What is arguably the best game of the year may be disqualified by many publications due to a technicality. A huge number of players continue to enjoy frequent updates to the online game’s modes, challenges and activities. Is becoming the best game of the year over time a valid way to earn the award? It is now one of the best free-to-play games on the market, complete with a transparent and equitable monetization strategy. Some of the best games of the year weren’t released in 2017, and they may

This year wasn’t the debut of the narrative mode in sports video games. Sports video games have told comeback stories, underdog stories, dynasty stories for decades. It’s strange that, only now, have sports video games seemed to discover this as a way to stand apart. For decades, developers and marketers of sports video games have struggled to find ways to distinguish theirs not necessarily from competitors, but from the edition that launched the year before. It’s the best thing I saw in video g

Discord has almost quadrupled its user base in the past year, jumping from 25 million registered users to more than 90 million estimated by the end of the year. The company told Polygon the social media service designed for gamers to hang out and chat with each other reached 87 million users at the end of November, and is expected to hit 90 million by mid-December. A company representative said that Discord maintains an average of 14 million daily users, with 1.5 million people signing up for a

Discord has almost quadrupled its user base in the past year, jumping from 25 million registered users to more than 90 million estimated by the end of the year. The company told Polygon the social media service designed for gamers to hang out and chat with each other reached 87 million users at the end of November, and is expected to hit 90 million by mid-December. A company representative said that Discord maintains an average of 14 million daily users, with 1.5 million people signing up for a

The first three Devil May Cry games are coming to PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One in 2018, Capcom announced today. The Devil May Cry HD Collection will included Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2 and Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening Special Edition. More recent games in the franchise, Devil May Cry 4 and prequel DmC: Devil May Cry, were re-released for PS4 and Xbox One in 2015. The Devil May Cry HD Collection announcement comes as detailed rumors of a fifth game in the mainline series are i

The first three Devil May Cry games are coming to PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One in 2018, Capcom announced today. The Devil May Cry HD Collection will included Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2 and Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening Special Edition. More recent games in the franchise, Devil May Cry 4 and prequel DmC: Devil May Cry, were re-released for PS4 and Xbox One in 2015. The Devil May Cry HD Collection announcement comes as detailed rumors of a fifth game in the mainline series are i

Ubisoft will release an update for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle this week that adds a new competitive Versus mode to the Nintendo Switch game. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle Versus mode will restrict each player to just three actions per turn. Whatever you do, you can bet your opponent will be watching your every move, so be careful not to leave yourself vulnerable.”The characters players can select in Versus mode will be heavily upgraded with selectable, unlockable loadouts and variants. Ubis

Ubisoft will release an update for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle this week that adds a new competitive Versus mode to the Nintendo Switch game. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle Versus mode will restrict each player to just three actions per turn. Whatever you do, you can bet your opponent will be watching your every move, so be careful not to leave yourself vulnerable.”The characters players can select in Versus mode will be heavily upgraded with selectable, unlockable loadouts and variants. Ubis

Sony has now sold more than 70.6 million PlayStation 4 consoles worldwide, the company announced today. The figure, which consists of internal Sony sales estimates, covers the period from the PS4’s debut in November 2013 through this past Sunday, Dec. 3. However, better-than-expected PS4 sales for the first half of the fiscal year — April through September — led Sony in October to revise its fiscal 2017 forecast upward to 19 million units shipped. The new figure of 70.6 million PS4 sales include

Sony has now sold more than 70.6 million PlayStation 4 consoles worldwide, the company announced today. The figure, which consists of internal Sony sales estimates, covers the period from the PS4’s debut in November 2013 through this past Sunday, Dec. 3. However, better-than-expected PS4 sales for the first half of the fiscal year — April through September — led Sony in October to revise its fiscal 2017 forecast upward to 19 million units shipped. The new figure of 70.6 million PS4 sales include

Geoff Keighley’s annual video game award show extravaganza, The Game Awards, is back for its fourth year. Most importantly, The Game Awards may give us another opportunity to spot last year’s breakout star from the event: the Schick Hydrobot mascot. Tonight’s Game Awards kickoff at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT, and can be watched through your preferred platform. What can you expect out of The Game Awards this year? Kojima, a good friend of host and award show organizer Keighley brought a new traile

Geoff Keighley’s annual video game award show extravaganza, The Game Awards, is back for its fourth year. Most importantly, The Game Awards may give us another opportunity to spot last year’s breakout star from the event: the Schick Hydrobot mascot. Tonight’s Game Awards kickoff at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT, and can be watched through your preferred platform. What can you expect out of The Game Awards this year? Kojima, a good friend of host and award show organizer Keighley brought a new traile

Tomb Raider publisher Square Enix is working on a new entry in the franchise, the company announced today. “A new Tomb Raider game is coming,” Square Enix said in a Twitter post, which you can see below. We also don’t know which studio is making the new Tomb Raider game. The most recent Tomb Raider title, Rise of the Tomb Raider, debuted on Xbox in November 2015 before being released on Windows PC in January 2016 and PlayStation 4 in October 2016. A leak in October 2016 suggested that the next T

Tomb Raider publisher Square Enix is working on a new entry in the franchise, the company announced today. “A new Tomb Raider game is coming,” Square Enix said in a Twitter post, which you can see below. We also don’t know which studio is making the new Tomb Raider game. The most recent Tomb Raider title, Rise of the Tomb Raider, debuted on Xbox in November 2015 before being released on Windows PC in January 2016 and PlayStation 4 in October 2016. A leak in October 2016 suggested that the next T

That’s certainly not true for Nintendo Switch, which receives 22 (!!!) titles to the eShop between today, Dec. 7, and Dec. 12. That marks the highest number of new games to hit the Nintendo eShop at once so far. This is not an outpouring of games-for-the-sake-of-games, either — this busy week includes Switch versions of annualized franchises, intriguing indies and addictive, absurdist ports. Maybe they’re not all AAA projects or mainstream hits, but Nintendo has found a niche for the system.

Doom VFR for the PlayStation VR (it’s also available on the HTC Vive) is worth buying, but it does everything in its power to fight the strengths it does have, and which just barely overshadow the problems. Why, then, does the main character speak in Doom VFR? Except in Doom VFR, your second hand is still just floating there, even though the game knows what controller you’re using — and that both of your physical hands are in position on your weapon. Doom VFR doesn’t use the possibilities and in

Doom VFR for the PlayStation VR (it’s also available on the HTC Vive) is worth buying, but it does everything in its power to fight the strengths it does have, and which just barely overshadow the problems. Why, then, does the main character speak in Doom VFR? Except in Doom VFR, your second hand is still just floating there, even though the game knows what controller you’re using — and that both of your physical hands are in position on your weapon. Doom VFR doesn’t use the possibilities and in

This year wasn’t the debut of the narrative mode in sports video games. Sports video games have told comeback stories, underdog stories, dynasty stories for decades. It’s strange that, only now, have sports video games seemed to discover this as a way to stand apart. For decades, developers and marketers of sports video games have struggled to find ways to distinguish theirs not necessarily from competitors, but from the edition that launched the year before. It’s the best thing I saw in video g

GAME OF THE YEAR 2017#8: HORIZON ZERO DAWNFor Game of the Year 2017 , Polygon will be counting down our top 10 each weekday, beginning on Dec. 4. In short, Horizon Zero Dawn presupposes that anthropogenic climate change caused disasters in our near future. Horizon Zero Dawn offers an incriminating commentary on current global warming politicsThe consequences of a global calamity like this would ripple outward butterfly effect-style, and indeed they did. But while Horizon Zero Dawn presents a ble

Alongside the bountiful cameos celebrities and other actors will have in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, a very special homage will be paid. [Warning: The following contains light spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi.] Though Gary never made an official appearance in a Star Wars movie, he’s a member of the cast’s extended family. Gary went everywhere with Fisher and would routinely appear on stage during Star Wars events like Star Wars Celebration. The Last Jedi marks the last time that Fisher will a