Penny Arcade

Penny Arcade https://www.penny-arcade.com/ Penny Arcade en-us Copyright (c) 1998-2026 Penny Arcade, Inc. Sentinels https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/11/04/sentinels New Comic: Sentinels https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/11/04/sentinels Wed, 04 Nov 2026 08:01:00 +0000 New Comic: Sentinels Candyman https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/11/02/candyman We had a few kids this year, one of whom was an especially convincing Indiana Jones, but at the end of the night we were left with a couple saddlebags of high-end product: one plump with tangy gummies, the other a medley of fun-size favorites. We were willing to part with more, had there been more larvae; they need sugar in order to molt. But this is not a <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/11/02">universally distributed ethos</a>. https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/11/02/candyman Mon, 02 Nov 2026 21:27:00 +0000 We had a few kids this year, one of whom was an especially convincing Indiana Jones, but at the end of the night we were left with a couple saddlebags of high-end product: one plump with tangy gummies, the other a medley of fun-size favorites. We were willing to part with more, had there been more larvae; they need sugar in order to molt. But this is not a <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/11/02">universally distributed ethos</a>. Candyman https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/11/02/candyman New Comic: Candyman https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/11/02/candyman Mon, 02 Nov 2026 08:01:00 +0000 New Comic: Candyman Mr. Yuk https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/30/mr-yuk I'm not even kidding; with Valve's AI Disclosures, they really have founded a wholly new <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/30/mr-yuk">mode of expression</a>. You can reverse engineer how a developer feels about the disclosure by a close reading of the text, you can unfold the interior part of their skull and walk around in it. I bet it does suck.  I'm honor bound to understand the why, and AI coding is growing normative in the space.  It's hard to truly have beef with such a clannish, propagandized cadre.  I mean, my doom is to understand why even a mortal enemy might dislike me; I routinely extend greater humanity to my utter foes than I have ever received in return. It helps that many of them have been cartoon villains, desperate to distract from their own monstrous conduct. Ask Max Temkin, or Scott Gaynor. I know exactly why they did it. I never lifted a finger, and I didn't have to. <a href="https://www.esv.org/Deuteronomy+32:35;Romans+12:19/">Vengeance is mine, saith The Lord</a>. https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/30/mr-yuk Fri, 30 Oct 2026 19:46:00 +0000 I'm not even kidding; with Valve's AI Disclosures, they really have founded a wholly new <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/30/mr-yuk">mode of expression</a>. You can reverse engineer how a developer feels about the disclosure by a close reading of the text, you can unfold the interior part of their skull and walk around in it. I bet it does suck.  I'm honor bound to understand the why, and AI coding is growing normative in the space.  It's hard to truly have beef with such a clannish, propagandized cadre.  I mean, my doom is to understand why even a mortal enemy might dislike me; I routinely extend greater humanity to my utter foes than I have ever received in return. It helps that many of them have been cartoon villains, desperate to distract from their own monstrous conduct. Ask Max Temkin, or Scott Gaynor. I know exactly why they did it. I never lifted a finger, and I didn't have to. <a href="https://www.esv.org/Deuteronomy+32:35;Romans+12:19/">Vengeance is mine, saith The Lord</a>. Mr. Yuk https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/30/mr-yuk New Comic: Mr. Yuk https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/30/mr-yuk Fri, 30 Oct 2026 07:01:00 +0000 New Comic: Mr. Yuk Nautical Naughties https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/28/nautical-naughties I identified something really odd while I was out at PAX Aus; the normal cadence and tenor of the AI discourse began to vibrate at an especially high frequency. The conversation has always been fraught, but everywhere I turned the side which advocated for the tools was really spun up, aggressive, and emboldened, and I wasn't seeing the counterpunches I'm used to. My presumption is that it's connected broadly to the Anthropic IPO, which is a severe test of… well, it's a gut check for the whole ball of wax - the future they are attempting to sell. https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/28/nautical-naughties Wed, 28 Oct 2026 20:21:00 +0000 I identified something really odd while I was out at PAX Aus; the normal cadence and tenor of the AI discourse began to vibrate at an especially high frequency. The conversation has always been fraught, but everywhere I turned the side which advocated for the tools was really spun up, aggressive, and emboldened, and I wasn't seeing the counterpunches I'm used to. My presumption is that it's connected broadly to the Anthropic IPO, which is a severe test of… well, it's a gut check for the whole ball of wax - the future they are attempting to sell. Nautical Naughties https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/28/nautical-naughties New Comic: Nautical Naughties https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/28/nautical-naughties Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:01:00 +0000 New Comic: Nautical Naughties Back To Back Rap Tracks https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/26/back-to-back-rap-tracks There can be no question, at long last, that Soulja Boy has told them: he wants <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/26">those cards</a>. Everybody wants those <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/mtgfinance/comments/1xay6jw/all_7_star_trek_signed_headliner_cards/">signed cards </a>and it makes sense. At a certain point it seems like the Federal government would just allow Wizards to just print the money directly. Skip a step, you know? Save everybody a bunch of time. https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/26/back-to-back-rap-tracks Mon, 26 Oct 2026 18:28:00 +0000 There can be no question, at long last, that Soulja Boy has told them: he wants <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/26">those cards</a>. Everybody wants those <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/mtgfinance/comments/1xay6jw/all_7_star_trek_signed_headliner_cards/">signed cards </a>and it makes sense. At a certain point it seems like the Federal government would just allow Wizards to just print the money directly. Skip a step, you know? Save everybody a bunch of time. Back To Back Rap Tracks https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/26/back-to-back-rap-tracks New Comic: Back To Back Rap Tracks https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/26/back-to-back-rap-tracks Mon, 26 Oct 2026 07:01:00 +0000 New Comic: Back To Back Rap Tracks Desert Bus! https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/24/desrt-bus The <a href="https://desertbus.org/2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Desert Bus for Hope</a> charity stream has just begun! <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/desertbus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Head over</a> and watch them drive the bus and raise money for <a href="https://childsplaycharity.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Child’s Play</a>!  https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/24/desrt-bus Sat, 24 Oct 2026 00:04:00 +0000 The <a href="https://desertbus.org/2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Desert Bus for Hope</a> charity stream has just begun! <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/desertbus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Head over</a> and watch them drive the bus and raise money for <a href="https://childsplaycharity.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Child’s Play</a>!  Devil Dogs https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/23/devil-dogs If Gabe finished your Call of Duty campaign, it must be pretty fucking good. The last time around was functionally a playable meme that didn't line up with the milspec fantasy they typically offer, i.e., a three-story combat knife might fall out of the sky. He says that he spent way longer than strictly necessary inside of a Korean convenience store, and if they're anything like konbini you can spend a very very long time in one. Comparing a 7-Eleven in Japan to a 7-Eleven in Seattle is like comparing an eight ounce, medium-rare filet mignon to roadkill. Now, Gabriel would like to inoculate you against a specific <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/23">type of content</a> in the game but beyond that he grants whatever wastrel seal of approval he can muster. https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/23/devil-dogs Fri, 23 Oct 2026 19:16:00 +0000 If Gabe finished your Call of Duty campaign, it must be pretty fucking good. The last time around was functionally a playable meme that didn't line up with the milspec fantasy they typically offer, i.e., a three-story combat knife might fall out of the sky. He says that he spent way longer than strictly necessary inside of a Korean convenience store, and if they're anything like konbini you can spend a very very long time in one. Comparing a 7-Eleven in Japan to a 7-Eleven in Seattle is like comparing an eight ounce, medium-rare filet mignon to roadkill. Now, Gabriel would like to inoculate you against a specific <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/23">type of content</a> in the game but beyond that he grants whatever wastrel seal of approval he can muster. Devil Dogs https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/23/devil-dogs New Comic: Devil Dogs https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/23/devil-dogs Fri, 23 Oct 2026 07:01:00 +0000 New Comic: Devil Dogs Bride of Spooktactular (OoO) from L99 Games https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/22/bride-of-spooktactular-ooo-from-l99-games Running ads is essentially broken, which is why so many sites have essentially become unusable especially on mobile.  If I even tried to make the site look like that the designers wouild twist my head off like a bottlecap.  So, we've been working with friends by and large to get ads up that we feel good about.  <a href="https://gamefound.com/en/projects/level-99-games/bride-of-spooktacular">Bride of Spooktacular</a> fits snugly in that place.  I just really like Brad's designs; his obsession is with asymmetrical strategy games.   I could list them for a very long time, but he's the king of fighting games you play with cards, whether you think the best version of that is BatlleCON or EXCEED because he designed both.  Spooktacular and its Bride posit that terrors beyond mortal ken have burst through the screens in the theatre, and those are the entities you play as - devouring horrified moviegoers by the gobfull.  Every one of the original's twenty monsters or the Bride's ten additional ones is essentially playing a different game while going after the same points, with ramifications for your opponents and even in some cases the way the game plays.  Evil cars, a Queen and her Hive, zombified versions of our founding fathers...  this is just where it starts.  This Gamefound camnpaign also offers the Double Feature as an optional add-on, which are twenty new remixes of the original game's monsters that play completely differently or even invert their mechanics.  Anyway, putting up his ads was the easiest decision I made all year.  <a href="https://gamefound.com/en/projects/level-99-games/bride-of-spooktacular#/section/whats-in-the-box-double-feature-183318">Only about a week left on the campaign</a>... if you dare, etc. (CW)TB    https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/22/bride-of-spooktactular-ooo-from-l99-games Thu, 22 Oct 2026 18:05:00 +0000 Running ads is essentially broken, which is why so many sites have essentially become unusable especially on mobile.  If I even tried to make the site look like that the designers wouild twist my head off like a bottlecap.  So, we've been working with friends by and large to get ads up that we feel good about.  <a href="https://gamefound.com/en/projects/level-99-games/bride-of-spooktacular">Bride of Spooktacular</a> fits snugly in that place.  I just really like Brad's designs; his obsession is with asymmetrical strategy games.   I could list them for a very long time, but he's the king of fighting games you play with cards, whether you think the best version of that is BatlleCON or EXCEED because he designed both.  Spooktacular and its Bride posit that terrors beyond mortal ken have burst through the screens in the theatre, and those are the entities you play as - devouring horrified moviegoers by the gobfull.  Every one of the original's twenty monsters or the Bride's ten additional ones is essentially playing a different game while going after the same points, with ramifications for your opponents and even in some cases the way the game plays.  Evil cars, a Queen and her Hive, zombified versions of our founding fathers...  this is just where it starts.  This Gamefound camnpaign also offers the Double Feature as an optional add-on, which are twenty new remixes of the original game's monsters that play completely differently or even invert their mechanics.  Anyway, putting up his ads was the easiest decision I made all year.  <a href="https://gamefound.com/en/projects/level-99-games/bride-of-spooktacular#/section/whats-in-the-box-double-feature-183318">Only about a week left on the campaign</a>... if you dare, etc. (CW)TB    The Tri-Fold Augur https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/21/the-tri-fold-augur Bungie is between Scylla and Charybdis, two words I spelled correctly on my first try. What are these two things? We don't need to go into all that - just know that they're both unwelcome, and you don't want to be there. Bungie's thing is to make its own weird and peerless shit, they've been doing it since the Mac, and maybe on some level there might be a perceived loss of face or identity associated with hauling somebody else's rope. Fuck allat. This is Live To Fight Another Day shit. Get the skunkworks popping while Lucasfilm keeps the stove warm and fends off Sony with a chair and a <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/05/24/the-song-of-the-sorcelator-part-three">whip</a>. The deal is bigger than paper, as choosing to slot work with the leading console manufacturer is just a good thing to have in your back pocket. And we already know Bungie would crush it: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destiny_2:_Renegades">Renegades</a>, their collab/crossover/Star Wars fic, was sick to death. Indeed, I propose that this is so cosmic, powerful, and correct that it represents <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/21">an auspicious stellar configuration</a> - something as good as Scylla and Charybdis, whatever they may be, are bad. https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/21/the-tri-fold-augur Wed, 21 Oct 2026 20:41:00 +0000 Bungie is between Scylla and Charybdis, two words I spelled correctly on my first try. What are these two things? We don't need to go into all that - just know that they're both unwelcome, and you don't want to be there. Bungie's thing is to make its own weird and peerless shit, they've been doing it since the Mac, and maybe on some level there might be a perceived loss of face or identity associated with hauling somebody else's rope. Fuck allat. This is Live To Fight Another Day shit. Get the skunkworks popping while Lucasfilm keeps the stove warm and fends off Sony with a chair and a <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/05/24/the-song-of-the-sorcelator-part-three">whip</a>. The deal is bigger than paper, as choosing to slot work with the leading console manufacturer is just a good thing to have in your back pocket. And we already know Bungie would crush it: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destiny_2:_Renegades">Renegades</a>, their collab/crossover/Star Wars fic, was sick to death. Indeed, I propose that this is so cosmic, powerful, and correct that it represents <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/21">an auspicious stellar configuration</a> - something as good as Scylla and Charybdis, whatever they may be, are bad. Child's Play Auction Item https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/21/child-s-play-auction-item I love all of the incredible handmade items we get donated for <a href="https://my.onecause.com/event/organizations/8534d777-53ce-4d94-a537-c8e0cbb7acb0/events/vevt:40a47fdc-cf9b-4bdd-a652-283837285e24/home/story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Child’s Play auction</a>. We are less than a month away from this year’s dinner and I wanted to share a couple pictures of one of our awesome live auction items.   https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/21/child-s-play-auction-item Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:54:00 +0000 I love all of the incredible handmade items we get donated for <a href="https://my.onecause.com/event/organizations/8534d777-53ce-4d94-a537-c8e0cbb7acb0/events/vevt:40a47fdc-cf9b-4bdd-a652-283837285e24/home/story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Child’s Play auction</a>. We are less than a month away from this year’s dinner and I wanted to share a couple pictures of one of our awesome live auction items.   The Tri-Fold Augur https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/21/the-tri-fold-augur New Comic: The Tri-Fold Augur https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/21/the-tri-fold-augur Wed, 21 Oct 2026 07:01:00 +0000 New Comic: The Tri-Fold Augur ARC Resort https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/19/arc-resort <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Pibb">Mr. Gibb</a> got <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/19/arc-raiders-pve-report">hauled back into ARC</a> by his eldest; that last link goes to his full report if you haven't seen it. <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/19">Today's strip</a> is a "war journal" of the kind of twisted, post-apocalyptic hellscape that you might experience in a food court. https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/19/arc-resort Mon, 19 Oct 2026 19:42:00 +0000 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Pibb">Mr. Gibb</a> got <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/19/arc-raiders-pve-report">hauled back into ARC</a> by his eldest; that last link goes to his full report if you haven't seen it. <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/19">Today's strip</a> is a "war journal" of the kind of twisted, post-apocalyptic hellscape that you might experience in a food court. Arc Raiders PvE Report! https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/19/arc-raiders-pve-report I quit playing ARC Raiders for a couple of reasons. The two big ones being I did not want to support their use of AI voices and I was sick of getting shot in the back and losing all my shit. My eldest son Gabe loves the game and never stopped playing. He told me about how they replaced their AI voice work with human actors and that they were testing a new PvE mode. He asked if I wanted to try a few rounds with him and since I am at all times desperately trying to avoid a “<a href="https://genius.com/Harry-chapin-cats-in-the-cradle-lyrics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cat’s in the Cradle</a>” situation I said yes.   https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/19/arc-raiders-pve-report Mon, 19 Oct 2026 17:28:00 +0000 I quit playing ARC Raiders for a couple of reasons. The two big ones being I did not want to support their use of AI voices and I was sick of getting shot in the back and losing all my shit. My eldest son Gabe loves the game and never stopped playing. He told me about how they replaced their AI voice work with human actors and that they were testing a new PvE mode. He asked if I wanted to try a few rounds with him and since I am at all times desperately trying to avoid a “<a href="https://genius.com/Harry-chapin-cats-in-the-cradle-lyrics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cat’s in the Cradle</a>” situation I said yes.   ARC Resort https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/19/arc-resort New Comic: ARC Resort https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/19/arc-resort Mon, 19 Oct 2026 07:01:00 +0000 New Comic: ARC Resort Hexacon https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/16/hexacon I got a text from the designer of Gundam Assemble about <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/16">today's strip</a>, which was very nice of him. His name is Justin Gary; we met during quarantine and he was one of the first non-family humans I saw in person. We played Solforge out on the porch. He's probably best known for creating <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascension:_Deckbuilding_Game">Ascension</a>, which was one of the heavy-hitter deckbuilders back in the day. I was already going to be interested in <a href="https://global.bandai-hobby.net/en-us/site/gundam-assemble/">Gundam Assemble</a>, a wargame using the cutest miniature gunpla you ever did see, but when I found out he had made the engine for it that elevated the offering substantially. https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/10/16/hexacon Fri, 16 Oct 2026 21:03:00 +0000 I got a text from the designer of Gundam Assemble about <a href="https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/10/16">today's strip</a>, which was very nice of him. His name is Justin Gary; we met during quarantine and he was one of the first non-family humans I saw in person. We played Solforge out on the porch. He's probably best known for creating <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascension:_Deckbuilding_Game">Ascension</a>, which was one of the heavy-hitter deckbuilders back in the day. I was already going to be interested in <a href="https://global.bandai-hobby.net/en-us/site/gundam-assemble/">Gundam Assemble</a>, a wargame using the cutest miniature gunpla you ever did see, but when I found out he had made the engine for it that elevated the offering substantially.