Ivo Kuijpers
Feature Writer
Ivo is a feature writer at Zero1Gaming that covers the a latest developments accross games, esports, and streaming culture with a direct, player-first approach. His work focuses on clear analysis, honest criticism, and the details that shape how games are played, watched, and discussed.
Articles Written
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Articles Written By Ivo Kuijpers
ArticleCD Projekt Red built its reputation with The Witcher and tested it with Cyberpunk
From a Polish game distributor's side project to the studio behind The Witcher 3 and the rebuilt Cyberpunk 2077, with The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 now in development.
ReviewsHollow Knight Is a Beautiful Place to Get Completely Lost and Slightly Terrified
Beneath a quiet little village lies one of gaming's most memorable underground worlds, filled with forgotten secrets, dangerous creatures, and plenty of reasons to keep exploring.
ArticleRGG Studio turned Yakuza into a global RPG franchise
RGG Studio swapped Yakuza's real-time brawls for turn-based RPG combat and found a bigger audience. Its next games leave Kamurocho behind.
ReviewsFinal Fantasy VII Rebirth Brings Back the Adventure but Doesn't Know When to Slow Down
Cloud and his companions finally escape Midgar, opening up a beautiful world filled with familiar locations, excellent combat, and perhaps a few too many distractions.
FeaturesEA's recovered tapes are restoring what classic games left behind
EA's recovered master tapes let it restore seven classic games, rebuilding more than 1,500 scenes and bringing back Wing Commander performances that never shipped.
FeaturesRust Premium’s toughest competition is the game’s own skin store
Rust Premium promises monthly skins and collectibles, but players can already buy skins and keep them for good. Facepunch still has to show why subscribing is worth it.
FeaturesSteam’s review backlog is costing indie games their launch dates
Valve warns that Steam build approvals can take up to 12 business days. Food Devils and Wheel Make It show why the review backlog makes indie launch dates unpredictable.
EsportsHow The MongolZ fought back against FURIA to reach the Beijing semifinals
The MongolZ lost Inferno to FURIA at IEM Beijing, then won Cache 13-8 and Dust2 13-11 to skip the quarterfinals and reach the semifinals.
FeaturesOverwatch's skin strategy shows the cost of a growing roster
Blizzard has doubled its seasonal Mythic hero skins, but repeat recipients and ten planned new heroes leave more characters competing for those slots.
FeaturesHow Control Resonant made a sequel feel like a starting point
Remedy gave Dylan Faden a different relationship with the outside world, rebuilt combat around him and kept its wider mythology from taking over his story.
FeaturesWhy Nintendo cut Ocarina of Time's extra fast travel
Nintendo tried adding new warp points to Ocarina of Time's Switch 2 remake, but Eiji Aonuma had them removed after testing. The decision highlights why exploring Hyrule still matters.
EsportsHow KRÜ Blaze fought back to win Game Changers 2026
KRÜ Blaze fought through four elimination series to win the 2026 VALORANT Game Changers Championship, defeating Gentle Mates 3-2 in São Paulo.
FeaturesSkyblivion's code dispute shows why volunteer projects need clear agreements
Skyblivion's legal dispute with a former contributor has forced its developers to rebuild disputed code. The conflict highlights the importance of clear agreements in volunteer game development.
FeaturesThe Duskbloods' delay gives FromSoftware time to balance its competing playstyles
Fighting, exploration and temporary alliances all contribute to victory, so changes to one part of a match can reshape the others.
FeaturesMetroid Prime 4's motorcycle solves a problem its desert created
Sol Valley expanded the space between Prime 4's main areas, with consequences for both development and the time spent revisiting them.
FeaturesCapcom is using Resident Evil's remakes to connect its past and future
Changes to familiar characters and Umbrella's research show how Capcom is connecting older Resident Evil games with Village and Requiem. The upcoming Veronica remake could be its next major test.
FeaturesGOG's indie publishing plans make sense without exclusives
GOG is entering indie publishing without restricting games to its own storefront. The partnership with Retrovibe could benefit developers through funding and wider distribution, provided the support justifies the publisher's share.
FeaturesARC Raiders' PvE experiment has created a difficult choice for Embark
ARC Raiders' PvE test logged more than 30 million rounds, giving Embark reason to consider a permanent mode. Loot balance, matchmaking and the studio's workload complicate that decision.
FeaturesSteam Next Fest's most-played demos hook players early
Worst Class Ever topped October 2026's Steam Next Fest, alongside popular multiplayer, incremental and survival demos. The results show how a strong opening experience can attract players, although converting that interest into sales remains the bigger challenge.
NewsGhost of Yōtei's success couldn't protect its developers from layoffs
Sucker Punch reportedly laid off 24 employees just weeks after releasing new Ghost of Yōtei content. Despite strong sales and praise from Sony, the studio's transition to its next project has left experienced developers without jobs.
FeaturesKonami's Silent Hill revival benefits from keeping its studios apart
Konami deliberately kept the developers of Silent Hill f and Silent Hill: Townfall apart, allowing them to explore different settings, stories and gameplay systems. The approach is helping the revived horror franchise develop distinct identities across multiple studios.
FeaturesMass Effect: Universe was the gamble EA no longer wanted
Mass Effect: Universe was exploring branching timelines, player-driven missions and new ways to preserve decisions from the original trilogy. EA canceled the ambitious RPG before BioWare could turn those systems into a finished game.
FeaturesXbox's cloud playtime packs put an hourly price on hardware access
Microsoft's new Cloud Playtime packs let players stream supported games without Game Pass, starting at $3.99 for ten hours. The option could save occasional players money, but longer sessions and new Game Pass limits make cloud gaming more expensive for regular users.
FeaturesWhy Fight Night makes more sense for EA Sports now
Fight Night is returning after 15 years, with EA Sports entering a boxing market already served by Undisputed. New investment and industry connections could help, but fighter licensing and development remain major challenges.
FeaturesBlack Ops' comeback should also reward its original developers
The original Black Ops games have found a new audience on PS4 and PS5, generating substantial revenue more than a decade after release. Former Treyarch developer Gavin Goslin argues that the people who built those games should benefit from their continued success.
FeaturesAI cloning fears are pushing indie demos behind closed doors
Digital Sun and Alliance Arts are restricting public demos over fears that copycats could recreate their games using AI tools. Closed testing may protect unfinished work, but it also limits the exposure and feedback that help indie games find an audience.
FeaturesHow Minecraft became a stage for streaming's biggest events
DedSafio 4 generated more than 52 million hours watched on Kick. Alongside Squid Craft Games and Hardcore marathons, it shows how Minecraft became a platform for large-scale streaming events built around creators and their communities.
FeaturesJagex can't reignite RuneScape by splitting it
RuneScape Reignited promised a fresh economy and cleaner starting point, but it also separated new and veteran players. Jagex can still improve the return to RuneScape without dividing its community.
FeaturesOblivion's new update shows what remasters can't preserve
Oblivion Remastered modernizes Cyrodiil’s visuals, movement and progression, while GOG is keeping the 2006 PC release playable. Together, they show why updating an old game is not the same as preserving it.
FeaturesGTA 6: The complete pre-launch overview
Rockstar has now shown much more of GTA 6, from Jason and Lucia’s relationship to robberies, police systems and everyday life across Leonida. Here is the complete pre-launch overview of the major reveals so far.
FeaturesTop 8 VR games on the Meta Quest
Meta Quest 3 and 3S now have one of VR’s strongest standalone libraries. These eight games make the best use of the headset, whether you want combat, puzzles, campaigns or multiplayer.
FeaturesXbox needs exclusives without abandoning its PlayStation business
Xbox needs exclusives to strengthen its hardware, but pulling franchises like Minecraft and Elder Scrolls from PlayStation could sacrifice valuable sales.
FeaturesWoW: Forever's realmless design makes streamer guilds harder to avoid
Asmongold’s Olympus network has grown enormous during the WoW: Forever beta. Without separate PvP realms, players who want to avoid major streamer communities have fewer options.
FeaturesGTA 6 gives Rockstar more reasons to shorten the PC wait
GTA 6 could arrive on PC only months after its console launch. Rockstar’s investment in FiveM, creators and GTA roleplay gives it more reason than ever to shorten the wait.
FeaturesWoW: Forever's million beta characters show the appeal of starting over
World of Warcraft: Forever has already passed one million beta characters before launch. Its new quests, slower leveling and Legacy system show why starting over is part of the appeal.
FeaturesHow a board game helped shape Star Wars: Galactic Racer
Fuse Games prototyped Galactic Racer’s progression with Post-its, handwritten notes and dice. That paper experiment eventually shaped its branching routes, randomized upgrades and risk-heavy runs.
FeaturesNovus Inceptio's return shows how Early Access can overwhelm one developer
Novus Inceptio is being developed again after years of limited progress. Solo developer Martin Markus Mastný says Early Access pressure, constant feedback and trying to satisfy every player contributed to his burnout.
FeaturesThe Callisto Protocol shows the cost of a rushed launch
Glen Schofield says The Callisto Protocol was supposed to get three more months of development. Its troubled launch and months of post-release fixes show what that lost time may have cost.
FeaturesDouble Fine's failed union drive shows the limits of studio culture
Double Fine employees tried to unionize partly to protect the studio culture they already valued. The campaign collapsed within two weeks, before independence and layoffs showed how little control workers ultimately had over their jobs.
FeaturesActivision should give Halo a hard reboot
Halo has spent years introducing major conflicts and then leaving them behind. With Activision now building the next game, a hard reboot could give Master Chief a cleaner foundation, provided the new team finally follows through on what it starts.
FeaturesGalactic Racer turns Anakin into a racing legend
Decades after losing the Boonta Eve Classic, Sebulba is still telling racers about the mysterious human who beat him. Galactic Racer turns Anakin’s childhood victory into Star Wars racing folklore.
FeaturesGTA 6 Could Make $80 Games the New Normal
GTA 6 is launching at $79.99. If Rockstar proves millions will pay $80, other publishers could have the precedent they need to follow.
FeaturesWoW: Forever could finally fix Blizzard's 20-year gold-buying problem
Payo’s WoW: Forever ban shows why Blizzard needs to punish gold buyers as aggressively as sellers. The harder part will be catching ordinary players who keep their purchases private.
Features10 best horror games for Halloween 2026
Whether you want co-op panic, survival horror or a short nightmare for one evening, these are the 10 horror games we are playing this Halloween.
ArticleThe 12 best Steam Autumn Sale 2026 deals
Steam’s Autumn Sale has some unusually strong discounts this year, including $1.99 adventures, $3.99 co-op games and major RPGs for well under $25.
NewsThe Witcher 3 Remastered is bigger than anyone expected
The Witcher 3 Remastered smashed its Steam record in hours, with smoother combat, a rebuilt skill tree, expanded mods and dozens of quality-of-life upgrades.
NewsGTA 6's biggest new details: map size, hurricanes, wildlife and more
Rockstar has revealed much more about GTA 6’s Leonida, including its huge map, regional weather, hurricanes, 170-plus animal species and rural activities.
Features10 biggest games still coming in 2026
The final months of 2026 still have plenty left to play, from Grand Theft Auto VI and Modern Warfare 4 to Ocarina of Time, Gears of War: E-Day and Phantom Blade Zero.
Features10 biggest RPGs coming in 2027
Final Fantasy VII Revelation, Fable, Persona 4 Revival, EXODUS, Pokémon and more make 2027 a packed year for RPG fans.
EsportsHow SwizzY became Fortnite's first back-to-back world champion
SwizzY and Pixie recovered from 163 points behind with three matches left, then survived a final-game push from Shxrk and t3eny to win in Antwerp by two points.