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If even one of the biggest games in the world, with all the money it generates on a daily basis, is now embracing AI tools for art production, how much hope is there left? Following the end of the Zero Hour live event this weekend and the beginning of Season 7, Fortnite players have started pointing out parts of the map and in-game items that look suspiciously AI-generated. The game's main Reddit page (via Eurogamer) has now been taken over by posts debating the suspected images and items, with some accusing them of being AI and others pulling up artist defences. The two main examples people are pointing to are in-game posters. The first can be seen below, which features an animal relaxing in a hammock, with its legs dangling over the side. Its right foot has five toes, but its left foot has four. Then, an advertisement for a piece of jewelry in-game has been accused of having the trademark "AI smudge": Further, a new emote in the game uses an AI-generated song from a K-pop artist. There were accusations surrounding a new Spray that looked to have used the infamous Studio Ghibli AI filter, but the artist has come out and denied the claims. The game's Reddit page is now running a poll to gather the community's thoughts on the potential use of AI in Fortnite. So far, following more than 2,000 votes, 84% of the community thinks AI "doesn't belong in Fortnite or other video games". This follows on from the use of AI in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, where it appears AI was used to generate certain Calling Cards and art assets. At the time, Activision said it uses "a variety of digital tools, including AI tools, to empower and support our teams to create the best gaming experiences possible for our players". Epic Games founder (the developer behind Fortnite) Tim Sweeney seems in favour of the use of AI in video game development, as he's spoken publicly about storefronts dropping the sort of AI disclaimers you currently see on Steam. "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," he claimed last week. What do you make of this situation? Post your thoughts in the comments below.

If you enjoyed building simple (or complex) vehicles to solve puzzles in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, then you’ll absolutely love what PS5 open world Where Winds Meet is cooking. The game, which launched globally last month, is getting a massive update in China which will see it incorporate mechanics where you can build simple cars, boats, and aircrafts. It works similarly to Nintendo’s flagship franchise, where you combine components to construct your makeshift machines. For example, a plank of wood paired with four wheels and an engine will give you a basic car. Add steering to give yourself more manoeuvrability. You’ll be able to save builds and share them with other players, while the blueprint for a helicopter-type aircraft known as the Flying Chicken will serve as the mode’s tutorial, and will be given to all players for free. We must stress that Where Winds Meet has been available in China for over a year now, so the global servers you’re likely to be playing on are many months behind. That means you shouldn’t expect this feature to roll out globally for quite some time. The good news is that dev Everstone Studios should have ample time to test out the feature and refine it, meaning we should hopefully get a more polished version of the system when it eventually releases overseas. As an aside, the mobile edition of Where Winds Meet is scheduled to release on 12th December will full crossplay across all platforms. Pre-load is available on iOS and Android now. Furthermore, the wuxia outing has now attracted nine million players across all platforms in just two weeks, making it another incredible success story.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection has been a pretty steady Steam performer since it was introduced to the platform back in 2019; especially over the last three or four years where it regularly hits about 10k concurrent players at peak times. Over this past weekend though, the collection peaked a little higher than usual; hitting a Steam player count not seen since late 2021. Yep, over the weekend, Halo: MCC surpassed 12k players on Steam for the first time since December 2021. To be specific, the title brought in 12,306 players on Sunday, November 30th - in what's turned out to be the game's most popular day on the platform in almost four years. The game is currently discounted pretty heavily as part of the Steam Black Friday sale, which may have contributed to this. Of course, this isn't a huge increase on the norm, but it is interesting to see the game hit this 3-4 year high over the weekend. Halo Infinite recently got its final major update, so maybe some of those players are moving over to MCC now? Maybe it simply had a small bump from that Black Friday sale we mentioned? Either way, the collection enjoyed a successful weekend it seems. If you'd like to take a look at what's included in said final Halo Infinite update, we'll chuck a link to that news down below, alongside last year's feature on how Halo: MCC has turned things around massively since 2014. It's been quite the decade for Xbox's big Halo collection!

At the end of last week, the developers beyond the critically panned MindsEye released Update 6 for the game, adding "enhanced gameplay" alongside a Free Starter Pack that means anyone can now try it for free on multiple platforms. Specifically, the MindsEye Free Starter Pack features the Robin Hood campaign mission along with 14 ARCADIA missions, and it'll be updated regularly with new ways to play. To access it on Xbox, you'll need to find the MindsEye page on the Xbox Store and then look for the "free trial" button. MindsEye (Xbox Store) In terms of Update 6, you can see some Xbox Series X footage below which shows how the game unfortunately still runs at 30FPS even to this day, but remains a good-looking title and is certainly less buggy than it was at launch. And you know what? I personally quite like MindsEye. There's fun to be had here with the free trial at least, and it's dropped to as low as £10 at some retailers here in the UK, while it's also half price in the Xbox Black Friday Sale 2025. I'm not saying you definitely should buy it, but I also don't think it's as bad as everyone says!

It's been quite an underwhelming Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025 from a console perspective for Xbox fans, with just a few small discounts scattered around for the two systems, but that's still managed to make some people happy! Over on the Xbox subreddit, there are a few people showing off their new Series X and Series S purchases, although it's unclear what specific deals they've taken advantage of here. As mentioned last week, many of the Black Friday deals were in the UK, although we spotted a handful (including refurbished models) in the US. Here's a look at two of those posts from over the weekend: Beyond consoles, we've also seen a lot of deals for Xbox controllers over the past few days, both directly on the Microsoft Store and at other retailers. As a result, it seems a fair few people have been picking up some new pads! Xbox Design Lab seems to have been popular as well, especially thanks to its free engraving offer. And of course, there are other deals dotted around for things like Xbox Expansion Cards (although nothing too impressive there) and physical games, as well as the big digital Xbox Black Friday Sale 2025 that ends later this week. So, have you been grabbing anything in the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales for 2025? Is it just games for you, or perhaps a controller or even a console? We'd love to hear about your purchases down in the comments.

Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft’s flagship series, has delivered two decades of time-hopping adventure. Over the years, it has spawned a glut of expansions and spin-offs, building a franchise with a legion of faithful fans. Moving away from the Hitman-like structure of working through a target list, the series reinvented itself and shifted into gigantic open-world sandboxes filled with light RPG elements and enough quests to keep you busy until the next instalment arrived. Shadows, which launched on other platforms in March, landed at a moment of truth for the franchise. Mirage received a lukewarm reception, and confidence in Ubisoft’s output has been fading. Finally unsheathing the long-requested feudal Japanese setting felt like a Hail Mary, and for the most part, it works. This is one of the most engrossing worlds the series has created, supported by two engaging and wildly different protagonists who are a joy to play as. Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked) This instalment also marks the first time the new(est) mainline title has been released on a Nintendo console since Black Flag on Wii U back in the bygone age of 2013. It’s a huge game, a technical powerhouse, competing with Cyberpunk for the opportunity to make your Switch 2 really sweat. It’s worth noting early on that performance and general visual presentation are solid, with some caveats, but more on that later. Taking place at the tail end of the Sengoku period, Shadows tracks two parallel journeys across the Kansai region of Japan. Though shaped by the machinations of Nobunaga Oda, a pivotal figure in Japanese history, the story is a familiar revenge tale. Driven to recover a mysterious family heirloom and avenge her father, Naoe hunts down the Onryo, a masked clan of villains. Meanwhile, the Mozambican slave turned samurai Yasuke serves under Nobunaga and struggles through a life of self-discovery and moral conflict. Their paths eventually cross, and the two become allies, hunting down the corrupting forces spreading across the land and taking down the Onryo one mask at a time. The Animus element has been pushed far into the background of the series of late, although there is still an overarching mystery involving an omniscient voice, who occasionally reminded me that I was controlling someone who was, in turn, controlling Naoe and Yasuke. Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked) The hook that separates Shadows from other titles in the series is the stark mechanical differences between its dual heroes. Naoe is your traditional assassin type, athletic, sneaky, and equipped with the traditional hidden blade. Sneaking through shadows (light sources can be snuffed out for better stealth), clambering across rooftops and utilising tools to escape combat, this is Naoe’s bread and butter. Yasuke, on the other hand, is essentially a walking brick wall. He’s an armour-clad brute who smashes through gates, dominates groups of enemies in a fight and has the loudest methods of offence. Unlike Syndicate, the series' last stab at swappable protagonists, these characters never have parity. They remain two distinct playstyles and expansive upgrade trees only broaden the gulf between them. Given his size, Yasuke is incapable of most stealth and traversal options, comically falling through tightropes and crashing to the ground during leaps of faith. Conversely, Naoe doesn't last long in fights with multiple enemies, favouring hidden blade kills and misdirection. Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked) Some quests are meant for either Yasuke or Naoe, and long stretches of the story lock you into one specific character. For the most part, though, you are free to cycle between them. This contrast adds a sense of variety and choice that the series hasn't really had before. It’s engaging to look at an enemy outpost and decide on the sneaky approach or the one-man army raid. Combat is also pleasingly versatile, with both protagonists having several main weapon and projectile choices. Highlights include Naoe’s Kusarigama moveset and Yasuke’s Teppo build (long guns and explosives). Outside of weaponry, there’s a mountain of gear to be collected, upgraded and cosmetic-swapped. There is, of course, a microtransaction store for ever more elaborate gear, but this can be ignored. Establishing a rhythm with both characters is easy because you’re going to spend a lot of time with them. Modern Assassin's Creed games are overflowing with activities scattered across their expansive maps. You get a titanic main quest that can easily take 80 to 100 hours to finish, along with hundreds of side quests, including Animus quests that refresh endlessly. Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked) There are many more organisations to dismantle outside the Onryo, new ones popping up on your objective board almost constantly. If you want to dive deep into a single game for a couple of hundred hours, Shadows is built for that kind of time sink. Still, it all feels a bit stretched. Many quests boil down to long treks across the map to speak with an NPC, followed by another trek back to the quest giver so you can start the next errand. There are plenty of activities that try to break up the repetition, including a painting minigame with cute animals and a fun but shallow base-building mechanic, also with cute animals. Even so, I still find myself longing for the simplicity of Altair and Ezio’s adventures. But what of performance? How does this, a uniquely tailored current-gen experience, play on Switch 2? The short answer is mostly good. Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked) Ubisoft has been uncharacteristically transparent about how Shadows has been tuned to run on Nintendo’s hardware. Much like the exemplary port of Cyberpunk 2077, Shadows uses DLSS for upscaling and VRR to maintain stable frames in undocked mode. Visual sacrifices have been made to the game's detailing to preserve stability. Players familiar with other versions will notice the difference, yet it remains an impressive-looking game. Some of the character models can look a bit waxen in dialogue scenes and occasionally texture issues blight the environment, but these issues aren't too frequent. Busy population centres like Osaka can cause the frame rate to dip below its 30fps target, and that becomes far more noticeable when undocked. You spend a lot of time moving through areas packed with NPCs, so this lack of stability stands out. Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked) Combat with multiple enemies, which is a staple of playing as Yasuke, holds up better even when smoke and explosions fill the screen. Sneaking around as Naoe relies on the spatial awareness that a smooth camera provides, and that is never an issue here. For the most part, Shadows is an admirable port of a graphical powerhouse. I cast my mind back to 2017, when I played DOOM on Switch and was astonished at how well it had been optimised for the underpowered console. Shadows on Switch 2 feels like a colossal achievement, only slightly reduced by moments when it strains under the pressure of the handheld console's capabilities. This technical ambition is most evident when taking in the rich design of the open world. Racing through the Kansai countryside while the wind kicks up leaves and ground clutter around your horse feels richly atmospheric. The amount of colour and detail on display is staggering at times. Seasonal changes add to the natural splendour even more, creating ever-shifting biomes. Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked) Touch controls are included, but only for menus and the base builder, and mouse controls are sadly missing. There is a useful Ubisoft Connect feature that lets you carry your progression across consoles. The Switch 2 version comes with all patched-in content that is already available on other systems. The Claws of Awaji expansion is not bundled, although it will be available to purchase separately in February. ConclusionOutside of the technical ups and downs of its transition to Switch 2, Assassin's Creed Shadows remains a thoroughly enjoyable refresh for the series. Taking its most captivating open world to date and offering two distinct playstyles, it goes a long way toward appeasing current franchise fans while nurturing a new generation of assassins, presenting a huge, intricately crafted depiction of feudal Japan and giving you enjoyable dual protagonists to usher you through it. Shadows isn't a perfect port, then, but it’s still a colossal achievement and one of the best-looking games on Nintendo’s console.

Limited Run Games announced Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return Special Edition way back in June 2024, and while a good chunk of time has passed us by since then (including a rather buggy release of its platforming predecessor), the release date is almost upon us! Tomba 2 will arrive on the Switch eShop on 15th December for $19.99 (or your regional equivalent), marking the first time that the 3D PlayStation platformer has been available on Nintendo systems. For those who didn't try this one out in the early 2000s, Tomba 2 took the same jungle platforming precedent as the first game in the series, but moved things into the wonderful world of 3D. With the now-chiselled Tomba given an extra dimension to play with, the game packed in new weapons and power-up costumes on top of a huge number of fresh missions and events. This Switch 'Special Edition' throws in a museum gallery mode, and the chance to rewind and save at any time, so while the polygonal visuals remain, there are at least some ways to get around the game's less favourable nostalgic elements. Here's a rundown of the new release's key features and a handful of screenshots: Images: Limited Run Games While the original Tomba would go on to be a perfectly acceptable slice of throwback platforming on Switch, it launched in such a state that some of us found it essentially unplayable on the hybrid console. Let's hope that things get off to a smoother start with its sequel.

Has it really been eight entire years? Yes, it really actually has, so sit up and pay attention at the back. Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which as every Xenoblade nerd worth their salt knows is actually the third game released in the series, dropped into existence on this very day back in 2017, and it's a bit good. We gave it a well-deserved 9/10 in our review, so it's a bona fide banger as officially ordained by the bona fide banger squad™. To celebrate this eighth birthday (they get big so quickly these days), Monolith Soft has been sharing a lovely bit of artwork over on its social media. Which is great. For reference, here's the Google translation: Yes, happy birthday. Very good. Now pulls out ice-cream machine gun make with the Switch 2 version, wiseguys. Come on. Open your jackets, show us the goods. Where is it? Unfortunately, it seems this writer's dream of an all-new, 60fps, 4K, enhanced-graphics, 100%-more-volumetrics-version of XC2 especially for Switch 2 might have to wait just a little bit longer. Unless they drop it later today (there's still time!). Indeed, as much as we're just having a bit of birthday banter, it has been something that's been asked for repeatedly and rather loudly from franchise fans since Nintendo's new console dropped. With so many games getting boosts from the Switch 2, you may have hoped this epic action-RPG might have brute-forced itself into a better situation, even without an official upgrade. However, unlike Disaster Report 4, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, and a whole bunch of other games that got nice free boosts on the Switch 2, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, whilst a little more stable in its 30fps now, still suffers from issues and hasn't benefited in any meaningful way. It's still a gorgeous, absolutely must-play thing, make no mistake, but it feels like it could be more. This is a series, too, that really does tend to sing extra-specially loudly when it's unshackled from any technical limitations. We've all seen how improved the first game and Xenoblade Chronicles X have been in their revamped, Definitive forms. So it stands to reason that we're all chomping at the bit to see Alrest and the Driver of the Aegis looking and feeling their best in a Switch 2 upgrade of some sort. Anyway, in the meantime, happy 8th birthday, Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Enjoy your day. Just don't come down here dressed like that for your 10th.

A PS2 on-rails shooter game based on the popular manga/anime series Gunslinger Girl is set to get a fan translation from the translation team at Hilltop Works, allowing players to experience the title with English subtitles. Gunslinger Girl, in case you're unfamiliar with it, originally started life as a manga that was serialized inside the shōnen magazine Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh in 2002, and was later adapted into two different anime series named Gunslinger Girl and Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino-. It was created by the Japanese author Yu Aida and had a story that focused on an agency based in Italy, which masquerades as a rehabilitation centre for young girls who have experienced traumatic injuries, but is secretly modifying its patients to act as a covert anti-terrorism unit. The star of the piece is a young girl named Henrietta, who is the only survivor of a fatal attack on her family, who is later brainwashed, given a prosthetic body, and ordered to carry out the agency's orders. The video game adaptation was released in 2004 and was developed by Dimps. It was published by Bandai and Marvellous Entertainment in three volumes, exclusively in Japan, with each of these volumes featuring an extra disc containing episodes from the show. Something interesting to note is that this is actually one of three projects Hilltop Works is currently working on behind the scenes, with the team having previously announced translation projects for the WonderSwan title Cardcaptor Sakura and the PS2 title Rowdy Princess. Each of the three titles has a different translator assigned to the project, with SnowyAria being the person assigned to handle Gunslinger Girl's translation, while Hilltop himself is handling the programming side of things. If you're interested, you can follow the project's progress on Hilltop Works' Patreon account.

Takenobu Mitsuyoshi is famous for his vocal contributions to classic Sega titles like Daytona USA and Sega Rally Championship, and has revealed to Time Extension contributor Ollie Barder that his legendary career as "the guy who sings" happened almost by accident. In a new interview with Forbes, Mitsuyoshi talks about how he joined Sega and how he secured his position in video game history thanks to his unique contribution to 1994's Daytona USA. "I think the turning point was probably when I implemented my own singing in Daytona USA," he says. "To be honest, up until then, I had never thought of my voice, my singing, or even the title 'vocalist' as something that could stand on its own as a job, or something I should try to make into one. At that time, we were tasked with creating a driving game that would surpass a rival title in every possible way, and it was simply that we saw only one option: to add vocals." Mitsuyoshi's voice is what you hear on Daytona USA's iconic tracks, with examples like 'Let's Go Away', 'King of Speed' and 'Sky High' becoming part of Sega folklore. At any other company, someone might have stepped in and suggested that Mitsuyoshi's placeholder vocal parts be re-recorded by a professional singer before the game was deployed in arcades all over the world, but thankfully, that didn't happen. "When I made that choice, it never even crossed my mind to bring in another singer," he explains. "So once the prototype of Let’s Go Away was implemented, my voice was recorded as data on the game board, and eventually it crossed oceans and reached the ears of players all over the world. I had no idea that would happen. But from that point on, people around me gradually began to see me as 'the guy who sings.'" Mitsuyoshi's status was cemented further when Yu Suzuki launched his second 3D fighting game: Daytona USA is just one of Mitsuyoshi's memorable outings as a singer; he's also responsible for the famous "Game Over, Yeah" jingle found in 1995's Sega Rally Championship – a vocal clip which keeps surprising him to this day:

We have some good news for English fans of Bandai Namco's Idolmaster series. A new fan translation patch is currently in the works for The Idolmaster SP, the 2009 entry in the idol raising simulation/rhythm series for the PlayStation Portable. The new patch covers the game's three separate releases — Perfect Sun, Missing Moon, and Wandering Star — each of which came on a separate disc and featured a different set of idols — and will mark the first time the game has received a full English fan translation, building on the partial translations that were previously released between 2009 - 2014 by TLWiki. It is the work of a team that includes BonillaP and Soutaisei/相対性 and, according to the project's website, will feature translated dialogue for the idols that were previously left unfinished in TLWiki's translations. This includes Wandering Star's Ami & Mami Futami, and Missing Moon's Azusa and Ritsuko. That's not all, either, as the team has also stated it plans to translate the various in-game e-mails from reporters, stylists, and fans, as well as other parts of the game previously left untouched. The patch is expected to be released this Winter, and will be available to download from the project's website, which is where you'll also find updates on its progress. You can watch a trailer for the upcoming patch below:

Gregg Mayles recently announced his departure from Rare after 36 years, which means the brains behind such classics as Battletoads, Donkey Kong Country and Banjo-Kazooie is no longer with the legendary British studio. While he's very much focused on his future, Mayles is equally keen to promote his past, and has been digging into his personal archives to unearth material related to Banjo-Tooie, which recently celebrated its 25th birthday. Among the paperwork you'll find scripts, unfilmed TV commercials, lost special moves, maps and unused abilities, but the item that made me smile the most was a fax from Nintendo's Japanese HQ which cleared the game for release in that region. The author of the fax was none other than Shigeru Miyamoto himself, who has written in English, 'Splendid game' – along with a smiley face giving the all-important thumbs up. I now have a vision in my head of Miyamoto adding personalised messages to all of the approval faxes which emanated from NCL's offices. We certainly lost something in the move to email, if you ask me. I'm sure Mayles will be showing off more material related to the game, so be sure to follow him on social media.

Edia has announced another compilation of Telenet Japan games. This time, focusing primarily on Wolf Team's Zan series of Japanese-set simulation titles, which see players stepping into the role of a warlord tasked with commanding an army around a battlefield (thanks, Gematsu, for the spot!). In the past, the collection of games has regularly been likened to Koei's Nobunaga's Ambition series of strategy games, and typically shares a similar focus on military affairs, such as arranging your troops into formations, gathering intelligence, and handling other aspects of war. The series first debuted back in 1989 with the release of Zan: Kagerō no Toki on the PC-98 and Sharp X68000, and was later ported to the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² in 1991. It has also received a handful of sequels and spin-offs over the years, including titles for everything from the Sega Game Gear to the Super Famicom and Sega Mega Drive. Image: Edia This new collection, however, only includes three games in total, all of which were previously released for the Super Famicom. These include Zan II: Spirits (May 29, 1992; Super Famicom), Zan III: Spirits (March 11, 1994, Super Famicom), and Sangokushi Seishi: Tenbu Spirits (June 25, 1993; Super Famicom). The first two games are set in Japan, while the third game is a spin-off based in the Three Kingdoms era of ancient China, and is heavily influenced by the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The collection, which has been announced for Nintendo Switch, will launch in Japan next year on March 12, 2026, and will cost 6,800 yen (7,480 yen with tax), with a special edition (featuring a soundtrack CD and artbook) also being offered for 9,800 yen (10,780 yen with tax). If we had to guess, the likelihood of this coming to the West is pretty slim, but we're glad to see more Super Famicom games being brought back and given another opportunity to find a greater audience.