Tuesday gaming news, the second (and last) part:
Battlefield 6 fans suspect EA used generative AI in a cosmetics pack for the shooter: 'I would literally prefer to have no sticker than some low quality AI generated garbage'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/battlefield-6-fans-suspect-ea-used-generative-ai-in-a-cosmetics-pack-for-the-shooter-i-would-literally-prefer-to-have-no-sticker-than-some-low-quality-ai-generated-garbage/
Battlefield 6 fans have spotted what they believe to AI-generated art in a winter-themed cosmetics pack for the hugely successful multiplayer shooter.
In a Reddit post titled "Remove this AI shit from the store", user Willcario uploaded an image of a player card sticker named "Winter Warning", which comes as part of Battlefield 6's Windchill cosmetics pack. The sticker depicts a soldier aiming down the sight of an assault rifle. Upon closer inspection, however, the assault rifle clearly has two barrels, leading Willcario and other Battlefield 6 fans to suspect the sticker art is AI-generated.
Clair Obscur's famously small (but not that small) developer isn't interested in becoming less not-that-small: 'I think it's good to have limitations when you are creative'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/clair-obscurs-famously-small-but-not-that-small-developer-isnt-interested-in-becoming-less-not-that-small-i-think-its-good-to-have-limitations-when-you-are-creative/
Sandfall Interactive, developer of this year's megahit Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, is a famously small developer. So small, in fact, that there was a whole discourse earlier this year about how miniscule the studio is. That lasted right up until another discourse (possibly part of the same discourse) that Sandfall Interactive is actually not that small at all.
It was, without a shadow of a doubt, the most annoying debate the industry engaged in this year. Yet regardless of how small or large Sandfall Interactive is, CEO Guillaume Broche isn't interested in making the studio any bigger. Speaking to Edge (via GamesIndustry) Broche explained that he's more interested in making games than bulking out the team.
The ill-starred Perfect Dark reboot had 'entire chapters' completed before cancellation, says Joanna Dark's voice actor, who 'did not see it coming… it was devastating'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-ill-starred-perfect-dark-reboot-had-entire-chapters-completed-before-cancellation-says-joanna-darks-voice-actor-who-did-not-see-it-coming-it-was-devastating/
One of 2025's grimmer themes seems to be a perennial one for the games industry: mass layoffs. One of the very worst examples came in July, when Microsoft laid off around 9,000 people in total, alongside shuttering several studios and in-development projects, perhaps most notably the Perfect Dark reboot being co-developed by The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics.
Behind the scenes, developers at The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics were desperately trying to save the project, but these efforts would come to naught: a last-ditch attempt involving publisher Take-Two collapsed when no agreement could be reached over the IP rights. There was also debate over how much of the ace-looking reveal had been smoke-and-mirrors, with one dev angrily refuting the idea there wasn't a game there.
Joanna Dark's voice actor Alix Wilton Regan was vocal about the cancellation at the time, and has now given a new interview to The Gamer in which she expands on what had been done on the game, and the "devastating" decision to cancel it.
2K Games chokes out another WWE game just 2 years after launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sports/2k-games-chokes-out-another-wwe-game-just-2-years-after-launch/
WWE 2K24 is about to get the Gunther treatment, which is to say that 2K Games is going to mercilessly choke it out: As noted by Delisted Games, the Steam page for the rasslin' game that was released less than two years ago—on March 8, 2024—says it will be removed from sale on February 1, 2026, and will lose all online functionality on March 31. Offline modes will continue to function as normal.
That might seem like an awfully short window of existence for a major, mainstream videogame, but believe it or not the server shutdown date is actually an extension: WWE 2K24's online features were originally set to be killed on January 5. It's also a fairly standard period of full functionality for 2K's WWE games. WWE 2K23 servers took a piledriver in January 2025, 2K22 servers ate an RKO in '24, and four pre-2K21 games were put through tables at the same time in 2022.
Vince Zampella, the co-founder of Infinity Ward and head of Battlefield, dies in car crash
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/vince-zampella-the-co-founder-of-infinity-ward-and-head-of-battlefield-dies-in-car-crash/
NBC reports that Vince Zampella, co-founder of Call of Duty studio Infinity Ward and head of Respawn and Ripple Effect at Electronic Arts, has died. Zampella was killed on Sunday after his car veered off the road in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles and struck a concrete barrier. Another occupant of the car was also killed in the crash.
>> Shocking, and very sad, news. I’d usually link to the forum thread about this, but there’s none.
Marvel Rivals wants to go big for 2026, and the team has 'already planned more than a year ahead'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/marvel-rivals-wants-to-go-big-for-2026-and-the-team-has-already-planned-more-than-a-year-ahead/
2025 was a pretty incredible year for NetEase's Marvel Rivals. Since dropping right at the end of 2024, it's gone through five themed seasons, increased its collection of heroes and villains by 12, and experimented with PvE with its rough-around-the-edges Marvel Zombies mode.
But the team is just getting started. "2025 was more of a warm-up period for us," Marvel Games executive producer Danny Koo told Den of Geek. "Next year, we're going to have bigger plans. We're not going to slow down. We've already planned more than a year ahead and I can't wait for our players to see it."
If you thought Bloodlines 2 lacked bite, remember that The Witcher 3's director left CD Projekt to make a vampire RPG, and it's out next year
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/if-you-thought-bloodlines-2-lacked-bite-remember-that-the-witcher-3s-director-left-cd-projekt-to-make-a-vampire-rpg-and-its-out-next-year/
2025 finally brought us Vampire: The Masquerade—Bloodlines 2, but whether you liked or loathed The Chinese Room's follow-up to Troika's wildly ambitious and deeply flawed RPG, it's safe to say that it wasn't the follow-up most fans expected.
(...)
But if, like me, you're worried that we might never see a truly great vampire RPG, hold that thought. Next year, Rebel Wolves is due to release The Blood of Dawnwalker, and it might just be the vampire RPG we've been waiting for.
Danganronpa creator says his latest game 'might truly become the last grand, 200-hour game story in human history written entirely without AI'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/visual-novel/danganronpa-creator-says-his-latest-game-might-truly-become-the-last-grand-200-hour-game-story-in-human-history-written-entirely-without-ai/
Danganronpa creator Kazutaka Kodaka reckons his latest game might be the last one with a 100% human-created story.
Listen, I know you're probably sick of reading about AI by now—I'm sick of reading about it, hearing about it, writing about it. Unfortunately it seems that it's very much here to stay, at least for the time being, as numerous industry figures have become far less subtle about taking advantage of it.
That increased candor hasn't gone unnoticed, as Kodaka notes. "Many game companies and creators have started openly talking about their use of AI," he mused in a post over on X, The Everything App.
And these are the articles that didn't made it to be fully shared:
The horse girl sickos have done it again, this time raising $800,000 for a farm that houses some of Umamusume's real-life horse counterparts
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/the-horse-girl-sickos-have-done-it-again-this-time-raising-usd800-000-for-a-farm-that-houses-some-of-umamusumes-real-life-horse-counterparts/
Swen Vincke warns Divinity newcomers that they probably shouldn't play the early games in the series: 'They're a bit outdated by now,' which is putting it very mildly
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/swen-vincke-warns-divinity-newcomers-that-they-probably-shouldnt-play-the-early-games-in-the-series-theyre-a-bit-outdated-by-now-which-is-putting-it-very-mildly/
The now-settled KOTOR 2 lawsuit saw accusations of demonic possession and the plaintiffs' lawyer hitting back at Aspyr with Lil Wayne lyrics: 'Okay you're a goon, but what's a goon to a Goblin? Nothin. Nothin. You ain't scaring nothing.'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-now-settled-kotor-2-lawsuit-saw-accusations-of-demonic-possession-and-the-plaintiffs-lawyer-hitting-back-at-aspyr-with-lil-wayne-lyrics-okay-youre-a-goon-but-whats-a-goon-to-a-goblin-nothin-nothin-you-aint-scaring-nothing/
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