AI is absolutely bloomin’ everywhere these days; doubly so if you kept an eye on CES 2026 earlier this month. There’s no getting away from it, and folks are particularly keen to see what game developers think of the whole thing.
Josef Fares, founder of Hazelight Studios and director of both Split Fiction and It Takes Two, recently caught up with Chrisopher Dring at The Game Business. The subject of AI naturally cropped up, and while Fares is keen to highlight the technology’s advantages in game development, he doesn’t see it taking over completely anytime soon, and firmly believes that having someone with a “vision or idea” for a game is vital.
Star Wars Outlaws arrives on Game Pass Ultimate today, an open-world journey through the galaxy’s darker side.
Learn about the major quality-of-life updates, including changes to stealth, new combat additions, and more.
Expand Kay’s journey in two new paid DLC packs, available as part of the Star Wars Outlaws Gold Edition, Ultimate Edition, Season Pass or for purchase individually.
Explore the underbelly of the galaxy in Star Wars Outlaws, arriving with Game Pass Ultimate today.
Since launching in 2024, the game has seen a huge number of quality-of-life tweaks, including a major update to the game’s stealth mechanics, not to mention two story expansions that introduce new locations, activities, and even well-known characters from across the Star Wars universe. That all means that the version of Outlaws joining Game Pass is bigger and better than ever.
So, if you haven’t had the chance to see the story of Kay Vess, here’s a few reasons to head off on this interstellar bounty hunting adventure today.
Explore the Galaxy’s Dark Corners
Star Wars Outlaws explores the galaxy’s underworld, and takes us to several stunning locations both iconic and never-before-seen. Whether you’re soaring through the arid sands of Toshara on the back of your speeder or skulking through the moody, frozen streets of Kijimi hunting for leads, Outlaws deftly showcases a darker side of the Star Wars universe and its inhabitants, many of whom belong to the multiple major crime syndicates operating throughout the galaxy.
Kay Vess, a survivor and a scoundrel to boot, is attuned to these surroundings and instinctively primed to seek opportunity – walking slowly through settlements and loitering in bars will alert you to new opportunities and hidden treasures, immersing you entirely in its surroundings.
Your Outlaw, Your Way
As the first truly open-world Star Wars game, Outlaws offers the opportunity to roam these areas as you’d like. Exploration leads to rewards – Treasures dotted around each planet contain extremely useful items and collectibles, from valuable intel on shady characters, upgrades for Nix and useful Sabacc tricks, as well as other salvageable trinkets you’ll be able to sell for credits.
Kay can also learn new skills for various disciplines by seeking out experts around the galaxy, which allow you to further refine your playstyle. One expert provides valuable slicer skills for a stealthier approach, while other can grant Kay new shooting abilities, weapons, and speeder upgrades for those who prefer an explosive entrance and a dramatic getaway.
You’ll also be able to shape Kay’s journey too – by choosing which Syndicates and characters to favor, and who to betray in each moment throughout the story. Gaining favor with each party leads to different benefits, but there will be consequences to every choice. This freedom in who you trust, who you betray, and how you approach every situation makes for a truly customizable adventure in Outlaws.
Stealth And Combat Updates
Star Wars Outlaws has also seen a significant change to its stealth systems since launch, giving players much more freedom in their scoundrel pursuits. Previously, some sections of the game required stealth to complete successfully, but now, you have the choice to tackle those missions any way you’d like.
If you’d prefer to talk with your blaster rather than wiggle through the air vents issuing silent takedowns, that’s a viable option now. The enemy AI has also seen detection improvements, making it easier to see when you’re about to have your cover blown by an enemy, and offering more options to smoothly retain your stealth before needing to resort to full blown combat during a mission. You can now also use your Blaster while driving your Speeder, making it easier to defend yourself from pirates and other rogues out to ruin your day.
If you’re not a stealth fan but still want to get stuck into Outlaws’ deliciously destitute world, this is the update you needed.
Two New Story Packs
Star Wars Outlaws now has two additional paid Story Packs that expand Kay’s story and ties it to threads of the wider Star Wars universe. In Wild Card, Kay is hired to infiltrate a high-stakes Sabacc tournament, where she swiftly discovers that a whole other kind of game is being played in the background. This particular Sabacc game is strictly invite-only, so Kay must find a way to earn her entry and find out what’s going on. Aboard the casino cruiser Morenia, Kay encounters notorious pilot Lando Calrissian, who offers to help her gain an upper hand in Sabacc with his expert double draw technique.
The most recent Story Pack, A Pirate’s Fortune, takes Kay and Nix on a journey to seek out lost treasure in the Khepi system. The hunt for the legendary loot will take our intrepid explorers through numerous dangerous spots, where they’ll encounter the Rokana Raiders, a pirate gang also out to steal the treasure for themselves.
In A Pirate’s Fortune, Kay and Nix pair up with Hondo Ohnaka, a pirate and fellow scoundrel who you may recognize from ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ and ‘Star Wars Rebels’. Ohnaka is down on his luck and without a crew or a ship, but his quick-wit and knowledge makes him a solid companion for Kay as they seek out lost treasure and take on rival pirate gangs together.
This DLC is designed to be enjoyed after completing Outlaws’ main campaign, so it’s a great place to hop back in, or an extra adventure to look forward to if you’re yet to jump in. Purchasing the Gold Edition, Ultimate Edition or Season Pass of Star Wars Outlaws will grant access to both packs, or Game Pass members can purchase each expansion individually.
If you’ve always wanted to see the darker, mysterious side of Star Wars through the lens of a scrappy survivor rather than a Jedi hero, Star Wars Outlaws has the goods. Hop in on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC with Game Pass today.
Experience the first-ever open world Star Wars action-adventure game and explore distinct locations across the galaxy, both iconic and new. Risk it all as scoundrel Kay Vess, seeking freedom and the means to start a new life. Fight, steal, and outwit your way through the galaxy’s crime syndicates as you join the galaxy’s most wanted.
If you’re willing to take the risk, the galaxy is full of opportunity.
DISCOVER A GALAXY OF OPPORTUNITY
Explore distinct locations with bustling cities and cantinas. Race across sprawling outdoor landscapes on your speeder. Each location brings new adventures, unique challenges, and enticing rewards if you’re willing to take the risk.
EXPERIENCE AN ORIGINAL SCOUNDREL STORY
Live the high-stakes lifestyle of an outlaw. Turn any situation to your advantage with Nix by your side: fight with your blaster, overcome enemies with stealth and gadgets, or find the right moments to distract enemies and gain the upper hand.
EMBARK ON HIGH-STAKES MISSIONS
Take on high-risk, high-reward missions from the galaxy’s crime syndicates. Steal valuable goods, infiltrate secret locations, and outwit enemies as one of the galaxy’s most wanted. Every choice you make influences your ever-changing reputation.
JUMP INTO THE PILOT SEAT
Pilot your ship, the Trailblazer, as you engage in thrilling dogfights with the Empire and other foes. Find the right opportunities to chase, evade, and attack to get the upper hand.
Offer, content, and dates subject to change.
Internet connection, Ubisoft account, Microsoft Account and Game Pass Ultimate or Core (subscriptions sold separately) required to access online multiplayer/features.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War has been in hibernation since 2017, and its most recent installment was far from universally well-received. So when King Art Games was handed the task of bringing it back, there were a lot of tricky decisions to navigate and an eager but picky fanbase to face. We recently got to chat with Creative Director Jan Theysen and Senior Game Designer Elliott Verbiest about how the team is calling the shots. (Read on or watch the video interview below.)
It was King Art’s previous game, Iron Harvest, that seemed to catch the attention of someone at Games Workshop. And it’s not too difficult to see why, if you look at its big, stompy robots.
“So we were working on Iron Harvest, our previous game, an RTS game as well,” Theysen recalled. “And that was a Kickstarter game. So we were very open about the development and we showed a lot of stuff we can do with the engine and what we do in terms of art and so on. And as someone at Games Workshop must have seen that and they basically contacted us and asked, ‘If we were doing Dawn of War 4, what would you do, basically?’ And so we made a little pitch and we sent them over our ideas and the presentation and we didn’t really hear back from them a lot. And so we basically thought, okay, that’s it, right? It’s like, cool that they asked us, basically. And then when Iron Harvest came out and was successful, they basically came back and said, ‘Okay, let’s talk about it for real.’ But you can’t really believe it, right? Yeah, well, okay, now they’re asking us, but in reality, we’re not going to make Dawn of War 4. And then slowly but surely it becomes more realistic and you don’t really dare to believe it, right? And then at some point you sign the contract and it’s like, holy… it’s there. We’re doing it.”
For many, myself included, Dawn of War was the gateway to the whole Warhammer 40K universe. And King Art hopes this next installment might be as well. It’s a sprawling and… sometimes convoluted setting, so that’s not exactly a straightforward task.
“It’s funny because we hear that a lot, right?” Theysen agreed. “And that was also one of the big things for Dawn of War 4, that a lot of people say, ‘Okay, Dawn of War, yes, that was like the first time I really interacted with Warhammer.’ And so for us, it was very important to basically make a Dawn of War 4 that is of course for fans, but also a potential entry point for someone who’s new.
“Yeah. I think I remember basically how I felt when I played Dawn of War for the first time and it was like, okay, super cool, but also I don’t understand a lot, right? But I understood enough so the game was fun. It was not like I had to know what all the different weapons do or something like that. It was more like, okay, I can figure it out. And I think that is also the approach we take for Dawn of War 4, which is basically without any prior knowledge of Warhammer, you still need to understand what the factions are about, what the units are about. You won’t understand all the different weapons and equipment and all of that, but it’s fine, you can figure it out.”
Taking the brutal, aggressive Orks as an example, the goal with the design of the whole faction is that you should naturally be able to figure out how to play without knowing a ton about their lore or having to have it spelled out for you. But those of us who have been living part of our lives in this universe for years should still have stuff to get excited about.
“We don’t really tell the players, if you play Orks, you should have a lot of units and a lot of buildings and just have this explosive expansion,” Theysen explained. “It just kind of feels natural to play that way, right? Because buildings are cheap, units are cheap, you lose a lot, so you build a lot … We make sure that even if the people don’t know what Orks are about, they can still play them correctly, basically.”
“I think that’s actually one of the main appeals for the Warhammer 40K universe is that enormous breadth and depth of things that you can potentially learn,” Verbiest added. “It’s definitely one of the things that attracted me to it was that, okay, sure, of course there is a surface level understanding of it that you can introduce to the games, for example, through a story or a campaign that kind of gets you into that world essentially. But there’s so much more to it. And I think that that promise of, hey, there’s much more going on beneath the surface, I think is what attracts so many fans to it. And I think that’s also how you can serve both fans old and new is that you introduce a story, something to help onboard players into this world, but you have enough detail and other things within that, that signal to more established, more veteran fans of the universe, hey, we are aware of this and we speak the same language. We have the same understanding here.”
Deciding what Dawn of War 4 was going to be in context of the previous entries was a judgment call all its own.
But even within the Dawn of War envelope, there are different players bringing different expectations to the table. Dawn of War 1 was more of a traditional basecraft RTS. Dawn of War 2 put the focus more on upgrading a few elite squads, almost like an RPG. And Dawn of War 3 was… well, I try not to think about it too much. But even it had its fans, apparently. So deciding what Dawn of War 4 was going to be in context of the previous entries was a judgment call all its own.
“I mean, that was definitely one of the big questions at the beginning, right?” Theysen said. “What is a Dawn of War game, right? Because Dawn of War 1 and 2, at least everybody here at the company really loves, but they’re very different games. And you can say, okay, maybe we can make a kind of best off of both of those. But we’re not sure that that actually works. And so in the end we said, okay, we have to go with one of them. And we said ultimately, okay, let’s go a little bit back to the roots, right? Let’s do Dawn of War 1, or our version or our interpretation of Dawn of War 1. Let’s see if something from Dawn of War 2 or even 3 works with that. And if it does, sure, then let’s put it in. But Dawn of War 1 was clearly our guiding star.”
“And it’s really interesting because that also informed a lot of the gameplay and design decisions that we made as well,” Verbiest elaborated. “The real time strategy genre is also something that has very different market segments or different audiences that have very different, sometimes conflicting needs. And I think that having that clarity of vision of, we want to go for Dawn of War 1 and how people felt about that definitely also informed a lot of the choices that we made as to what kind of parts of the game are we focusing on. So that’s why we have this emphasis on the campaigns as kind of like our flagship feature, as well as having all these fantastic cinematics and CGIs that we then have then to inform that story. Because that’s something that I think a lot of people were missing from the genre for quite a while.”
And storytelling is poised to be front-and-center for Dawn of War 4. While many RTSes have led with a competitive multiplayer mindset, King Art is putting a lot of emphasis on their dynamic campaigns and the single-player experience.
“Because that is like the first big decision we made was basically, okay, if we do a Dawn of War 4, we want four factions back and not only three,” Theysen continued. “And if we have four factions, we really would like to tell a story for each of the factions, right? And then all of the four campaigns have this overarching story, basically. And for us, that just felt like a natural thing we wanted to do because we like campaigns, we know that a lot of RTS players like campaigns, and so let’s really focus on that. And then we made our lives even harder because we decided, okay, let’s maybe also have the campaigns be a little bit non-linear. So there are things like, you can pick which of the Ork bosses you want to play, for example. Or there are missions that are mutually exclusive or things that you can optionally do and so on. And so for us, it’s like this: the campaign is like the heart of the whole thing and that has to work. But of course, then also we have multiplayer and we have Last Stand and so on.”
If you’re interested to hear more about the nonlinear aspects of the Ork campaign, keep an eye out for our hands-on preview later this month. Then be sure to check out all of our other Dawn of War 4 coverage as part of IGN First, including the Ork cinematic trailer. And for everything else, keep it right here on IGN.
Hytale‘s early access went live a short time ago as I write this. While plenty of folks look to have gotten in already, its devs have issued some guidance for the many others who’ve reported running into error messages or having their downloads stick.
The team lead by Hypixel co-founder Simon Collins-Laflamme who’ve swiftly resurrected the Minecraft-esque sandbox after buying the rights from Riot Games had predicted launch day might see some teething troubles due to a bottleneck of eager Hytalers, and it certainly seems those concerns weren’t misplaced.
Minecrafty fantasy sandbox Hytale will finally launch into early access today, a few months after being rescued from cancellation by Hypixel server co-founder Simon Collins-Laflamme. In development for over a decade, it’s a bid to “redefine the block-game genre” that features procedurally generated biomes and RPG-style dungeon delving. Unlike the earliest instalments of Minecraft, it will also ship with some pretty fleshed-out lore.
Daedalic has shared a “Combat Deep Dive” (above) from developer gameXcite to mark the occasion. Pre-orders are available now, and it’s also been confirmed that a demo – which is up now on Steam, PS5, and Xbox – will make its way to the Switch 2 “soon”. The demo is inspired by the pilot episode ‘Caretaker’ and contains roughly one hour of gameplay, including a guided tutorial.
The Ministry of Defense Research & Development teams have emerged from their laboratories with the latest suppression technology and spec ops fashions to bring the Helldivers a new set of gear to live out their dream of furtive expeditions on fringes of the galaxy. The Redacted Regiment Premium Warbond* will be available for acquisition on January 20!
Weapons & Stratagems
Redacted Regiment will outfit you with two primary weapons. The R-72 Censor is a mid-range precision rifle with an integrated suppressor that will ensure you’re undetectable on the battlefield. But if you need to put a few more bullets down range, you can opt for the AR-59 Suppressor, which is a fully automatic assault rifle with a non-removable suppressor.
To complete your loadout for covert reconnaissance, you can equip the P-35 Re-Educator dart-firing secondary pistol. Each round releases a chemical agent that induces delirium in organic targets and delirium-like malfunction in inorganic ones.
If stealth isn’t your tactic, you can try to go the commando route with the B/MD C4 Pack stratagem. This backpack has six adhesive C4 charges and a wireless detonator set up for either individual or simultaneous detonation–that should let you be as strategic or destructive as you like while pushing the button from a minimum safe distance.
But you might want to wage a little more unconventional warfare by diverting the enemy away from you. In that case, you’ll want the TM-01 Lure Mine, which is a throwable anti-personnel mine that will stick to surfaces and emit lights and sounds to attract nearby targets and then detonate when they’re in close proximity.
Armors, Capes, and more
Redacted Regiment comes with two armors and two capes perfect for recon roleplay. You can get the look of a real operative with the RS-89 Shadow Paragon light armor–covered in multitudinous pads and pouches to hold all your tactical EDC items–or fly under the radar with the RS–67 Null Cipher medium armor that’s coated in a radar-absorbent polymer and null-signature heat baffle to turn you into a real sensor ghost. Both armors are fitted with the Reduced Signature passive, which reduces your noise level and the range at which the enemy can detect you. The enemies of Democracy will have to get real close before they can spot you.
These pair perfectly with the Pillar of the Abyss and Triangulation Veil capes and player cards. You’ll also receive a new victory pose, Target Sighted, to let your squad know you’ve got your eye on the enemy.
The new booster, Concealed Insertion, will equip your Hellpod with a smokescreen to deploy on impact, so your dive can be on the down low.
You’ll also be able to claim a new player title, [Redacted]. Maybe you can’t share the details of your assignment, but you can let them know you’ve seen some real action.
Redacted Regiment is coming January 20, Helldivers. Get ready to infiltrate and perform a surgical strike–they’ll never see you coming.
*Requires base game, paid purchase of Super Credits, and game progression to unlock.
Games Workshop has addressed the long wait for Henry Cavill’s Warhammer 40,000 Cinematic Universe, insisting that Amazon is in control of the delivery of the adaptation.
Former Superman actor and Warhammer 40,000 lover Henry Cavill is set to star in and executive produce the live-action Warhammer 40,000 adaptation for Prime Video.
Cavill’s Warhammer 40,000 Cinematic Universe is shrouded in mystery, and Games Workshop itself has cautioned fans not to expect to see anything of it for some time. But it is now over three years since Games Workshop’s deal with Amazon was announced, and fans have yet to see anything of it, or hear anything tangible about it.
In its latest financial results (the long and short of it is that Games Workshop is doing tremendously well and making loads of money), CEO Kevin Rountree addressed the elephant in the room: just what is going on with the Amazon stuff?
“We continue to work on some exciting projects that will bring Warhammer to screens like never before,” Rountree said, keeping his cards close to his chest. “Our live action endeavour is still in development with our partners: Amazon MGM Studios, Henry Cavill and Vertigo. It is the nature of these things to take several years, and while we wish we could tie down a release the way we can with our core business, the reality is that, as with any licensing deal, delivery is not in our control. We leave it to our partners to manage their own businesses.”
That doesn’t help fans much, to be honest. But at least we know the project is still in the works and hasn’t been lost to the Warp. Fans have spent the last few years in a state of enduring excitement about the prospect of finally seeing Warhammer 40,000 brought to life in live-action form across films and TV shows — and with Cavill steering the ship, they’re confident it will be done right. Hopefully we’ll get some details, including who Cavill himself will play, soon.
However, condensing the vast scope of Warhammer 40,000 into films and TV shows while sticking to a reasonable budget may prove a challenge. Warhammer 40,000 is a highly detailed setting with multiple factions, thousands of years of war played out on a galactic scale, and, at the heart of it all, enormous Space Marines who often fight against even bigger monsters. We’re talking space battles that can last hundreds of years, gargantuan land battles that can consume entire planets, and the Warp, a place so unknowable that it can be pretty much anything you can imagine.
In June last year, Cavill himself touched on the “complexity” and “trickiness” of adapting the Warhammer 40,000 IP. But, he insisted, he’s loving the challenge, which for fans will be great to hear. Bringing Warhammer to life “is a dream come true,” Cavill said, “but it’s different from what I’ve done before, in the sense I haven’t had my hand on the tiller of things before. It’s wonderful doing that. It is a tricky IP, and a very complex IP, and that’s what I love about it. The challenges that come with putting this on the page in a way that is doing justice to that complexity, that trickiness, and that nuance, is a challenge I’m enjoying enormously.”
However, Rountree did have one solid bit of news to deliver: a standalone Warhammer Age of Sigmar episode is in the works. Age of Sigmar is the fantasy portion of the Warhammer universe, as opposed to Warhammer 40,000’s far future setting. This new episode follows on from the hugely popular Warhammer 40,000 episode for Amazon’s animated anthology series Secret Level, which starred Titus from Space Marine 2.
And it sounds like there’s more to come from a potential Secret Level Season 2. “After a successful collaboration with Amazon MGM Studios and Blur for Secret Level (a high-end animated anthology show), we are now meeting with writers to determine our next step to continue the momentum gained from that episode,” Rountree said.
“In the meantime, work is almost complete on a standalone Warhammer Age of Sigmar episode. Again, for Prime Video. We will update you further when we have more significant milestones to share.”
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.
Who mods the mods? A bunch of people, or so was the hope of Fallout: London developers Team FOLON when they released their total conversion of Fallout 4 back in 2024. So far, there’ve been plenty of tweaks and smaller scale additions to the mod’s version of the post-apocalyptic English capital, but no new quests or world expansions of note.
Things playing out that way to this point – despite Team FOLON having been very open in encouraging other modders to have a go at making such creations – is something Fallout: London project lead Dean ‘Prilladog’ Carter’s clearly aware of, and he’s offered a few theories as to why it might be the case.
Stellar Blade director and CEO of Shift Up Hyung-tae Kim has stated that without the use of AI, developers in smaller nations will struggle to keep up with studios in places like the U.S. and China.
As first reported by GameMeca, and picked up by Automaton, Kim addressed attendees at South Korea’s 2026 Economic Growth Strategy event and said that countries like China have an overwhelming advantage due to the sheer number of staff it can throw at video game development.
“We devote around 150 people to a single game, but China puts in between 1,000 to 2,000. We lack the capacity to compete, both in terms of quality and volume of content,” Kim said (via machine translation).
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.
action-adventure game and explore distinct locations across the galaxy, both iconic and new. Risk it all as scoundrel Kay Vess, seeking freedom and the means to start a new life. Fight, steal, and outwit your way through the galaxy’s crime syndicates as you join the galaxy’s most wanted.
