebook will be the new, exclusive streaming home of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Pro League and the ESL One Dota 2 and CS:GO tournament series. The deal will also include the creation of a new ESL show that highlights some of the biggest moments from that week’s Pro League and ESL One matches. Last year, ESL struck a deal with YouTube to exclusively broadcast ESL Pro League tournaments, which

In the case of DC Comics’ Nightwing, what has happened is that a lot of fans have been made very sad about a shark-man with a terrible mustache. That was sort of the idea, Nightwing writer Sam Humphries told me. “I really poured my own emotions into Guppy,” Humphries said over email. “Guppy wasn’t truly born,” Humphries said, “until Bernard gave him his sad little mustache.”Guppy’s mustache gets very sad indeed, in his third appearance in Knightwing #37 this week. Humphries told me that the litt

Twitch announced today that four top gaming personalities will producive exclusive content for the streaming platform as part of a multi-year deal with Disney’s Digital Network. High-profile streamers Jacksepticeye, Markiplier, LuzuGames and Strawburry17 will “manage their own channels,” according to Twitch, broadcasting livestreams and creating pre-recorded videos that will remain exclusive to Twitch. (None of the content creators are prohibited from uploading to or streaming content on YouTube

Twitch announced today that four top gaming personalities will producive exclusive content for the streaming platform as part of a multi-year deal with Disney’s Digital Network. High-profile streamers Jacksepticeye, Markiplier, LuzuGames and Strawburry17 will “manage their own channels,” according to Twitch, broadcasting livestreams and creating pre-recorded videos that will remain exclusive to Twitch. (None of the content creators are prohibited from uploading to or streaming content on YouTube

A character that Marvel has been teasing since September finally had her history revealed. It turns out that Voyager is a founding member of the Avengers that nobody remembers. Bear with me now: Voyager was erased from our universe while fighting a member of the Squadron Sinister. The Squadron Sinister is a team of Marvel supervillains who were created to ape DC Comics’ Justice League. And the brand new member of the Squadron Sinister that Voyager was fighting when they were accidentally erased

I was playing an independently-produced tabletop role-playing game, and in 2018, I plan to do a lot more of that. The game is called The World Wide Wrestling Role Playing Game, and it was created by artist and game designer Nathan D. Paoletta. Making things even better, my game master had everyone create their characters and interpersonal relationships right there at the table. pic.twitter.com/foJXDI2ORu — Charlie Hall (@Charlie_L_Hall) January 15, 2018Maybe you’re looking to create your own wee

I was playing an independently-produced tabletop role-playing game, and in 2018, I plan to do a lot more of that. The game is called The World Wide Wrestling Role Playing Game, and it was created by artist and game designer Nathan D. Paoletta. Making things even better, my game master had everyone create their characters and interpersonal relationships right there at the table. pic.twitter.com/foJXDI2ORu — Charlie Hall (@Charlie_L_Hall) January 15, 2018Maybe you’re looking to create your own wee

Hello and welcome to The Polygon Show! This week, we’re talking about cardboard — beautiful, folded, Joy-Con-integrated, Nintendo-producing cardboard by the name of Labo. If there’s a question you’d like to ask the hosts, tweet it with #PolygonShow and we may answer it on the air. The Polygon Show will be available for you to listen to every Friday on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. If you like what you hear, don’t forget to rate and review The Polygon Show on Apple Podcasts — seriously, every litt

Multiple high-level, professional YouTubers and Twitch streamers have come out in the past few weeks to talk about an important aspect of their careers and mental health: burnout. Burnout in the Twitch and YouTube community isn’t new. Trying to produce daily content while also balancing anxiety and depression was difficult, they said in videos and on Twitter. “I just don’t feel entertaining anymore and don’t really know why people continue to watch,” Lirik said earlier this month. This is especi

YouTube’s new monetization rules will affect smaller creators the most. A cursory glance at Reddit, Twitter and, of course, YouTube will demonstrate just how upset people are with YouTube’s overhaul of the Partner Program. It’s much easier to find more content creators than it is to woo new advertisers. This screening process should prevent objectionable content, like Logan Paul’s controversial video containing footage of a dead body, from being monetized. It’s bad news for a lot of content crea

While most of the attention Nintendo gets these days involves the Switch (and that system’s recently revealed DIY cardboard toy controllers), the Nintendo 3DS platform is still killing it. Nintendo announced today that the 3DS family of systems just had its best month of sales since December 2014. That’s a 27 percent increase over the same period in 2016, pushing 3DS hardware sales past 21 million in the U.S., Nintendo said. Nintendo’s current lineup of 3DS hardware includes the $199.99 New Nint

In the case of DC Comics’ Nightwing, what has happened is that a lot of fans have been made very sad about a shark-man with a terrible mustache. That was sort of the idea, Nightwing writer Sam Humphries told me. “I really poured my own emotions into Guppy,” Humphries said over email. “Guppy wasn’t truly born,” Humphries said, “until Bernard gave him his sad little mustache.”Guppy’s mustache gets very sad indeed, in his third appearance in Knightwing #37 this week. Humphries told me that the litt

A character that Marvel has been teasing since September finally had her history revealed. It turns out that Voyager is a founding member of the Avengers that nobody remembers. Bear with me now: Voyager was erased from our universe while fighting a member of the Squadron Sinister. The Squadron Sinister is a team of Marvel supervillains who were created to ape DC Comics’ Justice League. And the brand new member of the Squadron Sinister that Voyager was fighting when they were accidentally erased

Warner Bros. has released the newest trailer for Tomb Raider, its take on the popular Lara Croft franchise. Alicia Vikander is Lara Croft. See TOMB RAIDER in cinemas this March. This version of Croft, played by Alicia Vikander, is based on Square Enix’s most recent entries in the game’s franchise, Tomb Raider and Rise of the Tomb Raider. If she survives this perilous adventure, it could be the making of her, earning her the name tomb raider.

Warner Bros. has released the newest trailer for Tomb Raider, its take on the popular Lara Croft franchise. Alicia Vikander is Lara Croft. See TOMB RAIDER in cinemas this March. This version of Croft, played by Alicia Vikander, is based on Square Enix’s most recent entries in the game’s franchise, Tomb Raider and Rise of the Tomb Raider. If she survives this perilous adventure, it could be the making of her, earning her the name tomb raider.