Game Infliction, Author at Game Infliction

‘Why Stop at AI Use? We Could Have Mandatory Disclosures for What Shampoo Brand the Developer Uses’ — Epic Boss Tim Sweeney Says Steam Should Ditch Its AI Generated Content Disclosure

As the debate around the use of generative AI to build video games rages on, Tim Sweeney, boss of Fortnite developer Epic Games, has waded in to call on Valve to ditch its AI Generated Content Disclosure for Steam games.

Valve’s rules mean developers must disclose their use of AI-generated content on a game’s Steam store page. For example, the Steam page for Embark Studios’ Arc Raiders includes a note from the developer on how the game uses AI-generated content: “during the development process, we may use procedural- and AI-based tools to assist with content creation. In all such cases, the final product reflects the creativity and expression of our own development team.”

Activision’s Call of Duty also includes an AI disclosure: “our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in game assets.”

Sweeney, though, believes there’s no point in having such disclosures because pretty much all video games will use AI. Responding to one X / Twitter user who called on Steam and all digital marketplaces to drop the “Made with AI” label because “it doesn’t matter any more,” Sweeney agreed, adding: “the AI tag is relevant to art exhibits for authorship disclosure, and to digital content licensing marketplaces where buyers need to understand the rights situation. It makes no sense for game stores, where AI will be involved in nearly all future production.”

Sweeney’s tweet has sparked much debate about the rights and wrongs of Steam’s policy here. While Sweeney may be right to say the use of generative AI during video game development is becoming more prevalent, some say removing AI disclosures would make it harder for some customers to make informed purchasing decisions.

Activision was dragged into this debate recently when Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 players complained about AI-generated images they had found across the game, primarily focusing on calling card images with a Studio Ghibli-esque styling, following a trend of AI-Ghibli images from earlier this year. A member of U.S. Congress subsequently called Activision out, demanding tighter regulation to “prevent companies from using AI to eliminate jobs.”

I havent really looked at the Multiplayer and Zombie calling cards as closely and im willing to bet they’re using ai on those too but its only the Campaign and endgame calling cards that are this type of blatant Sora/Grok artstyle pic.twitter.com/5qmEXhoQkJ
— Kume (@Kumesicles) November 14, 2025

In the case of art — particularly art sold in premium bundles or battle passes — it seems reasonable to expect a generative AI disclosure to help inform customers about their purchasing decisions. But this is not backed up by law, and Valve is enforcing this policy because it believes it is the right thing to do. And it’s worth point out that using generative AI to make in-game art and selling it to gamers is of course different to the use of AI in, say, NPC behavior or animation work — something that has been a part of video game development for years.

The ever chatty Tim Sweeney then used shampoo to reinforce his point in a response to another tweet — although, as many have pointed out, letting customers know about shampoo isn’t quite the same thing as, say, letting them know they’ve replaced artists with AI-generated slop trained on their work.

Why stop at AI use? We could have mandatory disclosures for what shampoo brand the developer uses. Customers deserve to know lol.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) November 27, 2025

It’s no surprise to see Sweeney take this position on AI, given Fortnite’s extensive use of the technology. Over the summer, Epic released AI Darth Vader into Fortnite and announced plans to let people create their own AI NPCs. The original Darth Vader was voiced by James Earl Jones, who died in September 2024 at the age of 93. The AI version of his voice, powered by Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash model and ElevenLabs’ Flash v2.5, was used with the Jones family’s permission. Within an hour of the feature going live, Fortnite players manipulated Vader into saying the kind of things very much associated with the Dark Side of the Force, including swearing. Epic soon patched it out.

Speaking to IGN in June, Sweeney predicted that small teams would soon be able to use AI prompts to make video games on the scale of Nintendo masterpiece The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. “AI characters giving you the possibility of infinite dialogue with a really simple setup for creators means small teams will be able to create games with immense amounts of characters and immense and interactive worlds,” he said. “What would it take for a 10-person team to build a game like Zelda Breath of the Wild in which the AI is just doing all the dialogue and you’re just writing some character synopsis? That’s totally going to be within reach over the next few years.”

If you’re hunting for the best offers this week, we’re actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Lies of P Director Says Neowiz’s Next Game ‘Will Not Disappoint You All’

Lies of P director Choi Ji-won says the team is “working really hard” on Neowiz’s next game, promising: “I will not disappoint you all.”

Talking to GamesRadar+ after winning a Golden Joystick award for best expansion — “I’m so happy that I’m lost for words right now” — the director explained how the team approached Lies of P’s DLC Overture, saying, “we didn’t just view it as just pure expansion, but almost as a sequel and a brand new project.”

And now, looking ahead to the studio’s next project, Ji-won says “you can expect the most fun that we can achieve within the game.”

“Please stay tuned for it; we are working really hard, and I will not disappoint you at all,” the director added.

Lies of P developer Neowiz shadow-dropped DLC Overture during Summer Game Fest, introducing new locations, new enemies and bosses, new characters, weapons, and the controversial decision to add in two easier difficulty options. At that time, we also learned that Lies of P had topped 3 million copies sold.

We had a good time with Lies of P, awarding it 8/10, and Overture itself also secured a 8/10. “Even if it’s clearly dancing on the same old strings, Lies of P: Overture is an excellent expansion that adds a whole lot more to a game that was already great,” we wrote, although since then, the DLC has been patched to reduce monster difficulty in repeat playthroughs and “adjusted stats” for some of the field monsters you encounter in your first playthrough of Overture.

While Choi Ji-won failed to specify which game he’s talking about here, it seems likely that it is the Lies of P sequel he already confirmed was in the works in November 2023. At the time, Choi said: “Our highest priority is developing the DLC and working on our sequel. The dev team is putting in significant effort, brainstorming and exploring different aspects of the projects.”

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Cyberpunk 2’s dev team is set to double in size by the end of 2027, hopefully meaning its cyberfoundations’ll be laid by then

Cyberpunk 2‘s dev team is set to grow substantially over the next couple of years, as CD Projekt ramp up development. While most of their ranks right now are on The Witcher 4, a game that’s at least made some public cameos even if it’s still sans release date, once 2027 rolls around, Cyberpunk 2 looks like it won’t be too far behind.

This info comes from the company’s latest financial report, covering the time running from July 1st to September 30th this year.

Valve have blocked card game Flick Solitaire from the Russian version of Steam, after federal censorship body Roskomnadzor contacted the platform holder to order its removal for “promoting non-traditional sexualities”.

In a letter, Valve have also reproached developers Flick Games for failing “to do your due diligence regarding where your game is allowed to be distributed, and to inform us of any territory where it cannot be”. Flick Solitaire is still available in Russia via the iOS and Android storefronts, however, despite Roskomnadzor sending similar notes to Apple and Google. As of writing, Valve appear to be the only platform who have caved to Russian state requests to censor the game.

The creator of Dragon Quest, Yuji Horii, believes Final Fantasy X was “ultimate perfection” when it released back in 2001.

In an interview with Game Informer, Horii talked about his experience developing Dragon Quest, which at the time was up against the Final Fantasy series as Square and Enix had yet to merge. While he didn’t really think of Final Fantasy as “competition” per se — while they’re both RPGs, their approaches to storytelling are quite different — he did acknowledge that he was “definitely paying attention to it.”

“Way back then, when Final Fantasy originally came out, I was definitely paying attention to it because it was something we needed to look out for,” Horii said, reflecting on how the games differ. “But there’s one key difference that I really saw back then: the protagonists in the Final Fantasy titles, they speak a lot. Whereas for Dragon Quest, the key objective for [the games], or the experience it offers for the player, is that the player becomes the protagonist themselves.

“In Final Fantasy, you kind of observe the protagonist, but you’re not necessarily becoming the protagonist in the games. So I thought that was a really interesting and stark difference between Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, but I didn’t necessarily see them as a rival back then.”

That may have changed when Final Fantasy X came along, however.

“Final Fantasy, again, [the protagonists] just talk a lot,” Horii added. “I do like Final Fantasy, though. When I first saw Final Fantasy X, I recall feeling this was the ultimate perfection of Final Fantasy.”

Don’t forget that Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake released at the end of October. We thought it was Amazing, awarding it 9/10, writing: “Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake beautifully concludes this trilogy, recapturing the retro magic of the originals while giving them a modern facelift.”

And as for the latest on Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3? Director Naoki Hamaguchi recently confirmed the upcoming game would “strike a balance” when it came to pacing and be “more concise,” but insisted didn’t mean he would cut any content from the game.

Battlefield 6 Just Scored an Unbelievably Good Black Friday Discount at Amazon

Battlefield 6 has dropped to just $35 at Amazon in the Black Friday sales (see here). That’s 50% off, and an almighty $28 less than the previous best discount this week. Now that’s more like it.

If you’re looking for an excellent multiplayer shooter to play over the holidays, this is it, and it’s the best price we’re likely to get on it for a long while.

Snap it up ASAP, as I don’t see this deal lasting until the rest of Thanksgiving, let alone the Black Friday sales weekend. Sorry, Xbox fans, this is a PlayStation 5-only deal for now, as Battlefield 6 is still just under $60 for Xbox consoles. But, we’ll also keep an eye out for any changes.

Only releasing in October this year, Battlefield 6 has offered a true return to form for the long-running shooter franchise and has pretty much finally outdone Call of Duty at its own game, selling some almighty big numbers.

While we didn’t love the campaign, there’s no denying it’s a gorgeous-looking shooting gallery, but as with any Battlefield game, the real draw is multiplayer. Whether you’re looking for infantry combat, the opportunity to fly a jet or helicopter, or you just want to pile into a tank with your friends and bring down buildings, there’s something for everyone.

Reviewer Justin Koreis gave the multiplayer an 8 out of 10, saying, “Battlefield 6’s multiplayer action is expertly crafted, wrapped in a wonderful layer of destructibility that both looks great and materially affects the flow of combat. The gunplay is excellent, with weapons that are accurate enough to reward skilled shooting, but have just enough sway to promote a bit of careful thought while you take aim.”

Battlefield 6 is currently in the middle of its first season of post-launch content, including new maps and modes, while the RedSec Battle Royale mode is also available as a standalone free-to-play game. Given how successful the game has been for EA, you can likely expect new seasonal updates well into the future.

EA and Battlefield Studios have also recently launched the first Battlefield 6 free trial week, giving new players on PC, PS5 and Xbox the chance to try Season 1 multiplayer maps and modes from November 25, at 4 a.m. PT / 7 a.m. ET to December 2 at 4 a.m. PT / 7 a.m. ET.

Should You Wait for Black Friday on Nov. 28?

Not for deals like this. Black Friday might come with a few surprises of its own, but today, Battlefield 6 for just $35 is a Black Friday quality deal, and well worth snapping up before it goes out of stock.

Only Amazon has the deal right now, so if the deal gets nuked, then I’m afraid it’ll be Black Friday FOMO for you. Fingers crossed Walmart and Best Buy price match it soon. Apologies for the tough love, but if BF6 has been on your wishlist, this is the best possible deal we’re getting, and blows any other deals out of the water.

It’s such a good offer, it properly rivals my previous best PS5 game deal recommendation in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater for $30 at Amazon and Walmart. Just like BF6, that’s likely to sell out fast as well. Snag both as soon as you can, and have a great Thanksgiving.

Robert Anderson is Senior Commerce Editor and IGN’s resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter/X or Bluesky.

World of Warcraft’s Midnight expansion releases in March, bringing Voidstorm plague on all the new houses

World of Warcraft‘s Midnight expansion finally has a full release date. It’ll arrive on March 2nd, 2026, setting in stone the new player housing that’s debuting in early access this December and bringing forth the bunch of other changes planned alongside its main invasion storyline.

That list of changes includes the introduction of a new premium currency call Hearthsteel, which you’ll need top use to buy a “small fraction” of the house-related bits and bobs being added in with Midnight. Why? Reasons, Blizzard have said.

Publisher Paradox Interactive has today taken the blame for the poor sales of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2.

The long in development sequel launched in October and was met with a ‘mixed’ Steam user review response, with fans saying it failed to meet the expectations they had for the sequel to Troika’s 2004 cult classic Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. IGN’s Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 review returned a 7/10. We said: “Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 takes another flawed but unique and remarkable bite at the jugular, with plenty to love and loathe alike, but I certainly enjoyed my time as an elder vampire at the very least.”

Now, after 30 days on sale, Paradox has issued a note to financial markets signalling a write-down valued at 355 million SEK (approx. $37 million) of capitalized development costs for Bloodlines 2. This write-down, Paradox said, was based on an updated sales forecast now it has had a month to look at Bloodlines’ commercial performance.

Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive, said the blame for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2’s failure lay at the publisher’s door, not that of The Chinese Room, which had been drafted in to save the project after years of development hell.

“Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is a strong vampire fantasy and we are pleased with the developers’ work on the game,” Wester said.

“We’ve had high expectations for a long time, since we saw that it was a good game with a strong IP in a genre with a broad appeal. A month after release we can sadly see that sales do not match our projections, which necessitates the write-down. The responsibility lies fully with us as the publisher. The game is outside of our core areas, in hindsight it is clear that this has made it difficult for us to gauge sales. Going forward, we focus our capital to our core segments and, at the same time, we’ll evaluate how we best develop World of Darkness’ strong brand catalogue in the future.”

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has two expansions planned as part of the game’s Premium Edition, and Paradox said it remains committed to delivering them. “Our post-release plan remains firm; we will deliver updates and the promised expansions to the game in the coming year,” Wester added.

Swedish game company Paradox’s main focus is on grand strategy games, which have proven enormously successful over the years. Games such as Stellaris, Europa Universalis, Crusader Kings, and Cities: Skylines have all enjoyed big sales, and, in total, Paradox games have six million players each month.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, however, falls outside that core grand strategy genre, and always looked like it would struggle upon release. And while its development trouble began years ago, it suffered issues right up to launch. In September, a month before release, Paradox and The Chinese Room announced that the Lasombra and Toreador clans would be available in the base Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 experience following a backlash from players.

Paradox announced Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 all the way back in 2019 with then-developer Hardsuit aiming for a Q1 2020 release window. That, of course, never happened, as Paradox would go on to announce an indefinite delay alongside Hardsuit’s departure from the project. The Chinese Room was then announced as its new developer in 2023.

In a recent interview with the Goth Boss podcast, former creative director Dan Pinchbeck said the development team tried to work out how to get Paradox to not call the game Bloodlines 2.

“The tricky question around it was Bloodlines 1,” Pinchbeck said. “Are you making a sequel to Bloodlines 1? We used to sit there and have these planning sessions of how do we get them to not call it Bloodlines 2? That feels like the most important thing we do here, to come at this and say this isn’t Bloodlines 2. We can’t make Bloodlines 2; there’s not enough time, there’s not enough money.”

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Minecraft’s Final Game Drop Of 2025 Arrives Next Month

‘Mounts of Mayhem’ is almost here.

Back in September, Minecraft announced a new drop officially titled ‘Mounts of Mayhem‘. The development team has now confirmed the Bedrock Edition of the game will receive this “final game drop” of the year on 9th December 2025.

In case you missed the initial reveal, this new drop will come loaded with a new weapon (the spear), the Zombie Horse, and the Nautilus (a new mob you can tame, ride and equip with armour). There’ll also be a Zombie Nautilus.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Mega Man Star Force: Legacy Collection Has Been Rated For Switch

More Mega action in 2026.

Capcom lifted the lid on Mega Man Star Force: Legacy Collection in September, mentioning at the time how it would be arriving on the Switch at some point in 2026.

In an update, this new collection featuring multiple titles has now been rated E10+ by the ESRB, with the rating mentioning “Fantasy Violence” and “Users Interact”. Here’s the official ESRB summary in full: