Rick Lane
@ricklane.bsky.social
Freelance journalist, critic and consultant. Bylines at The Guardian, PC Gamer, NME, Eurogamer and more. Immersive sim geek. Contact: rick@ricklane.co.uk
Private equity strikes again 🙃.
Splash Damage places entire studio into consultation ahead of extensive layoffs: www.gamesindustry.biz/splash-damag...
Splash Damage places entire studio into consultation ahead of redundancies
Splash Damage has announced a consultation process affecting all staff at the Bromley-based studio, which will conclude…
www.gamesindustry.biz
November 26, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Private equity strikes again 🙃.
At least one person has fired up Left 4 Dead 2 off the back of my Black Ops 7 multiplayer review, so I shall sit back and await my OBE. www.rockpapershotgun.com/call-of-duty...
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 multiplayer review
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7's multiplayer is a disappointing mulch that's only marginally better than its singleplayer.
www.rockpapershotgun.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:38 PM
At least one person has fired up Left 4 Dead 2 off the back of my Black Ops 7 multiplayer review, so I shall sit back and await my OBE. www.rockpapershotgun.com/call-of-duty...
Reposted by Rick Lane
The 'bad' thing is that now you've given me hope. Hope is a dangerous thing. 🙂 I went into this fully knowing that I would never recoup. It would be my calling card, but nothing people would have ever heard of. But 100+ Steam reviews, 97% positive + ~90 Metacritic is unexpected to say the least.
November 26, 2025 at 7:13 AM
The 'bad' thing is that now you've given me hope. Hope is a dangerous thing. 🙂 I went into this fully knowing that I would never recoup. It would be my calling card, but nothing people would have ever heard of. But 100+ Steam reviews, 97% positive + ~90 Metacritic is unexpected to say the least.
Reposted by Rick Lane
A big story on EG this eve - the incredible @santaragione.com seems likely to close, after a bizarre decision from Valve to ban Horses from the platform, submit it to several unusual extra layers of scrutiny in the application process, and offer the studio no recourse to make changes or re-apply.
"It's extremely frustrating and also f*cked up" - one of the world's best indie studios is facing shock closure following confounding Steam ban
www.eurogamer.net/its-extremel...
www.eurogamer.net/its-extremel...
November 25, 2025 at 5:09 PM
A big story on EG this eve - the incredible @santaragione.com seems likely to close, after a bizarre decision from Valve to ban Horses from the platform, submit it to several unusual extra layers of scrutiny in the application process, and offer the studio no recourse to make changes or re-apply.
Well worth reading re: Arc Raiders, AI voices and the notion of "ethical" use of generative AI.
I saw some chat about Arc Raiders' use of AI voice actors recently - I'm probably not going to rerecord the talk I gave at EXAG but I thought I'd drop in a few slides about the idea that you can make generative AI ethical by getting people to sign a piece of paper to say you can use their data.
November 25, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Well worth reading re: Arc Raiders, AI voices and the notion of "ethical" use of generative AI.
Reposted by Rick Lane
only had a few hours with Sektori this weekend but it absolutely rocks. The way it trusts you to figure out the mechanics is a joy.
Spent one of my news tokens to gush about Sektori for PC Gamer this weekend. A must play if you're fan of Geometry Wars/pre-Returnal Housemarque/Tetris Effect www.pcgamer.com/games/action...
This roguelike take on Geometry Wars is the best game I've played this month, and the latest to become a permanent fixture on my Steam Deck
Sektori is a blistering kaleidoscopic nightmare.
www.pcgamer.com
November 23, 2025 at 7:20 PM
only had a few hours with Sektori this weekend but it absolutely rocks. The way it trusts you to figure out the mechanics is a joy.
A terrible collision involving a literature degree and PCZone magazine.
November 23, 2025 at 4:57 PM
A terrible collision involving a literature degree and PCZone magazine.
Spent one of my news tokens to gush about Sektori for PC Gamer this weekend. A must play if you're fan of Geometry Wars/pre-Returnal Housemarque/Tetris Effect www.pcgamer.com/games/action...
This roguelike take on Geometry Wars is the best game I've played this month, and the latest to become a permanent fixture on my Steam Deck
Sektori is a blistering kaleidoscopic nightmare.
www.pcgamer.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Spent one of my news tokens to gush about Sektori for PC Gamer this weekend. A must play if you're fan of Geometry Wars/pre-Returnal Housemarque/Tetris Effect www.pcgamer.com/games/action...
Reposted by Rick Lane
Things move quickly in politics. The idea of a Sunday broadsheet dedicating it's entire front page to @greenparty.org.uk is huge, and let's be honest, a sign of changing times.
People are sitting up and noticing @zackpolanski.bsky.social
join.greenparty.org.uk
People are sitting up and noticing @zackpolanski.bsky.social
join.greenparty.org.uk
November 23, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Things move quickly in politics. The idea of a Sunday broadsheet dedicating it's entire front page to @greenparty.org.uk is huge, and let's be honest, a sign of changing times.
People are sitting up and noticing @zackpolanski.bsky.social
join.greenparty.org.uk
People are sitting up and noticing @zackpolanski.bsky.social
join.greenparty.org.uk
Reposted by Rick Lane
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Played a little Total Chaos before bed. Bad idea. Extremely promising, though. Love how you can still see the Doom DNA in it.
November 20, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Played a little Total Chaos before bed. Bad idea. Extremely promising, though. Love how you can still see the Doom DNA in it.
One of the most depressing things I've ever read. www.theguardian.com/education/20...
‘We could have asked ChatGPT’: students fight back over course taught by AI
Staffordshire students say signs material was AI-generated included suspicious file names and rogue voiceover accent
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:13 PM
One of the most depressing things I've ever read. www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Reposted by Rick Lane
What happens in the video game world often happens in the wider world later - which is why anyone interested in the impact of AI should be looking at what's happening in games right now. We're seeing lines being drawn about what is and isn't culturally acceptable
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...
How generative AI in Arc Raiders started a scrap over the gaming industry’s future
The use of AI in the surprise game-of-the-year contender has sparked a heated cultural and ethical debate, and raised existential questions for video game workers
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:18 PM
What happens in the video game world often happens in the wider world later - which is why anyone interested in the impact of AI should be looking at what's happening in games right now. We're seeing lines being drawn about what is and isn't culturally acceptable
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...
Since Half-Life 3 might (almost certainly won't) be announced today, here's a long, LONG feature I wrote a while back for @pcgamer.com about the un-history of the game so far. www.pcgamer.com/half-life-3-...
Half-Life 3: The complete history of the greatest game never made
The rumours, rhetoric, and running out of hope.
www.pcgamer.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Since Half-Life 3 might (almost certainly won't) be announced today, here's a long, LONG feature I wrote a while back for @pcgamer.com about the un-history of the game so far. www.pcgamer.com/half-life-3-...
Rewatching the Half-Life: Alyx trailer just to feel something.
November 19, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Rewatching the Half-Life: Alyx trailer just to feel something.
Ah, a Hieronymus Botched.
This mural has gone up in Kingston, ostensibly for Christmas but AI has ensured it's actually to celebrate the return of our dark lord Cthulhu
November 18, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Ah, a Hieronymus Botched.
So Sektori is out - basically roguelike Geometry Wars. I took an early code on holiday with me in October and played nothing else for the whole week. Utterly electrifying. store.steampowered.com/app/2105620/...
Sektori on Steam
Sektori is an intense, fast paced twin-stick shooter infused with hard hitting techno music. A game where the high-adrenaline gameplay, visuals, and music come together to transport you into another s...
store.steampowered.com
November 18, 2025 at 9:38 AM
So Sektori is out - basically roguelike Geometry Wars. I took an early code on holiday with me in October and played nothing else for the whole week. Utterly electrifying. store.steampowered.com/app/2105620/...
Reposted by Rick Lane
Spent the weekend reviewing Black Ops 7's campaign and hooooo boy it's a stinker. www.rockpapershotgun.com/call-of-duty...
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 campaign review
Jumped-up dream sequences, a repurposed multiplayer map, and poorly implemented co-op make Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's campaign a contender for the worst yet.
www.rockpapershotgun.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Spent the weekend reviewing Black Ops 7's campaign and hooooo boy it's a stinker. www.rockpapershotgun.com/call-of-duty...
Spent the weekend reviewing Black Ops 7's campaign and hooooo boy it's a stinker. www.rockpapershotgun.com/call-of-duty...
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 campaign review
Jumped-up dream sequences, a repurposed multiplayer map, and poorly implemented co-op make Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's campaign a contender for the worst yet.
www.rockpapershotgun.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Spent the weekend reviewing Black Ops 7's campaign and hooooo boy it's a stinker. www.rockpapershotgun.com/call-of-duty...
Showed this to my partner and it was like she was taking the Gom Jabbar test.
November 16, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Showed this to my partner and it was like she was taking the Gom Jabbar test.
Reposted by Rick Lane
steam is apparently allowing "this game had AI in it that it didn't disclose" as a valid return statement, so if you or anyone you know actually paid $70 for slop, get that money back
Insulting to the players, insulting to the IP, insulting to the medium, the developers. And the craft itself. Fuck you executives who pushed this garbage.
frvr.com/blog/call-of...
frvr.com/blog/call-of...
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is littered with AI art slop, because your $70 means nothing anymore
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is littered with AI generated artwork which makes the $70 feel like a complete rip-off.
frvr.com
November 15, 2025 at 9:10 AM
steam is apparently allowing "this game had AI in it that it didn't disclose" as a valid return statement, so if you or anyone you know actually paid $70 for slop, get that money back
Reposted by Rick Lane
Kotaku wants to get in touch with developers about how AI is being used in your studio.
You can contact our tips hotline tips@kotaku.com or my secure email at ethangach@protonmail.com
We'll keep your identity protected and anonymize info so it's not traced back to you.
You can contact our tips hotline tips@kotaku.com or my secure email at ethangach@protonmail.com
We'll keep your identity protected and anonymize info so it's not traced back to you.
November 14, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Kotaku wants to get in touch with developers about how AI is being used in your studio.
You can contact our tips hotline tips@kotaku.com or my secure email at ethangach@protonmail.com
We'll keep your identity protected and anonymize info so it's not traced back to you.
You can contact our tips hotline tips@kotaku.com or my secure email at ethangach@protonmail.com
We'll keep your identity protected and anonymize info so it's not traced back to you.
Reposted by Rick Lane
My new Thief 2 Fan Mission, Reflection in Red, is out! I am very proud of this one, and it is by far my most ambitious work in the Dark Engine to date. www.ttlg.com/forums/showt...
November 14, 2025 at 6:13 PM
My new Thief 2 Fan Mission, Reflection in Red, is out! I am very proud of this one, and it is by far my most ambitious work in the Dark Engine to date. www.ttlg.com/forums/showt...
Thing about using gen AI in your game - to adapt an analogy recently used in argument against me - is it's like having a rotting corpse in your house. The house itself may be structurally sound, but that corpse is gonna stink out the whole joint until you get rid of it.
What's pissing me off about the Anno 117 GenAI use is that this is a really great game (yes, I'm still playing it: I paid for it pre-finding out) that clearly has a lot of love and genuine craft in it.
So why screw the pooch with AI art? Is that really worth it? To piss away all that goodwill?
So why screw the pooch with AI art? Is that really worth it? To piss away all that goodwill?
November 14, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Thing about using gen AI in your game - to adapt an analogy recently used in argument against me - is it's like having a rotting corpse in your house. The house itself may be structurally sound, but that corpse is gonna stink out the whole joint until you get rid of it.