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From Summer Games Done Quick, here’s a 15-minute run of Rail Heist, one game from the massive game collection UFO 50. Can’t ask for much more from this one: I learned about a game I hadn’t played before, the runner does some cool tech, and there are some unexpected shenanigans.
BTW, if you see any other runs I should highlight, let me know? I’ll probably post a few more during the event, which is happening now.
The gen AI psyop known as Tilly Norwood is reportedly going to be in a movie produced by Particle 6. Put more plainly: the company that created Tilly Norwood in the first place is making an elaborate commercial about one of its products.
[Los Angeles Times]
In hopes of winning its ongoing legal battle with Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. Discovery Midjourney is trying to force the studios to reveal the extent to which they use artificial intelligence internally. This would establish whether “they are doing exactly what they are suing Midjourney for doing.”
One Piece, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Beef, and The Night Agent have experienced big season 2 slumps, with some losing up to 70 percent of their audience, according to Bloomberg.
Netflix is reportedly trying to figure out the reason for the dip, which The Guardian has linked to the streamer’s binge-release model and a focus on subscriber growth. What do you think is contributing to the dropoff?
The total number of jobs impacted “could be as much as half the development team,” and a community manager has already shared that the game’s roadmaps “will be shifting,” according to Kotaku.
There are currently more than 13,000 people in-game just on Steam, SteamDB says — and since it’s also on PlayStation and Xbox, the total number is likely higher — so any changes to the game’s development will affect a not-insignificant number of players.
That’s no secret, and the demise of physical media isn’t helping things. Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa recently reiterated this sentiment during a shareholders meeting, explaining that “there are certain challenges in preserving and exhibiting past games as they are, particularly in keeping them in a playable state.“
Its founders insist the event platform offers a simple service for free. But in a time when users are aware of privacy and surveillance, Partiful has to prove it’s not too good to be true.
Trump has injected himself into Netflix’s business dealings, intervened in the antitrust case against Ticketmaster, and turned the FCC into his attack dog. Now he’s reportedly sullied the beautiful game by pressuring FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the suspension of the United States’ top scorer, Folarin Balogun.
[The New York Times]
Catch the event over the next week on Twitch, though my preferred way to watch is to catch VODs after the fact on YouTube.
You can browse the whole schedule on the GDQ website. This year, there’s even a pinball showcase.
[Games Done Quick]
Major changes are looming for Microsoft’s gaming division after years of bad decisions.
The landmark James Cameron blockbuster turns 35 this year. It’s easy to forget sometimes how difficult it must have been for ILM to solve the problems posed by early ‘90s CGI, develop new technologies, and scale up to the over 100 CG shots required by T2.
Fresh off a surprise appearance at this year’s WWDC, the Brooklyn-born rapper and producer is ready to explore new sounds.
Readers are scrambling to develop ways to detect whether generative AI was used to write fanworks. The results are questionable.
For the 35th anniversary of the film, several founding members of ILM’s CG department got together to discuss the technical challenges of creating Terminator 2’s memorable liquid metal T-1000 character. For a more in-depth look at the film’s effects, check out the Light & Magic documentary on Disney Plus.
As cute as baby Yoda may be, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was released when I was just an impressionable little boy so Lego’s new 1,226-piece Ideas set has me feeling nostalgic. Launching on August 1st for $139.99, Lego’s E.T. has a moving head and limbs while pushing a button makes the alien’s chest glow red.
What’s in, what’s out, and what’s a bit of both this summer.
Technically, the 4K remaster already got a one-day IMAX screening in September 2020 and you can buy it on disc, but it’s finally coming back to US and Canadian theaters on September 4th, 2026. Few animated films have ever been so influential; countless works have paid homage to the Akira slide alone.
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Check out this video tour of Panic’s demo showroom for Big Walk, its next game, at the company’s offices in Portland. I got to see this for my preview, and it was delightful.
If you want to check out the experience for yourself, Panic is taking signups now for July 7th through August 4th, which is Big Walk’s release date.
Capcom is pushing up the launch of Onimusha: Way of the Sword to September 4th, up from the previously-planned September 25th. That moves the game out of the way of Control Resonant (September 24th) and Silent Hill: Townfall (September 25th) — and even farther ahead of Grand Theft Auto VI in November.
The app, which allows you to track the shows and movies you’re watching, will no longer be available starting July 15th. In an update on its support page, TV Time’s developers say operating the free app “was no longer sustainable,” and that “there was not enough demand for a paid app.”
The team behind Silo talks about managing the series as it gets even bigger in season 3.
The file-sharing app launched 25 years ago and unleashed a wave of piracy that would shake Hollywood to its core.
Apple is teasing its upcoming Neuromancer adaptation, which means we might be getting a trailer for the cyberpunk series — or maybe even a premiere date — in the near future.
Been thinking about it today for some reason.
I’ve been playing a lot of Mario Kart World recently, so for me, the new routes in the 1.7.0 update are arriving at the perfect time.
Next up: hopefully more alternate outfits for Donkey Kong, who somehow only has one? And maybe an improved Grand Prix mode?
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Good news for those of you who didn’t catch Project Hail Mary in theaters — it’ll finally be available to stream on Prime Video on July 3rd. Unless you have something better to be doing this weekend…
In an interview with French media outlet PSI, former SIE Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden said bringing Sony exclusives to PC was always about expanding title visability beyond PlayStation consoles, and wasn’t a money-making strategy:
I think if someone’s waiting 18 months for something to come on PC, we didn’t lose a sale to them. They weren’t going to buy the hardware anyway. If it’s a way to cover costs or the burden of making a port, there is some money attached to that, or the distraction or whatever. I don’t know what they’re thinking.”
Xbox is expected to make some tough cuts soon, and it already dropped a new franchise from IO Interactive, but OD will continue to be part of Xbox’s publishing lineup, according to IGN.
