Xbox accused of using AI art to promote indie games

Palworld, the viral hit action-adventure survival title from Japanese developers Pocketpair, has taken the gaming industry by storm, climbing to the top of Steam charts and selling six million copies in just four days of release. But as the game's player count balloons, it has found itself embroiled in a plagiarism controversy, with many on the Internet pointing out alleged similarities between the designs of Palworld's creatures and those in popular Pokémon games. A user on social media platform X has gone as far as to compare in-game 3D models from both Palworld and Pokémon, claiming evidence of outright plagiarism.

Various developers have spoken out against this year's Global Game Jam (GGJ) list of diversifiers and sponsors which incudes two AI tool websites. 

Almost anything can happen in the untamed open world of Red Dead Redemption 2, including Arthur flying through the air like the God of Thunder himself thanks to a strange glitch. Just like Rockstar’s various Grand Theft Auto titles, Red Dead Redemption 2 allows players to distract themselves from the story of outlaw Arthur Morgan to engage in all kinds of entertaining side activities like hunting animals for their pelts and tracking down dangerous criminals for a hefty bounty. This in turn can open the door to wild and unexpected moments, such as one unlucky player being chased off a cliff by an angry bear.

Fans of the Like A Dragon series aren't happy about streamer Felix «xQc» Lengyel promoting Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth. The latest Like A Dragon game will release on January 26, but xQc was able to play the game early for a sponsored stream.

A Red Dead Redemption 2 player online has shared a strange clip from the game, showing off a mod that gives Arthur Morgan an army of cats. The protagonist of Red Dead Redemption 2 is never shown to have a particular affinity for cats, but this footage shows otherwise.

The Sims 4 recently released a kit focused on castle building, and a player has managed to make an incredible castle, resorting only to the items available in the base game and this new pack. The Sims 4 went free-to-play in 2022, and this made it possible for a greater number of gamers to enjoy the game. While players can enjoy dozens of features with the base game, they can also significantly diversify the type of gameplay they get access to by purchasing additional content.

Award-winning indie game Sea of Stars is set to expand its reach with a physical release in spring 2024. The surprise announcement of its boxed edition arrived some five months after Sea of Stars debuted to critical acclaim.

2023 was an excellent year for indie games, but 2024 is setting out to be an even better one thanks to the release of some hotly-anticipated titles from developers who become industry darlings with their previous titles and spiritual successors that will make this a year to remember.

The cult hit Prison Architect is getting a sequel and it's actually releasing pretty soon. The franchise follow-up launches on March 26 for PC via Steam, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5. There’s even a trailer, posted below. Of note, Prison Architect 2 brings the series to 3D, as the original was a strictly top-down affair. The sequel has a cartoonish look that’s slightly reminiscent of newer Dragon Quest games, but the gameplay is anything but a JRPG.

Lift, the new Netflix action caper starring Kevin Hart, is a roguish, high-tech heist movie about an unlikely band of desperadoes using their thieving skills to save the world. Its makers, led by director F. Gary Gray and Hart as a producer, are clearly trying to triangulate a spot somewhere between the Ocean’s movies, the Fast and Furious franchise, and Mission: Impossible. It’s tempting to say it gets about as close to those as a Hallmark movie does to a classic Meg Ryan romantic comedy, but that would be unfair to Hallmark movies. Hallmark movies have their own vibe, a soothing blandness that’s at least partially the point. Lift, like so much of Netflix’s action output, is a characterless, garish simulacrum that isn’t satisfying on any level.

WB Games hasn’t always made the best use of the DC licenses as it could have, but that certainly seems to be an area that the company wants to expand its efforts in. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is due out under a month from now, while a Wonder Woman game – which, according to Warner, is not going to be a live service experience – is also in development.

Indiana Jones And The Great Circle appears to be the title of Bethesda and Lucasfilm's new Indiana Jones game created by Wolfenstein developers MachineGames, if a recent brace of domain registrations are any indication.