Industry News / Upcoming Games

[Antimatter]

Well, probably there is something positive there, considering companies like Double Fine are not closed off. But harming the lives of 3200 people is very, very bad. It's always bad to lose a job, but to lose a job when thousands of people lose it as well, and the industry is relatively small... I don't know how those families will handle.

I'm hearing that ID Software laid off 95 employees today; that's just yikes for any new Doom game. For example, they let people like Colin Geller go - https://www.artstation.com/colingeller (iconic for the Doom franchise).

Here is a list of people who have been laid off from ZOS (Elder Scrolls Online) today:



As you can see, some amazing talent there, e.g. the whole writing/narrative department. Take a look at Bill Slavicsek, for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Slavicsek

I think for ESO this news doesn't mean anything good at all.

 

[Cahir]

Getting smaller to get bigger? Oooookaaaaaay....

But, I kinda feel like it is good news in a way. A bunch of the independents that MS sucked up now get to be independent again, right?

Yeah, I this is the difference between them and Sony, I guess. They are at least trying to save some studios in a way instead of shutting them down entirely.

On the other hand, gutting other studios (Zenimax Online, ID Software, Obsidian) doesn't make sense...

 

[JustKneller]

Yeah, I this is the difference between them and Sony, I guess. They are at least trying to save some studios in a way instead of shutting them down entirely.

I remember when both sides were gobbling up various smaller studios to build their 'army' for the anticipated console wars. Both sides definitely overextended themselves. I think giving studios back their independence is probably the best way to handle it. Less overhead for the individual companies might make more projects viable, and the reduced organizational needs might help improve product quality as opposed to catering to the lowest common denominator.

As for Obsidian getting gutted, I think its the curse of FU. Every studio that Feargus has run has ended in tears. I feel bad for id. They were leaders in the field long before Microsoft came along. I'm not sweating Zenimax, though. Fallout 76 was a never ending chain of bad choices, so I just can't muster the sympathy.

 

[Antimatter]

A crazy story this week:

Stella Sacco - a former writer for the upcoming game, Rideshare Stimulator by Saber Interactive - posted on Bluesky that "Saber replaced me with ChatGPT midway through development", adding that the game makes use of generative AI tools for passenger voices.

In a statement to gaming media sites, Saber shot back that "neither Saber nor Unigine have replaced any writers with AI for Rideshare or any other game", insisting that "Rideshare's story was written entirely by real people", and that "none of our 3000+ employees have to worry about being replaced by AI."

They did, however, acknowledge that Rideshare Stimulator has "an experimental, free-ride mode that by necessity incorporates AI as the number of passengers in the game is infinite." There was no associated disclosure on the game's Steam page at the time of announcement, which means that Saber have breached Valve's content policies.

Saber argue that the use of LLMs and voice generation in Rideshare's free-ride mode is necessary to avoid your passengers eventually repeating themselves and becoming "predictable".

Sacco doubled down following Saber's initial response. “They took me off the project to use ChatGPT to write the rest of the text, including planned live updates," she insisted in an email chat with Percival Gamer. "If they changed plans in the intervening years, that’s great, but again: I was there, and it was my job to write the game, and then it wasn’t once Matt Karch decided using ChatGPT would be great publicity for the game.”

Sacco added on Bluesky that her manager at Unigine had argued with the executives against using ChatGPT, but that "the suit insisted ‘gamers love new tech’ so using AI would be ‘great marketing'”.

Saber CEO Matthew Karch then decided to stick his oar in personally, sending This Week In Videogames a catty statement touting his own usage of chatbot tools, and accusing Sacco of lying to whip up scandal. “Stella who?" Karch wrote. "I had to ask Claude because I have never spoken to her or seen her. We have already said we are using AI for certain parts of the game and will update the Steam page once we have finalized the feature set.

“Let me clarify that the entire story script, were it to win an award, would go to someone who can walk up on stage and receive it," Karch went on. "It was always our intention to reveal this until Stella violated her confidentiality clause and revealed this before we were ready."

Rideshare Stimulator's usage of generative AI is a "plus for customers", Karch insisted. “As far as Stella is concerned, she was replaced by someone more talented and terminated for a variety of reasons a few months later," he said. "From what I can gather she enjoys controversy even more than I do. I would frankly in retrospect have been happy to replace her with AI. At least we would be dealing with someone programmed to be honest.”

You can check more details about this in the RPS article here: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/ri...the-game-also-uses-the-tech-for-in-game-music

 

[Cahir]

A crazy story this week:

Stella Sacco - a former writer for the upcoming game, Rideshare Stimulator by Saber Interactive - posted on Bluesky that "Saber replaced me with ChatGPT midway through development", adding that the game makes use of generative AI tools for passenger voices.

In a statement to gaming media sites, Saber shot back that "neither Saber nor Unigine have replaced any writers with AI for Rideshare or any other game", insisting that "Rideshare's story was written entirely by real people", and that "none of our 3000+ employees have to worry about being replaced by AI."

They did, however, acknowledge that Rideshare Stimulator has "an experimental, free-ride mode that by necessity incorporates AI as the number of passengers in the game is infinite." There was no associated disclosure on the game's Steam page at the time of announcement, which means that Saber have breached Valve's content policies.

Saber argue that the use of LLMs and voice generation in Rideshare's free-ride mode is necessary to avoid your passengers eventually repeating themselves and becoming "predictable".

Sacco doubled down following Saber's initial response. “They took me off the project to use ChatGPT to write the rest of the text, including planned live updates," she insisted in an email chat with Percival Gamer. "If they changed plans in the intervening years, that’s great, but again: I was there, and it was my job to write the game, and then it wasn’t once Matt Karch decided using ChatGPT would be great publicity for the game.”

Sacco added on Bluesky that her manager at Unigine had argued with the executives against using ChatGPT, but that "the suit insisted ‘gamers love new tech’ so using AI would be ‘great marketing'”.

Saber CEO Matthew Karch then decided to stick his oar in personally, sending This Week In Videogames a catty statement touting his own usage of chatbot tools, and accusing Sacco of lying to whip up scandal. “Stella who?" Karch wrote. "I had to ask Claude because I have never spoken to her or seen her. We have already said we are using AI for certain parts of the game and will update the Steam page once we have finalized the feature set.

“Let me clarify that the entire story script, were it to win an award, would go to someone who can walk up on stage and receive it," Karch went on. "It was always our intention to reveal this until Stella violated her confidentiality clause and revealed this before we were ready."

Rideshare Stimulator's usage of generative AI is a "plus for customers", Karch insisted. “As far as Stella is concerned, she was replaced by someone more talented and terminated for a variety of reasons a few months later," he said. "From what I can gather she enjoys controversy even more than I do. I would frankly in retrospect have been happy to replace her with AI. At least we would be dealing with someone programmed to be honest.”

You can check more details about this in the RPS article here: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/ri...the-game-also-uses-the-tech-for-in-game-music

Funny place to work at, this Saber Interactive.

 

[JustKneller]

Why, in the fifty shades of fucks, would anyone want to play a game where they immerse themselves in the lives of an Uber driver? No offense to the drivers, but I don't think anyone is in that line of work for any kind of personal fulfillment. I'm starting to think that AI isn't just making the games, but coming up with the development ideas to begin with.

If that is what this hobby is coming to, then I'm going to start my own video game company with titles like: Insurance Adjuster Adventure, Data Entry Extravaganza, and Accounts Receivable Revolution.

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

Better than ‘Proctology Simulator,’ I guess.

 

[WarChiefZeke]

Why, in the fifty shades of fucks, would anyone want to play a game where they immerse themselves in the lives of an Uber driver? No offense to the drivers, but I don't think anyone is in that line of work for any kind of personal fulfillment. I'm starting to think that AI isn't just making the games, but coming up with the development ideas to begin with.

If that is what this hobby is coming to, then I'm going to start my own video game company with titles like: Insurance Adjuster Adventure, Data Entry Extravaganza, and Accounts Receivable Revolution.

"Accounts Receivable Revolution" got a few genuine laughs out of me

You might be amused to know that "Job Simulator" has been one of the most popular VR games since its inception. I think this goes to show how badly VR markets its games, but whatever.

 

[JustKneller]

You might be amused to know that "Job Simulator" has been one of the most popular VR games since its inception. I think this goes to show how badly VR markets its games, but whatever.

I believe they did a VR game in the Half-Life franchise that did well. This job simulator kind of thing seems like a step back. And, I'm saying this as someone who's current favorite TTPRG is one where you often have to deal with having a mortgage.

 

[WarChiefZeke]

I believe they did a VR game in the Half-Life franchise that did well. This job simulator kind of thing seems like a step back. And, I'm saying this as someone who's current favorite TTPRG is one where you often have to deal with having a mortgage.

I've heard nothing but good things about Half-Life. But Asgard's Wrath 2 is my most played game, truly well-done open world rpg, and excellent roguelike infinite dungeon mechanic.

 

[Antimatter]

This one was unexpected:

A hacker has been leaking GTA VI gameplay videos to "protest a digital-only release".

"Rockstar’s decision to not release a physical copy has hit a sore nerve among fans. Apparently, one of them is a talented hacker who somehow landed their hands on GTA VI gameplay and the entire map and decided to leak them. According to gaming creator NikTek on X, Cyberleek allegedly leaked the two clips and the entire map of Leonida as a protest against the publisher’s decision to sell pre-selling digital copies of the game. They said that they will not stop dropping leaks until the company issues a public apology and commits to doing better.

"No consumer shall pay for a game through digital storefronts before release and independent review. Physical preorders for tangible media remain permitted. Preorders were not created for gamers. They were created because physical discs had manufacturing limits. In digital distribution, there is no inventory. There is no stock shortage. A digital copy cannot sell out. Yet publishers kept the preorder system and stripped away its only consumer benefit. Now gamers pay early and receive nothing in return except a countdown timer and a cosmetic skin,” Cyberleek said on their website. “If publishers want revenue before launch, they can press discs. Print boxes. Put them on shelves. Earn that money through physical production."

Aside from this, Cyberleek has two other points in their manifesto: that publishers should not sell “fake” single-player DLCs that unlock content already included in the base game and that any title featuring single-player content must always be available, even when server support ends."

https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/hacker-leaks-gta-vi-gameplay-and-map-to-protest-digital-only-release-claims-pre-orders-are-a-legacy-of-physical-game-releases

This is a statement from Stop Killing Games:

"A statement on the current GTA 6 Footage leak situation

Footage from GTA 6 has leaked, and a group of hackers, whom we will deliberately not name here, to avoid giving them further attention, claims responsibility. The footage itself appears to be genuine: Take-Two has already been hitting it with DMCA takedowns, and the speed of those strikes is itself a strong signal of authenticity. The group is using the leak to promote a memecoin, attaching crypto links and QR codes to the footage and asking people to pay for more.

Do not send these people your money, no matter how much sympathy you may feel for their actions. This is illegal, and frankly, we feel for everyone at Rockstar having to go through this ordeal again, especially just over a week before Rockstar’s own official “Extended Look” premieres. Using illegal means to make a point is unacceptable to us and does nothing to protect our right to keep using what we paid for. No matter how strongly you disagree with the decisions of upper management at these companies, there are still thousands of developers who worked hard on this project — and they’re the ones being hit the hardest.

Channel that frustration into something constructive instead. This kind of act is destructive and helps no one, worse, it risks tarnishing the reputation of our communities and our chances to make change. History isn’t on the leaker’s side either: the last person who did this to Rockstar, back in 2022, ended up with an indefinite hospital order. This isn’t a cause worth risking your money or your future on. (We seriously doubt, that the hack was seriously for that reason)"

 

[JustKneller]

I kinda like that the consumers are fighting back. Not to get all sociopolitical, and I'm not saying I'm anti-capitalist, but the nature of the model discourages conscientious (or even conscious) consumption. When I see consumers cultivating mindfulness and finding their voice, it gives me hope.

 

[BelgarathMTH]

I don't condone illegal actions, but I'm on record here agreeing with the philosophy behind their protest. The best I can do to protest is to just keep refusing to buy digital games developed under the early access and DLC models.

I guess their beef with the industry isn't *exactly* the same as mine. They mostly seem worried about having no ownership over the gaming product they purchase, and I worry about that, too, but I also object to buying unfinished products that keep getting changed, often not for the better, and with many broken promises about what eventually gets developed and finished. As I've said, I think that paying upfront for what amounts to a demo or alpha version of a game and a bunch of promises removes company incentive to produce a good product. They already have their money, and the unfinished products are normally sold with tight refund restrictions, so why should they care after that?

Sure, there's brand development, and the plan to sell more products in the future for future profits, goals which are damaged by a poor quality "final release", but I don't think that's enough to ensure good quality control.

 

[WarChiefZeke]

As far as i'm concerned if a law is clearly unjust it deserves no respect in the first place. Increasingly how I feel about flock cameras, but that's neither here nor there.

We are definitely in an era of growing consumer rights awareness; and we should be, since the consumer is getting abused ten ways to Sunday by every company under the sun. Telemetry is just the start but also one of the most egregious.

 

[O_Bruce]

I think consumers should also grow some accountability. In videogame industry, every anti-consumer bs that is pushed on customers is possible only because the consumers - in this case, gamers - allowed it. In my observations through last 14-15 years or so, I noticed how gamers are constantly complaining about day 1 dlcs, pre-order bonuses, overpriced game editions, cut content to sell as DLC later on, battle passes, micro transactions in single player games, fear of missing out... only to fall for each of those every single time. Money is only language publishers and large companies understand. Complains mean nothing if they are followed with wrong action.

Other unpopular thing for me to say: we never technically owned our games. At least on PC, as long as I can remember, there was a litte thing called "license agreement", all of us ignored when attempting to install a game on our PC. Said license limits our ownership, even back in "good old days". Sure, nowadays the overall state of ownership is much worse, with physical media disappearing only accelerating the process, but still.

About the leaker guy. I don't care for GTAVI. I also don't care about performative Robin Hood-esque virtue.

Above post is not meant to defend gaming companies. I just wanted to state things I am pretty sure I won't hear from other people.

 

[JustKneller]

Complains mean nothing if they are followed with wrong action.

Above post is not meant to defend gaming companies. I just wanted to state things I am pretty sure I won't hear from other people.

I totally agree with that. You can see the same thing in tabletop gaming. A bunch of the established YTers (especially ones punting their own heartbreakers), as well as many gamers themselves are just up in arms about Hasbro and what they are doing with D&D. But at the same time, they are still playing the game and spending their money on it. It's even more absurd than video gaming because, not only are there tons of other options out there, pretty much every other option is going to be more cost effective (potentially free) AND not be committing the transgressions they are complaining about. I know people who spend an ungodly amount of money on Hasbro products who are upset about what they are doing. I mean, they spend more in a year on Hasbro that I have spent in all of gaming (video and tabletop, barring board games) in the last 20 years. Yet, I easily game as much as they do, if not more. And frankly, I'm much more happier and satisfied in the hobby than they are. All I had to do was unplug from anything I didn't like.

Even in video games, I could potentially never buy another video game again and probably be ok. I have decades of games built up from before all this industry nonsense. I get what people are saying about the licensing thing. I also get what you're saying, but at the same time, if I have a CD of a game, I can always play it (if I have the right hardware). I don't have to worry about the industry killing an old game because it might hurt their bottom line with a new one. A while back, I switched from Steam to GoG as my primary platform because GoG gives me the installers. I can store it on a hard drive or even burn it to a disc if I really want to. I'll always have these games.