🎮 Most People Don’t Want DLSS 5, Take-Two Lays Off Head Of AI And Dead By Daylight 2 Is Not Happening
Also Star Wars Eclipse Development Is Very Slow, Jason Blundell Forms A New Studio, Mass Effect TV Show Aims To Be Mass Market and Blizzard Changes Controversial Character!
Hello friends,
Today is April 16th 2026 and I hope you’ve had a great week 🙌
In today’s news:
🎮 Most People Don’t Want DLSS 5
🎮 Take-Two Lays Off Head Of AI
🎮 Dead By Daylight 2 Is Not Happening
🎮 Star Wars Eclipse Development Is Very Slow
🎮 Jason Blundell Forms A New Studio, Again
🎮 Mass Effect TV Show Aims To Be Mass Market
🎮 Blizzard Changes Controversial Character
🫡 True Tribute!
😄 Personal Update
All of this is brought to you in a 5 min format ⏲️
Let’s dig in!
🎮 Most People Don’t Want DLSS 5
While Nvidia still tries to convince gamers worldwide that DLSS 5 is a good thing and one of the biggest visual innovations in recent history, the majority of people seem to be against it.
The news about this new technology spread like a plague, and the reception remains mixed. So mixed, in fact, that according to some internal polling from PC Gamer, 71% of people say they would never use it. What’s even more interesting is that 37% of them say that they are refusing it out of principle, and even if a game has it, they would never enable it.
In the meantime, Nvidia’s CEO says that people are completely wrong to judge DLSS 5 so harshly. He emphasises that it’s not pure Gen AI and it won’t interfere with the artistic control or art direction of a game, as all aspects of this tech are in direct control of the game developer. But everything he says does nothing to calm the majority of players.
But the harsh reality is that widespread adoption does not require universal emotional approval. Nvidia has a lot of pull already by itself and quite a bit of support from partner companies to continue moving forward with this. So, while this technology is probably not going to be beloved by everyone, there is a good chance that major AAA titles and studios will eventually adopt it to appeal to their player base with more premium hardware.
Also, it’s worth noting that while this feature is still widely disapproved, we still haven’t really touched it or played any games that use it. So it’s easy to throw stones at it now, since it’s just a small demo video.
The big question is how many people change their minds after we finally get our hands on it?
🎮 Take-Two Lays Off Head Of AI
While major corporations are still learning how to navigate such a sensitive topic as AI, Take-Two Interactive decided to shake things up by laying off its Head of AI as well as its entire AI team.
Luke Dicken, who was heading the AI department, announced his departure on LinkedIn recently and said that his time and that of his team had ended at Take Two. Dicken shared that he and his team have been developing cutting-edge technology to support game development for 7 years now, and asked everybody to help in finding these awesome, talented folks new positions. With that, it’s still unclear how many people were affected.
Unfortunately, Take-Two refused to comment on why the entire team was let go and what the future holds for this specific department.
And that is a bit weird. Just recently, the CEO of Take-Two shared that while AI is not necessarily crucial for game development, it could be quite useful. The company also made statements that they will continue to “explore and invest in new technologies, particularly AI”, to find efficiencies during game development. And now it looks like they are shifting gears entirely. Maybe not abandoning the entire direction, but at least drastically deprioritising it. Or at least that’s what it looks like. This could also mean that the industry is slowly moving into a post-hype phase, when this direction doesn’t need a huge team and, just like every other department, has to prove that it has some value first.
But then again, it’s all pure speculation at this point.
Is it possible that the AI bubble is beginning to slowly burst? What do you think?
🎮 Dead By Daylight 2 Is Not Happening
For those of you who have been enjoying this serial killer simulator, the developers have some bad news, as it looks like the sequel is not in the cards.
During the recent GDC, IGN talked with the developers of Dead by Daylight from Behaviour Interactive, and they basically shut down any possibilities of a sequel. They said that they thought about it numerous times, as well as about making some sort of remake, but from their perspective, it doesn’t make sense for their players. The developers don’t want their fans to repurchase a sequel and lose the value and the time they are spending in the current ecosystem.
Instead, they want to focus more on the existing game, make it feel more current, and carry it “into the next decade.”
And that kind of makes sense. According to their hiring ads, the game has 70+ million players, 5+ million monthly active users, more than $1 billion in lifetime revenue, and over $200 million in annual revenue. Those are not weak numbers, especially because the game is quite niche. Also, according to Steam Charts at least, the number of people playing Dead by Daylight has been growing year over year, and the game sits comfortably in Steam’s top 20 when it comes to concurrent players.
That’s not something you see every day, especially with a game that’s approaching its 10th anniversary. By the looks of it, Behavioural Interactive would actually be shooting themselves in the foot if they decided to do a sequel. The only concern is that games as old as this usually struggle a lot to be current. Not because the game mechanics are outdated, but because the technology moves very fast when it comes to game engines and graphics.
Sooner or later, the moment will come, and either the devs will need to do a massive top-to-bottom update or rethink this “no sequel” approach. At least that’s what I think 🤷
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🎮 Star Wars Eclipse Development Is Very Slow
After the initial announcement in 2021 during The Game Awards, Star Wars Eclipse was very quiet, but now, we have a small and somewhat troubling update.
According to Insider Gaming, the progress with this title has been very slow, and it is still at the stage where we are looking at years before the game is actually completed. Which is ok in itself, but sources close to the game also say that Eclipse might also be in financial jeopardy. According to them, both Quantic Dream and NetEase are relying heavily on Spellcasters Chronicles, a new MOBA recently released in Early Access. Essentially, the studio is running out of money, and the goal is to take the revenue from Spellcasters and funnel it into Eclipse.
The most troubling thing is that these sources say that if this MOBA fails, NetEase is expected to reevaluate its commitment to the studio and could opt to discontinue further investment.
To be honest, I wasn’t even aware of Spellcasters, and I’m the person who a) plays MOBA games and b) follows the industry very closely. Based on the Mixed reviews and fewer than 100 people playing it, at least based on Steam numbers, it doesn’t look like the future of this title is too bright. To be fair, it’s in Early Access, so everything is not completely lost, but definitely not the reception NetEase wanted.
And I find it horrible! Specifically because of two things.
First of all, what genius decided that it’s a good idea for Quantic Dream to make a live service title? Especially in a niche already occupied by Dota 2 and League of Legends. I mean, this is a studio responsible for Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human, absolutely amazing narrative games. None of their previous titles has anything to do with either free-to-play, MOBA or live-service operations.
Secondly, I understand that everybody is disgustingly greedy and wants to scratch that live-service itch by any means necessary, but are they really going to scrap the entire studio with so much experience in a different genre just because they couldn’t produce a MOBA that tops all the charts? It’s like hiring a top-tier football player as your Formula 1 driver and then firing him because he could win the trophy. Why not give him something he could actually handle and that he is good at? Absolutely mindblowing logic. I guess it’s more like one big point, but you get what I mean.
My rant aside, it looks like we shouldn’t hold our breath for Eclipse, unfortunately…
🎮 Jason Blundell Forms A New Studio, Again
Jason Blundell, who’s most famous for pioneering Call of Duty Zombies and 2 failed projects with Sony, is ready for a hat trick after all.
With Dark Outlaw Games being history, in a recent stream with JCbackfire, Blundell announced that he had already formed a new studio, MagicFractal. Of course, the first question on everybody’s mind is why would he do this again. And according to him, it’s because “third time’s the charm and if not, it’s the fourth time”.
Since the studio was literally just formed, there are no details as to what they are going to work on, as well as who’s backing them. The website is also empty, with the exception of a mailing list signup form.
But I have to say, I admire his optimism and his love for the craft. While it’s not a comeback story just yet, it’s a story about how to get back up again after the world knocks you down time after time. So, I am genuinely happy for him and wish him all the luck in the world. Hopefully, I won’t have to write about another closed studio next year 😅
🎮 Mass Effect TV Show Aims To Be Mass Market
If you are as big a fan of Mass Effect as I am, you would be pleased to know that the Mass Effect TV show is still happening, and today we have an update on how it’s going.
According to IGN, the development of the script was well underway, but a recently appointed Head of Global TV at Amazon requested to rewrite it to make Mass Effect more appealing to non-gamers. Obviously, nobody has any ideas as to what it actually means. Maybe it’s about explaining certain concepts or removing references from the Mass Effect trilogy for people who haven’t played the games. Who knows?
The only thing we do know so far about this show is that it’s going to be completely standalone, meaning there will be no Commander Shepard. Which is a shame, but oh well.
My only concern is the direction of this show. I understand that it’s important for this project to appeal to everyone, not just hardcore fans of the franchise. But I think this might actually be a very slippery slope. First of all, you can’t ever please everyone, so the studio will have to pick and choose very carefully. Secondly, we all saw the consequences of game adaptations deviating from the source material. You don’t have to look too far. The Last of Us Season 2 was released not so long ago, and it tanked so hard that a lot of fans completely dismissed it, and even the creator of the entire franchise abandoned the project.
What I’m trying to say is that every entertainment company, whether it’s movies, TV shows or video games, should tread lightly with this approach, or they end up sacrificing their target audience.
🎮 Blizzard Changes Controversial Character
While Overwatch continues its comeback, Season 1 is almost over, and one of the first things Blizzard wanted to address with Season 2 is the controversy surrounding one of the new characters, Anran.
It became a whole thing, but TL;DR the character model in the game was too different from the original design and triggered a lot of backlash from the community. And recently, the Game Director of Overwatch shared an update on X, showcasing how the character was changed before the start of Season 2.
Blizzard acknowledged that the character didn’t fully land, and this time it’s back with a more fiery and fierce vibe. They also said that the company has five more heroes to release this year, so they encourage the community to share their feedback, as it really helps them to make the characters feel true to who they are.
Which is all well and good, but I bet there are other ways to narrow down the look and feel of new heroes instead of just waiting for a backlash to reach critical mass… But what do I know, right? 😅
🫡 True Tribute!
Today I wanted to salute Oya and oya’s game hub !
Great review, as always! My friends and I were thinking about giving this game a try. We’ve had a blast with Overcooked, especially because of the same chaotic factor, but it’s been a challenge. Small games like this are usually very tricky when it comes to serve-side issues, specifically because I’m playing from North America and my friends are in various regions of Europe. And since we are waiting for a new season of Diablo, maybe this one would be a good distraction for a couple of days 😁
😄 Personal Update
While I still haven’t decided what to do with this category, I wanted to share a rant from a person who just got into editing, as I just can’t take it anymore.
So, I’ve been using CapCut ever since I started making videos because every other creator recommends it as the simplest and most intuitive video editing software for beginners like me. And it’s true. But it is also one of the buggiest pieces of software I’ve ever encountered.
At first, it was small things, not applying specific properties, not saving certain tweaks I’m making or constantly requiring a reset because specific parts stopped working. But the more I use it, the more annoying it becomes. And it’s considering that I pay for the pro subscription, which costs almost as much as Adobe Premiere. And I’m almost at my limit with this. It’s like they don’t even test their own software or don’t care that they keep introducing more and more issues with every update.
The bottom line is that I’m looking for a new editing software, and since there are a lot of them, I wanted to ask you guys if you have ever used anything or could recommend something? So far, my top contenders are Premiere Pro and Resolve 😅
This is all the news I have for you folks today.
Thanks for making it this far! 🙌
If you feel like supporting me and my work, consider Powering-Up GameDev Relay 🎮
Have a great week!
Alex from Gamedev Relay.
Is it just me, or did they not really change Anran at all? Seems like all the hullabaloo was all for naught 😬
Always an honor to be featured in the True Tribute section, thank you Alex! As for the region differences, I had the same concerns but I can say that one of us was from the US while I was in Europe, and we had little to no issues with connectivity! It was all pretty smooth for us, so hopefully this means that you'll also have a smooth experience.
Hope you enjoy the game if you get to it!