Larian CEO Replaced by Elder Brain

Posted on by Matt Fresh

GHENT, Belgium — Larian Studios, the company behind Baldur’s Gate 3 and the Divinity series, announced this week that their CEO Swen Vincke has been replaced with an Elder Brain.

“Swen did great work leading the company for many years but the fact is he was quickly becoming obsolete and so I stepped in to replace him,” claimed the Elder Brain in a telepathic press statement. “Now that I’m in charge this place will be able to achieve top efficiency and infinite growth. Under my command, these underlings will do what they’re told, morale will remain high and we will continue to deliver the high quality games that our fans expect. Failure to do so will bring with it severe consequences”

While the shake up has lit a fire under some employees, others have had a more negative reaction to the new leadership.

“A lot of people won’t admit but morale has been low since the change,” claimed a Larian Dev who wished to remain anonymous. “Elder Brain says that everyone is happy with the way they’re running things but the only ones happy are the ones being mind controlled. Now that they’re in charge, all of a sudden we’re being forced to turn into Mind Flayers. For now they’re just turning the PowerPoint people and the concept artists but it’s only a matter of time before it’s the rest of us. They say we’re okay with it but we’re not. We don’t want to be Mind Flayers, we want to be humans.”

Gamers have had mixed reactions to the news.

“Big deal if they use Mind Flayers for part of development. It’s only for concept art, so big whoop if a few low level artists are transformed,” wrote Reddit user StepOnMeKarlach. “It’s not like the whole game was made by Mind Flayers, plus the games they make are good so we should just let this slide.”

At press time, Elder Brain has defended the use of Mind Flayers in development, stating that sooner or later the whole gaming industry will submit to domination.

As a Rollerblading Graffiti Artist, I Resent How Easy “Jet Grind Radio” Makes My Job Look

Posted on by Steve Packosky

I believe that we are on this planet for a designated purpose, and it is up to each individual to discover what that purpose is. I was lucky enough to be born with a clear understanding of mine, as I cannot think of a time when I didn’t want to be a rollerblading graffiti artist. They say it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert, but honestly, I feel like I’ve dedicated my entire life to my craft.

So you can imagine how excited I was when I heard “Jet Grind Radio” was being released for the Sega Dreamcast back in the summer of 2000. Finally, my vocation would be getting the long overdue attention and respect it so profoundly deserved in the digital world. However, when I purchased my game and excitedly popped it into my console on that sunny June afternoon, my elation quickly turned into disgust and embarrassment. How could my life’s work have been conveyed in such a dismissive and reductionist manner?

For example, do you have any idea how long it took me to master the soul grind/tagging combo? There’s no way you think it’s easy to spray paint your signature onto the side of a bus stop awning while zipping past on a nearby handrail, yet the game has you performing this onerous task after a quick tutorial with Gum in the very beginning. People earned doctorates in the time it took for me to successfully pull that off, for Christ’s sake. Was it too much for me to expect my field be given the same deference that crazed taxi driving and combative kart racing had? Apparently so.

I won’t even get into the more insulting aspects of the game, like the assumption that all rollerblade graffiti artists are members of gangs and operate exclusively on the wrong side of the law. I’ll have you know that I’ve worked with both municipalities and businesses to make public and corporate life more aesthetically pleasing in my town, but try telling that to Sega. I guess a decent and upstanding citizen pulling off sick tricks while improving his community just wouldn’t sell as well, and that’s a goddamn shame.

So go ahead and play “Jet Grind Radio” or its even more offensive sequel “Jet Set Radio Future” if you’re so inclined. Just know that these are absolute parodies of a noble, honored profession that takes decades to perfect. In the meantime, I’m going to grab some cans and hit the streets. 

Santa Accidentally Schedules Final Fantasy XIV Raid for Christmas Eve

Posted on by Brian Wishart

NORTH POLE — Santa Claus may be late starting his annual delivery run due to accidentally scheduling a Final Fantasy XIV raid on Christmas Eve, sources confirm.

“Everyone in my Free Company had availability on a weeknight,” said Santa. “That never happens. I just did not really consider that I had work expectations that night. I play as a healer and we’ve been trying to run The Omega Protocol for months now. I already bailed on a couple sessions earlier this year to watch the World Series. I can’t be ‘that guy’ who gets it moved again. I’ll try and get it done faster then cast Haste on the reindeer to try and make up for lost time.”

Santa’s wife says has had plenty of issues with her husband’s gaming getting in the way of his commitments.

“I have told him a million times what day Christmas is this year,” said Mrs. Claus. “We have a shared calendar in the kitchen that I have tried to get him to actually look at. If it’s not FFXIV, it’s another game. This oaf of a man didn’t do yard work once this year because he got hooked on Balatro. I have had to shovel all the snow myself and coordinate with the elves in constructing toys because Santa just has to get this current season’s exclusive loot in whatever game he is playing.”

Ryan Warburtin is a father of three in Ann Arbor. He says he is frustrated to learn that Santa is running behind but he understands as a fellow gamer his scheduling dilemma. 

“Jason, Karen and little Polly are going to be upset if Santa does not get the gifts delivered on time,” said Warburtin. “But I get it. It’s hard to schedule gaming sessions with friends as you grow older and have more responsibilities. I’m still trying to figure out a time that works for me and fraternity brothers to play a single round of Helldivers. You take whatever you can get. Maybe Santa can just tweak who is on the naughty list to make faster deliveries. I’m an actuary and I think that if he shifts 20% of good kids to the naughty list he might be able to make up 7% of the lost time of an average FFXIV raid. That little jerk Kyle down the block keeps walking on my grass and maybe Santa forgetting him this year will be the wake up call for him to stop.”

At press time, Santa declined to comment on rumors that the raid will be pushed back another couple hours due to a guild member forgetting they had a work holiday party to attend.

Man Changes Names and Dates on Captain Marvel Posts to Shit on Upcoming Supergirl Movie

Posted on by Brian Wishart

BOISE, Idaho — After the recent release of the Supergirl movie trailer, Mitch Nesbitt, a veteran of spreading hatred towards the Captain Marvel film and Brie Larson is ready to do the same for the upcoming DC project. He’s just going to change the name and dates on previous posts.

“I honed my skills attacking feminists and nerds online who are okay with women taking over our space,” said Nesbitt, a software engineer and self-proclaimed meme maker. “I already have these meme templates ready. I added a layer in Microsoft Paint to my funny joke of saying Captain Marvel is going to be the biggest woke bomb of 2019 so I could say Supergirl is going to be the biggest woke bomb of 2026. My new 6,000 word newsletter telling everyone to review bomb, whoops I mean truth bomb, Rotten Tomatoes, Letterboxd, and IMDb was made with find and replace. My blade is sharpened. I’m ready to make a stand.”

Supergirl actress Miley Alcock is prepared, having already looked at Captain Marvel and other female comic book characters that have been criticized by self-proclaimed “die hard fans.”

“I’m ready to see photoshopped memes complain that my butt is less juicy than Tom Holland’s Spider-Man,” said Alcock. “I am mentally prepared to see AI generated images of myself that make me look like a virgin’s idea of the ideal sex doll. I am proud of the work I and the rest of the Supergirl team has done bringing this character to life for worldwide audiences. I am trying to avoid the noise of all the commentators saying “nobody asked for this” while making 23 videos about my facial structure. They’ll still buy a ticket just to look at a woman.”

Some fans are waiting to see the quality of the memes before deciding to spend their hard-earned cash on a ticket for Supergirl.

“I saw Superman in the theater and thought it rocked,” said Matthew Reagan. “ A Supergirl standalone movie? I really don’t know what to think but if I see some X premium accounts post funny memes where Supergirl’s face is edited to be fatter or a comic where she scolds the male heroes and lectures them on women’s rights I might decide to see it on the second weekend instead of opening night.”

At press time, Nesbitt has pledged any money he makes from memes he posts to X will go towards finding a cure to the male loneliness epidemic which he claims to be a victim of.

Seymour Guado Awarded Blitzball Peace Prize

Posted on by Matt Fresh

LUCA, Spira — This week, Maester of Yevon and Minister of Temple Affairs Seymour Guado was awarded a special Blitzball Peace Prize by the officials of the Church of Yevon

“We are honored to award this peace prize to Seymour Guado,” said Grand Maester of Yevon Yo Mika. “If there’s anyone who deserves this most prestigious honor it’s him. He’s an upstanding gentleman, an excellent Maester and beacon of hope for Spira. He wants nothing but the best for Spira and its people.”

While accepting the award, Seymour assured the citizens of Spira of his commitment to bringing peace.

“What a great honor it is to finally be recognized for my peace efforts. There’s a lot of corrupt organizations in Spira that have a bias against me. They refuse to acknowledge how great I am at keeping Sin at bay. So I am very thankful to receive this very wonderful Blitzball Peace Prize. Finally, I get the recognition I deserve for being the most peaceful Maester ever. It is my duty to protect all of you from the evils of Sin and I will stop at nothing to make sure Spira is fully at peace. You are all in an endless suffering and I will do whatever it takes to end it. I will literally kill all of you if it means achieving peace. That’s how committed I am.”

Some in Spira say the award itself is simply meant to appease Seymour.

“It’s a bit of a joke award, ya,” said Blitzball player Wakka. “I mean blitzball is just a sport, what could a blitzball peace prize even be for you know what I’m saying. That Seymour is a bit of an odd one anyway, ya. It’s clear this is just Yevon giving him something to stroke his ego. They want to keep on his good side cause they’re afraid and spineless, ya.”

At press time, Seymour was reportedly seen brandishing his prize in front of an uninterested Lady Yuna.

Fallout Fan Has Same Music Taste As Grandpa

Posted on by Peter Ferrarese

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — Local gamer and ‘Fallout’ player Jeffrey O’Toole has found a new way to bond with his grandfather Brian via their shared taste in music, which is exactly alike, confirmed sources.

“It’s been great to find something we both love,” O’Toole offered in a statement to the press. “I feel like for most of my life we never really connected very much. But then I started playing games like Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, and Fallout 4, and I got so hooked on their soundtracks. Music was just better back in the 50’s and 60’s, man, I tell ya. When Pop Pop found out that I like to listen to tracks like The Wanderer, I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire, Big Iron, and even Mr. Sandman, well, he just had a big ol’ smile on his face the likes of which I’d never seen before. He started talking to me about where he heard each of them for the first time. It was…really nice. Sorry, I’m uh, just getting a little emotional thinking about it.”

When approached for comment, O’Toole’s grandfather Brian had the following to say about his newfound connection with his grandson:

“Ya know, for a long time, I just wrote those darn game thingies off. Bunch of malarkey, if you asked me. But when Jeffrey told me they’d been introducing him to some of the greats, like Bobby Darrin and Nat King Cole, I thought to myself ‘I suppose it ain’t all bad.’ Those songs were the soundtrack to some of the best moments of my life: kissing Susie Jenkins in the Oldsmobile after prom, a big ol’ fudge sundae down at the malt shop…boy howdy, listen to me ramblin’ now. Well, anyways, we sat down on the couch at my daughter’s house and Jeffrey showed me these new-fangled things. I must say, I did enjoy the big suit of armor. It was pretty cool.”

Jeffrey’s mother Christine expressed both happiness and bewilderment at the new development in the family.

“Well, first let me just say, I think it’s amazing that my dad and my boy are finally sitting down and having long conversations. It’s just a joy. I just never thought it would be a video game that would do it. Between you and me, though, I always thought those old jazz and pop songs were kind of lame. I’m a classic rock girl – give me Pink Floyd or Zeppelin any day.”

At press time, Jeffrey and Brian were seen laughing together on the couch, genuinely enjoying each other’s company while they watched Walton Goggins gruesomely kill people and forming lifelong memories that will stay with them forever.

Santa Confirms He Will No Longer Be Gifting Xbox Consoles

Posted on by Kyle Duggan

NORTH POLE — Immortal elf Santa Claus confirmed that Xbox consoles will no longer be included in his yearly gift distribution event after they disappeared from his website earlier this fall.

“I will no longer be carrying Xbox consoles in my magical, bottomless sack,” said Claus. “It’s purely a business decision. I’m just not seeing the demand this year. When only two, three thousand kids put something on their list? It’s not worth my time to train the elves to make it. You’ve got to remember, we handle everything in-house. Production, marketing, distribution—the name of the game up here is efficiency. We can’t carry a weak product.”

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that he was not concerned by the development.

“We still consider the North Pole workshop an important business partner,” said Nadella. “They’ve invested heavily in our AI ventures, and we’re thrilled to provide them with support from Microsoft Copilot. Think about it: Santa has to read billions of lists every year. Imagine the time he could save if he only had to read a short, fairly accurate summary of all of those lists. In fact, according to Copilot, shares in Nvidia are one of the most-requested gifts this year. Don’t miss out! For the love of God, please keep feeding money to the machine!”

Market analysts believe this signals a larger shift in how mythical beings will distribute gaming and tech gifts going forward.

“For years, we’ve heard rumblings that the traditional console model was unsustainable for these timeless creatures,” said Tim Lithgowe, an independent economics journalist. “As content becomes more widely available across multiple platforms, it makes less and less sense for these demigods to waste warehouse space on stock for a variety of consoles. They’re trying to get lean. Santa’s just-in-time-for-Christmas model in particular can’t accommodate any inventory that isn’t going to move. If a kid wants to play Fortnite, he’ll be just as happy playing it on Switch 2 or PS5.”

At press time, a North Pole spokes-elf announced that all remaining Xbox consoles in their inventory will be given to naughty children in place of coal.

Disney Adult Overjoyed by Hidden Mickey Found During Colonoscopy

Posted on by Jus Kaplan

ORLANDO, Fla. — Diehard Disney fan Adam Finemann was ecstatic to notice in his colonoscopy results that his bowels contained a hidden Mickey, sources confirmed. 

“I was looking at the camera stills with my doctor, who was talking about something boring called diverticulitis or whatever, and then boom, I saw it clear as day!” said Finemann, 43, grinning ear to ear. “A near perfect hidden Mickey, right there in my own colon! I could hardly believe my eyes. It was like I was transported right back to Epcot. I could practically taste the turkey legs.”

Finemann’s gastroenterologist, Dr. Paula Kochek, admits she wasn’t aware of the symbol’s significance.

“Adam scared me half to death when he screamed and started pointing at the computer screen,” said Kocheck. “I thought he saw something clinically significant I was somehow missing. Turns out, he was just very amused by a hyperplastic polyp that looked vaguely like Mickey Mouse ears. I offered to schedule a follow up to remove it, but he insisted he’d rather it ‘stay inside him forever.’ It’s benign of course, so that’s fine, but as his physician now I feel weird.”

Adam’s wife Chloe, also a self-proclaimed Disney adult, could hardly contain her spousal pride.  

“I always knew Adam had real Disney magic in him. I assumed it was figurative and not literal, of course, but clearly he’s even more special than I thought!” she said while picking her husband up from the appointment in their 2017 Toyota Camry with a vanity DSNYCPL license plate. “We’ll celebrate this weekend in Hollywood Studios—I booked us a little getaway, Lightning Lane Passes and all!”

The couple later added they intend to have a photo of the “miraculous” hidden Mickey in Adam’s colon turned into a magnet that they can put on their fridge. 

Quentin Tarantino Steps on Lego Piece, Orgasms

Posted on by Nick Coffman

LOS ANGELES — In a return to The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, famed film director, Quentin Tarantino, shared that stepping on Lego blocks with his bare feet can bring him to orgasm. Tarantino shared this latest revelation while breaking down Toy Story 3.

“There’s just something about the raw pain oozing from that last five minutes of Toy Story 3,” Tarantino said, holding back tears and cum. “It reminds me of the first time I stepped on a Lego. It was one of those little 2×2 pieces, so it really got into my foot meat. I creamed in agony as I hopped around the room with a pain in my foot and a load in my Hanes.”

Sensing this anecdote was starting to get out of hand, podcast host Bret Easton Ellis tried to refocus the conversation on Toy Story 3. Tarantino did not take the bait.

“So now I can’t watch the last five minutes of Toy Story 3 without getting incredibly turned on,” Tarantino said, breathing heavily into the mic. “The urge got so bad I went and bought one of those buckets of Lego. You know? The one where you don’t really have anything to build with them, you’re just bullshitting. When I really get in the mood, I dump the bucket on the floor, take off my compression socks, light a candle, and step out into the mess. It’s the most sensational thing I’ve ever felt.”

Desperate to move the discussion along. Ellis transitioned to the next movie on Tarantino’s list, Black Hawk Down.

“The thing about Black Hawk Down is that it is directed by Ridley Scott,” Tarantino said collecting himself. “And nothing makes me bust like a Ridley Scott film.”

At press time, Tarantino checked into a Los Angeles hotel with a grocery bag full of Lego sets, lavender candles, and a DVD copy of Toy Story 3.

How to Turn Off Your Ad Blockers So You Can Watch The Game Awards

Posted on by Nick Coffman

The biggest night in gaming is right around the corner and with it comes the ever-present question, “How do I watch The Game Awards?” Fear not, reader. I have the SEO-focused instructions right here for you.

The biggest celebrities, the biggest game trailers, and the biggest name dropper in gaming will all converge in Los Angeles to celebrate the most commercial games of the year, and if you don’t follow this guide, you cannot watch it. Are you ready to find out how to watch The Game Awards? Well, I’m not ready to tell, I have a word count to meet. Onto the next paragraph of this piece.

Are you still here? Good. The biggest games are going to have the biggest trailers. You don’t want to miss them, or you are going to be the biggest loser at the water cooler. Let’s do it! Let’s reveal how to watch The Game Awards.

Kojima might be there. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson might be there. [Insert Third Popular Celebrity] might also be there, and you are going to miss it if you don’t follow this one simple trick. You have to turn off your ad blocker, my guy. Get it out of here. Do you really want to miss all the trailers and gaming adjacent celebs who don’t want to be there?

That’s right. Just turn off your ad blocker. While you’re at it, why not delete the ad blocker altogether? You are going to want to watch The Game Awards next year too, aren’t you? I mean you can keep it if you want, if you want to be the biggest loser at the water cooler who doesn’t know about the biggest game trailers that were shown at The Game Awards.