Thursday Wednesday news, part two:

Valve shuffles some crates around on beloved Counter-Strike map, some fans react like it shot Old Yeller: 'The more I think of this, the more upset I am'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/valve-shuffles-some-crates-around-on-beloved-counter-strike-map-some-fans-react-like-it-shot-old-yeller-the-more-i-think-of-this-the-more-upset-i-am/
Valve has released a new update for Counter-Strike 2, and changed a minor feature near the Counter-Terrorist spawn in the game's most popular map, Dust 2. Per the release notes, the developers have "modified crate stack outside CT spawn towards bombsite A", which doesn't sound like much, but oh my is there some weepin' and a-wailin'.

Baldur's Gate 3 dev says it's Larian's philosophy to 'fuel and reward' player creativity: 'They found a way to exploit the game, let them have it, it's awesome'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/baldurs-gate-3-programmer-says-its-larians-philosophy-to-fuel-and-reward-player-creativity-they-found-a-way-to-exploit-the-game-let-them-have-it-its-awesome/
At a games conference in Sofia, Bulgaria earlier this year, Larian gameplay scripter Mihail Kostov gave a presentation outlining the philosophies and strategies the studio employs to ensure games like Baldur's Gate 3 stay playable even as players are actively tearing them apart. Recently made public on YouTube (via GamesRadar), Kostov's talk explains how Larian addresses "edge cases"—times when "player action may push a system to the extreme"—with solutions that reward, rather than stifle, creativity.

Humble Games says it's 'restructuring,' employees say its entire staff has been laid off
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/humble-games-layoffs/
Humble Games, an indie-focused publisher with dozens of games in its catalog, is "restructuring," according to a statement published on X—but that new structure doesn't involve any of its employees.

The developers of this new micro-tactics roguelite RPG say it's 'small in scale, grand in depth'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-developers-of-this-new-micro-tactics-roguelite-rpg-say-its-small-in-scale-grand-in-depth/
A new tactical RPG has you put together small adventurer teams and take on time-limited battles against a variety of monsters in fast runs to reclaim ancient mines beneath a fantasy world. Forgotten Mines, out today by solo developer Cannibal Goose, strings together micro-sized tactical arena battles into runs at glory as you build up resources and treasures to recruit ever-better adventurers and get deeper into the earth.

Super Earth grants free mechs to all Helldivers 2 players in celebration of a last-minute Major Order victory
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/super-earth-grants-free-mechs-to-all-helldivers-2-players-in-celebration-of-a-last-minute-major-order-victory/
Over the weekend in Helldivers 2, the tireless forces of Super Earth proved that the narrowest of victories can bring the sweetest rewards—particularly when those rewards involve a surprise, galaxy-wide mech giveaway. When a Major Order demanding the liberation of three planets seemed doomed to fail, the Helldivers achieved a last-minute victory so impressive that High Command's rolling out war robots to everyone who can fill a cockpit.

Marvel's Overwatch-style hero shooter has players scrambling to log in and push a payload as their favorite superheroes
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/marvels-overwatch-style-hero-shooter-has-players-scrambling-to-log-in-and-push-a-payload-as-their-favorite-superheroes/
Marvel Rivals, the new Overwatch-style third-person hero shooter, has a killer theme song that I heard several times while waiting to log in as its closed beta was hammered by legions of other players trying to do the same. After about an hour, however, the servers seem to have stabilized and I managed to get in and play a match.
The servers went online a few hours ago and it seems like they weren't quite prepared for the number of players who want to team fight as classic Marvel heroes, like Spider-Man, Loki, and Storm. Several players reported being stuck on the title screen on the Steam forums, and some say they were disconnected when they finally entered a match.
>> Seems like the usual problems.

Here's a free walking sim about cryptid investigation that's dripping with early 2000s vibes, complete with fake forums
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/heres-a-free-walking-sim-about-cryptid-investigation-thats-dripping-with-early-2000s-vibes-complete-with-fake-forums/
Want to spend some time in the dark streets and woods of a Polish village in the early 2000s? I know I do, which is why I'm playing Krypta FM—and sharing that it exists with you. In Krypta FM you'll do some authentic cryptid investigating in Gozdary, Poland, where you'll take pictures of stuff, post on forums, and listen to radio broadcasts between bouts of wandering around town.

13 years later, this bonkers third-person shooter collab between Suda51 and the creator of Resident Evil is finally coming to PC
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/13-years-later-this-bonkers-third-person-shooter-collab-between-suda51-and-the-creator-of-resident-evil-is-finally-coming-to-pc/
Shadows of the Damned released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2011, and by all accounts it sold terribly. A collaboration between Suda51 and Shinji Mikami, on paper it's a project that should have sold decently: a surreal third-person shooter inspired by Kafka and straight-to-VHS schlock? No wonder EA published it! 
Well actually, the trailer above—which celebrates the imminent release of the game's PC debut—goes a little way towards explaining why it sold poorly. Console games in 2011 were all about macho grey shooters, not whatever that is. Unsurprisingly, it's since established a cult following, so hopefully the new edition meets a better reception come October when it'll release on Steam.

Warframe's upcoming 1999 expansion adds a romance system, and it's all thanks to Baldur's Gate 3
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/warframes-upcoming-1999-expansion-adds-a-romance-system-and-its-all-thanks-to-baldurs-gate-3/
Warframe's next major story update, the 1999 expansion, will introduce plenty of new features to the mix, like '90s boy bands and instant messenger clients. However, one thing that definitely wasn't on my bingo card is a romance system that could end with a New Year's kiss from any of the Hex, a new syndicate made up of Protoframes. 

World of Warcraft: The War Within's pre-patch may have dug up the graves of deleted characters—including my ancient shaman with a hearthstone that killed me
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/world-of-warcraft-the-war-within-s-pre-patch-may-have-dug-up-the-graves-of-deleted-characters-including-my-ancient-shaman-with-a-hearthstone-that-killed-me/
World of Warcraft: The War Within is bringing a whole ton of neat changes to the game—changes like the Warband system, which have been packaged early into the expansion's pre-patch. There've been some slight glitches so far, like Warband banks being disabled, but it's otherwise a massive quality-of-life boost to the MMO.
When logging in for the first time, your existing characters will be converted to the new system—but seems to have had an unintended side effect. Characters might be coming back from the dead, clawing their way out of the deletion graveyard.

Today is wednesday.

You're absolutely right. For some reason, I've been mixing them all day long. I even checked the Epic Store for the new deal before realizing my mistake, but I didn't tought about checking the posts.

It's fixed now. Thanks.

2024 sure is a fun year for CPUs huh?

Well, at least AMD communicated and acted fast and ensured no end users will have such issues as with Intel's current offerings.

In fact, I was suspecting something like this. I mean, why launch on the very last day of the month you announced to be the launch month if you're not having any issues with your product?

Yea no doubt intel is big in the shitter. I would not be having a great time if I had 13th/14th gen atm. Especially when you consider there is no upgrade path. Hopefully Intel will reach soon enough.

There was an article earlier today about reviewers not having recieved the ryzen 9000 samples for reviews. Because of that, this delay doesn't surprise me as much.

And I'm sure they've made this move after seeing what happened with Intel, and they don't want to face similar challenges.

I'm also curious to know what will happen to those that managed to get their hands on a 9000 series processor before launch day, like that italian guy. 

Not really. The Strix Halo, at least the highest one, has 16 cores while the PS5 Pro should keep the 8 of the regular PS5. Also, the PS5 Pro should have more graphical power, with 60CUs vs 40, at least by the rumors we have.

In any case, this thing should be a best.

The chances of Nvidia slowing down on RT are close to zero, so yeah even if AMD manages to double the RT performance, they'll still lag behind Nvidia.

At the very least, AMD should try to make their cards not suck at RT. That should be their goal.

nVidia are heavily focused on software to augment their hardware.
AMD is heavily focused on hardware to augment their software.

AMD at this point has zero chances to overtake nVidia on GPU performance, nVidia has more marketshare, nVidia has more funds, nVidia has better mindshare.
nVidia also hasn't fumbled with it's GPU's since the Geforce FX over 20 years ago.
nVidia has "stagnated" at points, I.E. Tesla era and Fermi, but never a serious fumble that made it's entire lineup... Redundant.

If AMD is hoping for another Intel Moment... (I.E. Pentium 4/Skylake) It's unlikely to happen.

AMD needs to focus on it's software and features. A new-comer like Intel in the discreet GPU space shouldn't be having advantages over AMD. I.E. Xess beats FSR hands down.

***Checks ... Checks again*** - Hmm... - ***Checks a third time***
Ok, now that I’m sure, let’s go with the Thursday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

After Life by You's disastrous end, Paradox chalks up a 90% drop in operating profit for Q2: 'We end the second quarter of the year with mixed feelings'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/after-life-by-yous-disastrous-end-paradox-chalks-up-a-90-drop-in-operating-profit-for-q2-we-end-the-second-quarter-of-the-year-with-mixed-feelings/
It's been a rough time for Paradox. Bloodlines 2 has been a (wrong kind of) nightmare, it cut ties with Harebrained Schemes after Lamplighters League underperformed, Cities: Skylines 2 came out with a raft of tech bugs, Millennia disappointed, and, of course, the company totally canned its Sims competitor Life by You and shuttered the studio making it.
So it's not surprising that the company's Interim Report, released today, contains the kind of news that will make you suck air through your teeth. The good news? The company was still operating at a profit in its second quarter, which lasted from April 1 to June 30 this year. The bad news? It was only by the skin of its teeth, and only really thanks to its homegrown stalwarts—CK3, Victoria 3, Hearts of Iron 4—rather than any of the risks it's taken in the last few years. Though Age of Wonders 4, from Triumph Studios, has also done well for Paradox.
The headline number is a decrease in operating profit of 90%, from 293 million Swedish krona ($27 million) in the second quarter of 2023 to a mere 37 million krona ($3.4 million) in 2024's. That's mostly down to—you guessed it—the cancellation of Life by You and the write-down of its development costs, which hit Paradox for some 208 million krona ($19.2 million). Paradox's profit for the quarter after tax and other "financial items" was 27 million Krona ($2.5 million), down 88.5% on last year's second quarter.

The Epic Store gives away two items:

• F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/fist-forged-in-shadow-torch
• And an Exclusive Outfits Pack for the store: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/olympics-go-paris-2024-pc-outfits-a48737

And next week, they’ll give away LumbearJack.

GOG has a new promo: the Immersive Sims Promo, with up to 90% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2024_immersive_sims.

Steam has four deals and a sale:

• The ChinaJoy X Game Connection</u has up to 70% deals. Some deals will end before some of you cna read this while other will ast until July 29, maybe more: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/ChinaJOYxGameConnectionGamePlay2024
• NARUTO X BORUTO Ultimate Ninja STORM CONNECTIONS</u will be 50% off until the 31st: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1020790/NARUTO_X_BORUTO_Ultimate_Ninja_STORM_CONNECTIONS/
• Death Roads: Tournament</u also gets a 50% discount until August 7: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1619570/Death_Roads_Tournament/
• LEGO® Bricktales</u, that has a demo, is going ot be 67% off until the 7th of August: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1898290/LEGO_Bricktales/
• In Sound Mind will get a 90% discount until August, 7th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1119980/In_Sound_Mind/

Fanatical has a new sale and bundle:

• Publisher 11 bit Studios puts its games on sale with up to 90% deals during 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/11-bit-studios
• The Very Positive Mystery Bundle has up to 10 unknown games to get: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/very-positive-mystery-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

PlayStation VR2 App officially coming to Steam on August 7th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/playstation-vr2-app-officially-coming-to-steam-on-august-7th/
Sony has launched the Steam store page for the PlayStation VR2 App, revealing that it will become available on August 7th. This basically means that on August 7th, PC gamers will be able to use the PlayStation VR2 headset to play their VR games.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Fallout London Downgrader & Addon files have just been released
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/fallout-london-downgrader-addon-files-have-just-been-released/
TeamFOLON has just released the Fallout London Downgrader & Addon files that you will need in order to play the Fallout 4 total conversion mod, Fallout London. Fallout: London will be officially released in a few hours. So, get ready for a new free Fallout game.
Fallout: London is a big expansion mod for Bethesda’s RPG. It will take players right into the nuclear aftermath and all the way to the Parliament building. This mod changes everything, like the world you explore, the groups you meet, and the stories you follow. Players can also expect to encounter new people, and find new cool weapons. And yes, you can also expect to be fighting new enemies. In other words, this is a total conversion that will change everything in the game.
In case you didn’t know, Fallout London will only be compatible with the pre-patched version (1.10.163.0) of Fallout 4: Game of the Year Edition. The team plans to also add support for the Next-Gen Update. However, there is no ETA on when this will happen.
So, the Fallout London Downgrader will allow you to downgrade Fallout 4 with a few button clicks. The mod also has the Fallout 4 Stripped ESM and the Fallout 4 Hexed ESM. These are required to launch Fallout London in the base Creation Kit and create mods for it.
>> The mod is now live and the article has a 3 minutes trailer.

This Skyrim Mod attempts to “beautify” 294 female NPCs
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/this-skyrim-mod-attempts-to-beautify-294-female-npcs/
Modder ‘BloomAndGloom’ has released a new mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition that attempts to overhaul over 290 female NPCs. This mod “beautifies” all the named women, as well as some generic ones.
Now the good news here is that the mod does not make any changes to their race or skin color. In other words, the modder has been somewhat faithful to most NPCs’ original look. This is crucial to note as some may take the word “beautify” and use it to push for their own agendas.
>> The article has some screenshots and also a link to a similar mod for male NPCs that launched in 2020.

Modder creates Hitman 3's ultimate weapon: A portable, inflatable toilet you can deploy anywhere to drown your targets in
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/modder-creates-hitman-3s-ultimate-weapon-a-portable-inflatable-toilet-you-can-deploy-anywhere-to-drown-your-targets-in/
The most powerful weapon in Agent 47's armoury isn't in his armoury at all. It's adjacent to it: just down the hall and off to the side, where you will find the tool that's dispatched more scoundrels than any other: The toilet.
If you play like me, anyway. I don't know about you, but my number one Hitman strat is loading myself with enough emetic to kill a horse and absolutely nothing else. Find a drink or snack tray your target likes to stop at, dribble some poison on it, follow them to the bathroom, drown 'em, done.
Problem is, of course, that those bathrooms can be so far away, or else your target decides to hurl into a nearby bin like a barbarian. Either way, it interferes with your ability to get onto more important Hitman business. That's why an innovative modder named Notex has created the ultimate all-in-one solution for Hitman 3: The Portable Toilet.
"Enhanced with cutting-edge military technology from Kronstadt Industries," reads the description, questionably, and "designed to expand upon contact with the ground," the Portable Toilet is essentially a kind of inflatable porta-john a hitman-on-the-go can deploy wherever and whenever they like. Just stick it down somewhere and it will rapidly inflate to full size.
>> The article only has one screenshot.

The latest round of absurd Baldur's Gate 3 mods include a better Bing Bong and mankinis for the boys
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-latest-round-of-absurd-baldurs-gate-3-mods-include-a-better-bing-bong-and-mankinis-for-the-boys/
Whatever the Baldur's Gate 3 modders have been drinking, I'd like a double. They've given us mods that make your entire party scrabble around on all fours, add an entire roguelike mode, and commit a war crime against Astarion's hair follicles. And they haven't slowed down yet.
The latest round of uploads to Nexus Mods include a couple of highlights. The first is for the Shadowheart Nation, giving the cleric of variable goddesses an improved imp-summoning ability. Referencing a running gag from the actual-play video where some of the Baldur's Gate 3 voice actors played their characters in a game of D&D (since canonized in the game's epilogue), Shadowheart was first given the ability to summon an adorable imp named Bing Bong in a mod released last year. It's now been tweaked by another modder and released as Better Bing Bong, which makes several changes to the original.
(...)
Next up is Mankini, a mod that adds a new variety of underwear gentlemen elves, half-elves, and humans can wear. It's the mankini from Borat, in four different sizes, and it's fully dyeable if you'd rather have it in boreal blue or lush burgundy. To install it you'll also need the Tutorial Chest Summoning mod, which a bunch of mods rely on as a way of distributing new items.
>> The article has one screenshot.

GAMING NEWS

Delta Force: Hawk Ops Open Alpha begins on August 6th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/delta-force-hawk-ops-open-alpha-begins-on-august-6th/
TiMi Studio Group and Team Jade have announced that the Open Alpha phase for Delta Force: Hawk Ops will begin on August 6th. According to the devs, the PC Alpha Test will include both of the game’s primary multi-player game modes. These are Hazard Operations and Havoc Warfare.

Empire of the Ants gets preliminary PC system requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/empire-of-the-ants-gets-preliminary-pc-system-requirements/
Microids has revealed the preliminary PC system requirements for its Unreal Engine 5-powered strategy game, Empire of the Ants. Empire of the Ants will take advantage of both Nanite and Lumen, and it will have ants that will consist of over 50,000 triangles.
>> Nothing too crazy.

Unending Dawn just got a ChinaJoy 2024 gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/unending-dawn-just-got-a-chinajoy-2024-gameplay-trailer/
Parcaes Fate Studio has released the ChinaJoy 2024 gameplay trailer for Unending Dawn. The team has also confirmed that the game will be playable at ChinaJoy 2024 which will run from July 26th to 29th.

STALKER 2 has been, once again, delayed until November 20th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/stalker-2-has-been-delayed-once-again-until-november-20th/
GSC GameWorld has announced that STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been, once again, delayed. Instead of releasing on September 5th, the game now targets a November 20th release date. This is basically a two-month delay.

The ***check again to be sure*** second part of the Thursday news:

The Sims 4 latest patch notes open the doors to polyamorous relationships and a life free of jealousy
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-sims/the-sims-4-latest-patch-notes-open-the-doors-to-polyamorous-relationships-and-a-life-free-of-jealousy/
One of the new base game features in The Sims 4 called Romantic Boundaries is attempting to mimic real relationships that are "nuanced and complex" by letting players tweak their Sims' preferences around exclusivity and jealousy. 

The First Descendant executes total U-turn on the promise of endless loot caves, blames 'mistranslation' and weirdly insists 'there have been no reversals'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/the-first-descendant-executes-total-u-turn-on-the-promise-of-endless-loot-caves-blames-mistranslation-and-weirdly-insists-there-have-been-no-reversals/
Earlier this week players of Nexon's new looter-shooter The First Descendant made a wonderful discovery: The game has its own Destiny-style loot cave. Soon christened "the Valby Run", this area features mobs that respawn infinitely and at a high rate, which can be farmed endlessly for oodles of the game's currencies and gear. And the big surprise was that the developers didn't seem all that bothered, and indeed said they were going to lean-in and basically make other areas more like the Valby Run.
This all sounded very exciting, and certainly got the attention of the playerbase. But sadly Nexon has now walked back this statement, apologising and saying that the announcement from the game's director had been "mistranslated". See, when he said they were going to make all farming spots as good as the Valby Run, what he meant was they were going to make the Valby Run less good. Got it?

I cannot get enough of the swarming tyranids in Space Marine 2 videos
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/i-cannot-get-enough-of-the-space-marine-2-videos-with-all-them-swarming-tyranids/
Hello, yes, I really like these videos with lots of evil space bugs getting squashed by the giant space zealots. Every time I see one I watch it because Space Marine 2 is creeping up on us and  the giant swarms of monsters to chew through are really, really delightful tech to look at—as evinced by this supercut of swarming monster footage that popped up on the Warhammer Community website this week.

The strangest game I've played this year can confuse and horrify you, too, in September
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/the-strangest-game-ive-played-this-year-can-confuse-and-horrify-you-too-in-september/
Zoochosis bills itself as a "bodycam horror simulation game," and I'm not going to say that's inaccurate. But at Summer Game Fest last month I played most of the opening hour of Zoochosis and had no idea what to make of it, because it was far more bizarre and awkward than horrifying.

The worst part of the new Apex Legends battle pass plan is being reversed
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/battle-royale/the-worst-part-of-the-new-apex-legends-battle-pass-plan-is-being-reversed/
You can see it coming a million light years away: A game developer announces something that its players are obviously going to be infuriated by, and then a week or two later posts a black jpg with white text that says, one way or another, 'Oops! Our bad.'
So it has gone for Apex Legends, which today reversed the most unpopular aspect of the new battle pass structure it announced two weeks ago.

Sony hero shooter Concord will not have a battle pass: 'You own Concord, Concord doesn't own you'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/sony-hero-shooter-concord-will-not-have-a-battle-pass-you-own-concord-concord-doesnt-own-you/
Upcoming hero shooter Concord will not have a battle pass and doesn't plan to charge for one in the future, say developers Firewalk. The announcement was made via Concord's social media in response to player questions about what the game will be like after launch.

Blizzard's World of Warcraft team has unionized
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/blizzards-world-of-warcraft-team-has-unionized/
The World of Warcraft team at Blizzard is unionizing, reports Bloomberg. Like a number of other games industry unions, the approximately 500 workers are joining up with the Communication Workers of America. The new union will be "wall-to-wall," meaning it covers the entirety of the development team rather than just one division, like QA, and includes both the larger Irvine, California team and the smaller team in Massachusetts. It'll be called the World of Warcraft Game Makers Guild, or WoWGG.

Dungeons and Kingdoms is an upcoming game that's about exactly what it sounds like: dungeon crawling and kingdom management
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/dungeons-and-kingdoms-is-an-upcoming-game-thats-about-exactly-what-it-sounds-like-dungeon-crawling-and-kingdom-management/
The upcoming Dungeons and Kingdoms—which releases in early access on Steam soon—falls into the genre mashup category for me. Like Mount and Blade and Crypt of the Necrodancer, it takes two great tastes and sees if they taste great together. This time around we've got a medieval kingdom sim mashed up with soulslike dungeon delving, and it looks promising.

Phantom Blade Zero devs say its interconnected world is 'like the Souls games before Elden Ring'—which has turned my interest into attention
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/phantom-blade-zero-devs-say-its-interconnected-world-is-like-the-souls-games-before-elden-ring-which-has-turned-my-interest-into-attention/
Described by PC Gamer's own Richard Stanton as "Sekiro on a drunken night out", Phantom Blade Zero looks pretty dang intriguing. Developed by S-Game (and making its debut in the PlayStation Showcase last year) Phantom Blade Zero does indeed look absolutely slammed with high-octane nonsense—and I mean this affectionately. I like nonsense a lot.
Its jet fuel combat had my interest, but a recent interview by our friends at GamesRadar with director "Soulframe" Liang doubles down on a similar sentiment shared in a PlayStation blog last year, and that has my attention: "It's just like the old Souls games … You move around and explore in a seamless map, it's just not a huge open-world map. But every region is connected together seamlessly."

Tekken 8 director spends months insisting 'Heihachi Mishima is completely dead' before giggling and unveiling him as the newest DLC character anyway
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fighting/tekken-8-director-spends-months-insisting-heihachi-mishima-is-completely-dead-before-giggling-and-unveiling-him-as-the-newest-dlc-character-anyway/
"Heihachi Mishima… is dead." The line Tekken fans have now heard in-game twice, along with director Katsuhiro Harada spending the last few months insisting that The King of Iron Fist was well and truly gone. 
(...)
That is, until Tekken 8's finals happened at Evo Las Vegas this weekend. Footage of Raven spreading misinformation—seriously, it's happened twice now, how has this guy not been fired yet?—is interspersed with Harada's own devious claims of Heihachi's demise before the man emerges from what appears to be the same volcano we left him in.

Bleak report alleges that Activision already has an AI-generated cosmetic in Call of Duty—with artists reportedly 'forced to use AI to aid in their work' and pushed into outsourcing
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/bleak-report-alleges-that-activision-already-has-an-ai-generated-cosmetic-in-call-of-duty-with-artists-reportedly-forced-to-use-ai-to-aid-in-their-work-and-pushed-into-outsourcing/
AI—that is, specifically, generative AI—is a bit of a nightmare for just about any creative industry. While I've personally seen no compelling evidence that AI-generated sludge comes even close to replacing the people-made stuff (and is inherently fuelled by that hard work, anyway) that doesn't mean crap under the weight of hype-huffing execs who've spied an opportunity to pay fewer people less money.
As a recent, in-depth report by Wired's Brian Merchant has revealed, the other shoe has already dropped. Historic layoffs aside, an anonymous artist operating under the pseudonym Noah "because he fears retribution" alleged to Wired that Activision has, in fact, already been selling you AI-slop in the form of Yokai's Wrath, which is currently priced at 1,500 COD Points.