For too long, we’ve waited and watched as The Gloom expands to swallow more innocent star systems. For too long, we’ve let the Terminds wreak havoc on our colonies, our cities, our homes. The Terminids have pushed into our territory for long enough. Now, with new recruits trained and ready, it’s time to push into unknown territory. Into the Unjust comes to Helldivers 2 on September 2. Play Video Enter the Gloom It’s finally time to discover what lies behind the Gloom shroud enveloping these planets we call Hive Worlds. Prepare your squad to disappear into the fog and discover new dangers, from towering structures built by Terminids to what horrors lurk beneath the planet surfaces.  Into the heart of darkness Deep underground lies a labyrinth of cave tunnels that twist and turn, infested with the Hive Lung that seems to be the force that produces the thickening fog that makes up the Gloom. Because of the nature of the caves, your Super Destroyer won’t be able to give you full support. It’ll be your team alone against the horror. Terrors above and below What little intelligence we have on the Gloom contains information about a new subterranean species of Terminid Warriors, Bile Spewers, and Chargers that, when they detect a threat, will burrow underground and begin moving toward prey. Once close enough, they erupt from the ground and attack. It doesn’t stop there. The Gloom has mutated the Terminids even further, into grotesque monsters like the Dragonroach: a menace in the sky that dives unsuspecting Helldivers and rains down burning bile. Our reports indicate that there are even greater, more terrifying creatures lying in wait on Hive Worlds, Helldiver. You must find them and take them out. Taking back Hive Worlds The Helldivers will also face brand new challenges while liberating Hive Worlds, like escorting a mobile oil rig. Helldivers must defend the rig from attacks while it traverses the treacherous Hive World terrain to the next drill site, where it will extract oil. Meanwhile in the underground, you’ll be forced to locate and destroy the Hive Lung in an effort to stem the spread of the Gloom. There are also new optional and sub-objectives available, too. It’s going to take all your determination and teamwork to stop the infestation from spreading any further and liberate the Hive Worlds. Get ready to dive Into the Unjust1 on September 2, Helldivers. Introducing the Dust Devils Premium Warbond We’re not sending you to a Hive World without the best gear we have to offer, Helldiver. The Ministry of Defense has fast-tracked the deployment of the Dust Devils Warbond2, which will ensure survival in the harshest conditions these worlds can throw your way. Weapons and Stratagems Dust Devils comes with a hefty offering of one primary weapon, a new throwable, and three unique stratagems that will aid in clearing the air–and all the bugs–on Hive Worlds. AR-2 CoyoteYou can hunt in packs or go by your lonesome with this assault rifle that features incendiary ammunition. But be warned: this coyote is wild. G-7 PineappleThis cluster frag grenade might look like a cute and unassuming fruit, but it’ll have the bugs in absolute pieces. S-11 SpeargunA true big game hunter’s companion. The S-11 fires heavy-duty projectiles that release a cloud of gas on impact. EAT-700 Expendable NapalmHeat up the planet with this single-use missile that contains napalm cluster bombs. MS-11 Solo SiloThe long-range power of a missile in a new convenient package. Calls down a Hellpod-sized missile silo with a single, ultra-powerful missile and a handheld targeting remote. Armors, Capes, and more Whether you’re crouched behind craggy boulders, waiting for your moment to spring a trap on unsuspecting Terminids or marching in formation with your squad to intimidate them, they’ll look the part. Both feature the Desert Stormer passive, which grants resistance to fire, gas, acid, and arc, as well as providing a throw range increase to the bearer. You’ll also receive capes, player cards, an emote and player title, and a new pattern for your vehicles and Hellpods. DS-42 Federation’s BladeCaptures the essence of armies marching through the desert sands. Wear with the Rightful occupier cape and player card for a polished look. DS-191 ScorpionLook like a true nomadic warrior in this desert-proof draped set, pairs perfectly with the Windswept Wayfinder cape and player card. Title: Burier of Heads Emote: Raider’s Cheer Pattern: “Rattlesnake” for vehicles and Hellpods Arm your fighters against the perils that await them on Hive Worlds and beyond! The Dust Devils Premium Warbond launches on September 4. 1Gameplay requires internet access and paid for PlayStation® Plus membership (sold separately) on PS5. PlayStation Plus membership subject to recurring subscription fee taken automatically until cancellation. Age Restrictions apply. Full terms: play.st/psplus-usageterms. 2 Requires base game, paid purchase of Super Credits, and game progression to unlock.

IntroductionHi everyone! My name is Oleh Yakushev, and I'm a 3D Artist from Ukraine. My journey into 3D began just three years ago, when I was working as a mobile phone salesperson at a shopping mall. In 2022, during one slow day at work, I noticed a colleague learning Python. We started talking about life goals. I told him I wanted to switch careers, to do something creative, but programming wasn't really my thing.He asked me a simple question: "Well, what do you actually enjoy doing?"I said, "Video games. I love video games. But I don't have time to learn how to make them, I've got a job, a family, and a kid."Then he hit me with something that really shifted my whole perspective."Oleh, do you play games on your PlayStation?"I said, "Of course."He replied, "Then why not take the time you spend playing and use it to learn how to make games?"That moment flipped a switch in my mind. I realized that I did have time, it was just a matter of how I used it. If I really wanted to learn, I could find a way. At the time, I didn't even own a computer. But where there's a will, there's a way: I borrowed my sister's laptop for a month and started following beginner 3D tutorials on YouTube. Every night after work, once my family went to sleep, I'd sit in the kitchen and study. I stayed up until 2 or 3 AM, learning Blender basics. Then I'd sleep for a few hours before waking up at 6 AM to go back to work. That's how I spent my first few months in 3D, studying every single night.3D completely took over my life. During lunch breaks, I watched 3D videos, on the bus, I scrolled through 3D TikToks, at home, I took 3D courses, and the word "3D" just became a constant in my vocabulary.After a few months of learning the basics, I started building my portfolio, which looks pretty funny to me now. But at the time, it was a real sign of how committed I was. Eventually, someone reached out to me through Behance, offering my first freelance opportunity. And thatэs how my journey began, from mall clerk to 3D artist. It's been a tough road, full of burnout, doubts, and late nights... but also full of curiosity, growth, and hope. And I wouldn't trade it for anything.The Stitch ProjectI've loved Stitch since I was a kid. I used to watch the cartoons, play the video games, and he always felt like such a warm, funny, chill, and at the same time, strong character. So once I reached a certain level in 3D, I decided to recreate Stitch.Back then, my skills only allowed me to make him in a stylized cartoonish style, no fur, no complex detailing, no advanced texturing, I just didn't have the experience. Surprisingly, the result turned out pretty decent. Even now, I sometimes get comments that my old Stitch still looks quite cute. Though honestly, I wouldn't say that myself anymore. Two years have passed since I made that first Stitch, it was back in 2023. And in 2025, I decided it was time to challenge myself.At that point, I had just completed an intense grooming course. Grooming always intimidated me, it felt really complex. I avoided it on commercial projects, made a few failed attempts for my portfolio, and overall tried to steer clear of any tasks where grooming was required. But eventually, I found the strength to face it.I pushed myself to learn how to make great fur, and I did. I finally understood how the grooming system works, grasped the logic, the tools, and the workflow. And after finishing the course, I wanted to lock in all that knowledge by creating a full personal project from scratch.So my goal was to make a character from the ground up, where the final stage would be grooming. And without thinking too long, I chose Stitch.First, because I truly love the character. Second, I wanted to clearly see my own progress over the past two years. Third, I needed to put my new skills to the test and find out whether my training had really paid off.ModelingI had a few ideas for how to approach the base mesh for this project. First, to model everything completely from scratch, starting with a sphere. Second, to reuse my old Stitch model and upgrade it.But then an idea struck me: why not test how well AI could handle a base mesh? I gathered some references and tried generating a base mesh using AI, uploading Stitch visuals as a guide. As you can see from the screenshot, the result was far from usable. So I basically ended up doing everything from scratch anyway.So, I went back to basics: digging through ArtStation and Pinterest, collecting references. Since over the last two years, I had not only learned grooming but also completely changed my overall approach to character creation, it was important for me to make a more detailed model, even if much of it would be hidden under fur.The first Stitch was sculpted in Blender, with all the limitations that come with sculpting in it. But since then, I've leveled up significantly and switched to more advanced tools. So this second version of Stitch was born in ZBrush. By the time I started working on this Stitch, ZBrush had already become my second main workspace. I've used it to deliver tons of commercial projects, I work in it almost daily, and most of my portfolio was created using this tool. I found some great reference images showing Stitch's body structure. Among them were official movie references and a stunning high-poly model created by Juan Hernández, a version of Stitch without fur. That model became my primary reference for sculpting.Truth is, Stitch's base form is quite simple, so blocking out the shape didn't take too long. When blocking, I use Blender in combination with ZBrush:I work with primary forms in ZBrushThen check proportions in BlenderFix mistakes, tweak volumes, and refine the silhouetteSince Stitch's shape isn't overly complex, I broke him down into three main sculpting parts:The body: arms, legs, head, and earsThe nose, eyes, and mouth cavityWhile planning the sculpt, I already knew I'd be rigging Stitch, both body and facial rig. So I started sculpting with his mouth open (to later close it and have more flexibility when it comes to rigging and deformation).While studying various references, I noticed something interesting. Stitch from promotional posters, Stitch from the movie, and Stitch as recreated by different artists on ArtStation all look very different from one another. What surprised me the most was how different the promo version of Stitch is compared to the one in the actual movie. They are essentially two separate models:Different proportionsDifferent shapesDifferent texturesEven different fur and overall designThis presented a creative challenge, I had to develop my own take on Stitch's design. Sometimes I liked the way the teeth were done in one version, in another, the eye placement, in another, the fur shape, or the claw design on hands and feet.At first, considering that Stitch is completely covered in fur from head to toe, sculpting his underlying anatomy seemed pointless. I kept asking myself: "Why sculpt muscles and skin detail if everything will be hidden under fur anyway?"But eventually, I found a few solid answers for myself. First, having a defined muscle structure actually makes the fur grooming process easier. That's because fur often follows the flow of muscle lines, so having those muscles helps guide fur direction more accurately across the character's body.Second, it's great anatomy practice, and practice is never a waste. So, I found a solid anatomical reference of Stitch with clearly visible muscle groups and tried to recreate that structure as closely as possible in my own sculpt.In the end, I had to develop a full visual concept by combining elements from multiple versions of Stitch. Through careful reference work and constantly switching between Blender and ZBrush, I gradually, but intentionally, built up the body and overall look of our favorite fluffy alien.Topology & UVsThroughout the sculpting process, I spent quite a bit of time thinking about topology. I was looking for the most balanced solution between quality and production time. Normally, I do manual retopology for my characters, but this time, I knew it would take too much time, and honestly, I didn't have that luxury.So I decided to generate the topology using ZBrush's tools. I split the model into separate parts using Polygroups, assigning individual groups for the ears, the head, the torso, the arms, the legs, and each of Stitch's fingers.With the Polygroups in place, I used ZRemesher with Keep Groups enabled and smoothing on group borders. This gave me a clean and optimized mesh that was perfect for UV unwrapping.Of course, this kind of auto-retopology isn't a full substitute for manual work, but it saved me a huge amount of time, and the quality was still high enough for what I needed. However, there was one tricky issue. Although Stitch looks symmetrical at first glance, his ears are actually asymmetrical. The right ear has a scar on the top, while the left has a scar on the bottomBecause of that, I couldn't just mirror one side in ZBrush without losing those unique features. Here's what I ended up doing: I created a symmetrical model with the right ear, then another symmetrical model with the left ear. I brought both into Blender, detached the left ear from one model, and attached it to the body of the other one. This way, I got a clean, symmetrical base mesh with asymmetrical ears, preserving both topology and detail. And thanks to the clean polygroup-based layout, I was able to unwrap the UVs with nice, even seams and clean islands.When it came to UV mapping, I divided Stitch into two UDIM tiles:The first UDIM includes the head with ears, torso, arms, and legs.The second UDIM contains all the additional parts: teeth, tongue, gums, claws, and nose (For the claws, I used overlapping UVs to preserve texel density for the other parts)Since the nose is one of the most important details, I allocated the largest space to it, which helped me to better capture its intricate details.As for the eyes, I used procedural eyes, so there was no need to assign UV space or create a separate UDIM for texturing them. To achieve this, I used the Tiny Eye add-on by tinynocky for Blender, which allows full control over procedural eyes and their parameters.This approach gave me high-quality eyes with customizable elements tailored exactly to my needs. As a result of all these steps, Stitch ended up with a symmetrical, optimized mesh, asymmetrical ears, and the body split across two UDIMs, one for the main body and one for the additional parts.TexturingWhen planning Stitch's texturing, I understood that the main body texture would be fairly simple, with much of the visual detail enhanced by the fur. However, there were some areas that required much more attention than the rest of the body. The textures for Stitch can be roughly divided into several main parts:The base body, which includes the primary color of his fur, along with additional shading like a lighter tone on the front (belly) and a darker tone on the back and napeThe nose and ears, these zones, demanded separate focusAt the initial texturing/blocking stage, the ears looked too cartoony, which didn’t fit the style I wanted. So, I decided to push them towards a more realistic look. This involved removing bright colors, adding more variation in the roughness map, introducing variation in the base color, and making the ears visually more natural, layered, and textured on the surface. By combining smart materials and masks, I achieved the effect of "living" ears, slightly dirty and looking as natural as possible.The nose was a separate story. It occupies a significant part of the face and thus draws a lot of attention. While studying references, I noticed that the shape and texture of the nose vary a lot between different artists. Initially, I made it dog-like, with some wear and tear around the nostrils and base.For a long time, I thought this version was acceptable. But during test renders, I realized the nose needed improvement. So I reworked its texturing, aiming to make it more detailed. I divided the nose texture into four main layers:Base detail: Baked from the high-poly model. Over this, I applied a smart skin material that added characteristic bumps.Lighter layer: Applied via a mask using the AO channel. This darkened the crevices and brightened the bumps, creating a multi-layered effect.Organic detail (capillaries): In animal references, I noticed slight redness in the nose area. I created another AO-masked layer with reddish capillaries visible through the bumps, adding depth and realism.Softness: To make the nose visually softer, like in references, I added a fill layer with only height enabled, used a paper texture as grayscale, and applied a blurred mask. This created subtle dents and wrinkles that softened the look.All textures were created in 4K resolution to achieve maximum detail. After finishing the main texturing stage, I add an Ambient Occlusion map on the final texture layer, activating only the Color channel, setting the blend mode to Multiply, and reducing opacity to about 35%. This adds volume and greatly improves the overall perception of the model.That covers the texturing of Stitch’s body. I also created a separate texture for the fur. This was simpler, I disabled unnecessary layers like ears and eyelids, and left only the base ones corresponding to the body’s color tones.During grooming (which I'll cover in detail later), I also created textures for the fur's clamps and roughness. In Substance 3D Painter, I additionally painted masks for better fur detail.FurAnd finally, I moved on to the part that was most important to me, the very reason I started this project in the first place. Fur. This entire process was essentially a test of my fur grooming skills. After overcoming self-doubt, I trusted the process and relied on everything I had learned so far. Before diving into the grooming itself, I made sure to gather strong references. I searched for the highest quality and most inspiring examples I could find and analyzed them thoroughly. My goal was to clearly understand the direction of fur growth, its density and volume, the intensity of roughness, and the strength of clumping in different areas of Stitch's body.To create the fur, I used Blender and its Hair Particle System. The overall approach is similar to sculpting a high-detail model: work from broad strokes to finer details. So, the first step was blocking out the main flow and placement of the hair strands.At this point, I ran into a challenge: symmetry. Since the model was purposefully asymmetrical (because of the ears and skin folds), the fur couldn't be mirrored cleanly. To solve this, I created a base fur blocking using Hair Guides with just two segments. After that, I split the fur into separate parts. I duplicated the main Particle System and created individual hair systems for each area where needed.In total, I broke Stitch's body into key sections: head, left ear, right ear, front torso, back torso, arms, hands, upper and lower legs, toes, and additional detailing layers. The final fur setup included 25 separate particle systems.To control fur growth, I used Weight Paint to fine-tune the influence on each body part individually. This separation gave me much more precision and allowed full control over every parameter of the fur on a per-section basis.The most challenging aspect of working with fur is staying patient and focused. Detail is absolutely critical because the overall picture is built entirely from tiny, subtle elements. Once the base layer was complete, I moved on to refining the fur based on my references.The most complex areas turned out to be the front of the torso and the face. When working on the torso, my goal was to create a smooth gradient, from thick, clumped fur on the chest to shorter, softer fur on the stomach.Step by step, I adjusted the transitions, directions, clumps, and volumes to achieve that look. Additionally, I used the fur itself to subtly enhance Stitch's silhouette, making his overall shape feel sharper, more expressive, and visually engaging.During fur development, I used texture maps to control the intensity of the Roughness and Clump parameters. This gave me a high degree of flexibility, textures drove these attributes across the entire model. In areas where stronger clumping or roughness was needed, I used brighter values; in zones requiring a softer look, darker values. This approach allowed for fine-tuned micro-level control of the fur shader and helped achieve a highly realistic appearance in renders.The face required special attention: the fur had to be neat, evenly distributed, and still visually appealing. The biggest challenge here was working around the eye area. Even with properly adjusted Weight Paint, interpolation sometimes caused strands to creep into the eyes.I spent a lot of time cleaning up this region to get an optimal result. I also had to revisit certain patches that looked bald, even though interpolation and weight painting were set correctly, because the fur didn't render properly there. These areas needed manual fixing.As part of the detailing stage, I also increased the number of segments in the Hair Guides.While the blocking phase only used two segments, I went up to three, and in some cases even five, for more complex regions. This gave me much more control over fur shape and flow.The tiniest details really matter, so I added extra fur layers with thinner, more chaotic strands extending slightly beyond the main silhouette. These micro-layers significantly improved the texture depth and boosted the overall realism.Aside from the grooming itself, I paid special attention to the fur material setup, as the shader plays a critical role in the final visual quality of the render. It's not enough to simply plug a color texture into a Principled BSDF node and call it done.I built a more complex shader, giving me precise control over various attributes. For example, I implemented subtle color variation across individual strands, along with darkening near the roots and a gradual brightening toward the tips. This helped add visual depth and made the fur look significantly more natural and lifelike.Working on the fur took up nearly half of the total time I spent on the entire model. And I'm genuinely happy with the result, this stage confirmed that the training I've gone through was solid and that I’m heading in the right direction with my artistic development.Rigging, Posing & SceneOnce I finished working on the fur, I rendered several 4K test shots from different angles to make sure every detail looked the way I intended. When I was fully satisfied with the results, it was time to move on to rigging.I divided the rigging process into three main parts:Body rig, for posing and positioning the characterFacial rig, for expressions and emotionsEar rig, for dynamic ear controlRigging isn't something I consider my strongest skill, but as a 3D generalist, I had to dive into many technical aspects of it. For the ears, I set up a relatively simple system with several bones connected using inverse kinematics (IK). This gave me flexible and intuitive control during posing and allowed for the addition of dynamic movement in animation.For facial rigging, I used the FaceIt add-on, which generates a complete facial control system for mouth, eyes, and tongue. It sped up the process significantly and gave me more precision. For the body, I used the ActorCore Rig by NVIDIA, then converted it to Rigify, which gave me a familiar interface and flexible control over poses.Posing is one of my favorite stages, it's when the character really comes to life. As usual, it started with gathering references. Honestly, it was hard to pick the final poses, Stitch is so expressive and full of personality that I wanted to try hundreds of them. But I focused on those that best conveyed the spirit and mood of the character. Some poses I reworked to fit my style rather than copying directly. For example, in the pose where Stitch licks his nose, I added drool and a bit of "green slime" for comedic effect. To capture motion, I tilted his head back and made the ears fly upward, creating a vivid, emotional snapshot.Just like in sculpting or grooming, minor details make a big difference in posing. Examples include: a slight asymmetry in the facial expression, a raised corner of the mouth, one eye squinting a little more than the other, and ears set at slightly different angles.These are subtle things that might not be noticed immediately, but they’re the key to making the character feel alive and believable.For each pose, I created a separate scene and collection in Blender, including the character, specific lighting setup, and a simple background or environment. This made it easy to return to any scene later, to adjust lighting, reposition the character, or tweak the background.In one of the renders, which I used as the cover image, Stitch is holding a little frog.I want to clearly note that the 3D model of the frog is not mine, full credit goes to the original author of the asset.At first, I wanted to build a full environment around Stitch, to create a scene that would feel like a frame from a film. But after carefully evaluating my skills and priorities, I decided that a weak environment would only detract from the strength of the character. So I opted for a simple, neutral backdrop, designed to keep all the focus on Stitch himself.Rendering, Lighting & Post-ProcessingWhen the character is complete, posed expressively, and integrated into the scene, there's one final step: lighting. Lighting isn't just a technical element of the scene — it’s a full-fledged stage of the 3D pipeline. It doesn't just illuminate; it paints. Proper lighting can highlight the personality of the character, emphasize forms, and create atmosphere.For all my renders, I rely on the classic three-point lighting setup: Key Light, Fill Light, and Rim Light.While this setup is well-known, it remains highly effective. When done thoughtfully, with the right intensity, direction, and color temperature, it creates a strong light-shadow composition that brings the model to life. In addition to the three main lights, I also use an HDRI map, but with very low intensity, around 0.3, just enough to subtly enrich the ambient light without overpowering the scene.Once everything is set, it's time to hit Render and wait for the result. Due to hardware limitations, I wasn’t able to produce full animated shots with fur. Rendering a single 4K image with fur took over an hour, so I limited myself to a 360° turnaround and several static renders.I don't spend too much time on post-processing, just basic refinements in Photoshop. Slight enhancement of the composition, gentle shadow adjustments, color balance tweaks, and adding a logo. Everything is done subtly, nothing overprocessed. The goal is simply to support and enhance what’s already there.Final ThoughtsThis project has been an incredible experience. Although it was my second time creating Stitch (the first was back in 2023), this time the process felt completely different at every stage. And honestly, it wasn't easy.But that was exactly the point: to challenge myself. To reimagine something familiar, to try things I'd never done before, and to walk the full journey from start to finish. The fur, the heart of this project, was especially meaningful to me. It’s what started it all. I poured a lot into this model: time, effort, emotion, and even doubts. But at the same time, I brought all my knowledge, skills, and experience into it.This work became a mirror of my progress from 2023 to 2025. I can clearly see how far I've come, and that gives me the motivation to keep going. Every hour of learning and practice paid off, the results speak for themselves. This model was created for my portfolio. I don't plan to use it commercially, unless, of course, a studio actually wants to license it for a new film (in that case, I'd be more than happy!)It's been a long road: challenging, sometimes exhausting, but above all inspiring and exciting. I know there's still a lot to learn. Many things to study, improve, and polish to perfection. But I'm already on that path, and I'm not stopping.Oleh Yakushev, 3D Character ArtistInterview conducted by Gloria Levine

Hello everyone! Before unveiling what we’ve prepared for PC players when Lost Soul Aside hits PC and PS5 on August 29, I want to share the journey that brought us here. Play Video Behind the scenes – Meet the team and the journey behind the game What began as a solo prototype has grown through years of iteration, the incredible support of the China Hero Project, and the encouragement of a passionate community into the full-scale action RPG you see today. In our new Behind-the-Scenes developer video, you’ll meet the talented team at Ultizero Games and hear, in our own words, about the passion, challenges, and breakthroughs that shaped every strike, combo, and boss encounter. It’s an inside look at the creative process that brought Lost Soul Aside from a single idea to the game we can’t wait for you to play. Play Video From our story to your screen – the PC experience As we approach launch, I’m excited to share that Lost Soul Aside is now in its final polishing stage for PC—releasing worldwide alongside the PlayStation 5 version. We’ve worked hard to ensure that PC players enjoy a true next-generation experience, and we’ve prepared four special features unique to the platform. These enhancements take full advantage of PC hardware so you can experience the game at its best, and I’m thrilled to finally reveal them to you. Full DualSense controller support Connect your DualSense controller via USB-C or Bluetooth (note: full functionality requires USB-C) and enjoy native support—no extra drivers needed. Adaptive Triggers: Each weapon and mechanism delivers unique resistance curves for a tactile, responsive feel. Haptic Feedback: From the clash of steel to explosive impacts and the rush of running through water, every vibration is precision-tuned to match the on-screen action.Just plug in and play. 4K + HDR visuals  Experience Lost Soul Aside in native 4K (3840×2160) resolution with multi-monitor support for maximum immersion. High Dynamic Range (HDR) brings out deep shadow details and vibrant neon highlights, delivering stunning contrast—“one glance, and your soul is hooked.” Ray Tracing  Ray-Traced Reflections: Crystal-clear water surfaces, polished armor, and metallic weapons reflect their surroundings in real time. Ray-Traced Global Illumination: Sunlight breaking through clouds and neon glow diffusing through the air add incredible depth to every scene. Ray-Traced Shadows: High-resolution, soft shadows shift naturally with light, enhancing realism in both exploration and combat.All ray-tracing effects are optimized with DLSS 4, FSR, and Frame Generation, ensuring smooth 4K 60 FPS gameplay—even on more modest hardware.   PlayStation account linking — Cross-Platform Trophy Sync When you first launch the game, you’ll have the option to link your PlayStation Network account. Once connected, all achievements earned on PC will sync instantly with your PlayStation Network profile—and vice versa. It’s truly “unlock once, show off everywhere”—your Platinum Trophy journey continues seamlessly across platforms. Wondering if your PC can handle Lost Soul Aside? Here are the system requirements: PC Specs for Lost Soul AsideMinimumRecommendedHighHigh (RT On)Ultra (RT On)GPUNVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD RX 5500 XTNVIDIA RTX 2060 / AMD RX 5700 XTNVIDIA RTX 3070 / AMD RX 6800 XTNVIDIA RTX 4080s / AMD RX 7900 XTNVIDIA RTX 5070 TiCPUIntel i5-10400 / AMD Ryzen 5 3600Intel i5-10400 / AMD Ryzen 5 3600Intel i7-11700 / AMD Ryzen 7 5700XIntel i7-11700 / AMD Ryzen 7 5700XIntel i7-13700K / AMD Ryzen 7 7800XRAM16 GB16 GB16 GB16 GB16 GBOSWin 10/11 64-bitWin 10/11 64-bitWin 10/11 64-bitWin 10/11 64-bitWin 10/11 64-bitStorage80 GB SSD80 GB SSD80 GB SSD80 GB SSD80 GB SSD The PC version of Lost Soul Aside launches August 28 at 5pm PDT / August 29 at 8am CST (Beijing) and is now available for pre-purchase on Steam and the Epic Games Store. Lock in your platform and brace for the ultimate fusion of razor-sharp action and next-gen audiovisuals! Lost Soul Aside PlayStation 5 Pro enhancements I know many of you are excited to experience Lost Soul Aside on PlayStation 5 Pro, so I’m happy to share what we’ve done to make the most of its powerful hardware.  On PS5 Pro, you’ll be able to play in dynamic 4K with enhanced ray-traced reflections, shadows, and global illumination, bringing every scene to life with incredible depth and realism. We’ve also taken advantage of the Pro’s boosted GPU to push higher texture quality, more detailed particle effects, and even faster loading through the ultra-fast SSD. Additionally, players will benefit from a higher and more stable frame rate, ensuring fluid, responsive gameplay even in the most intense battles. The result is smoother combat, sharper visuals, and an even more immersive adventure from start to finish. I want to thank all of you for your patience and support throughout this journey. It’s been many years in the making, and every step has been driven by your passion for Lost Soul Aside. Whether you choose to play on PC, PlayStation 5, or PlayStation 5 Pro, my hope is that you’ll feel the heart, detail, and care we’ve poured into every moment. The launch is just the beginning, and I can’t wait to see your reactions, your gameplay clips, and your stories from this world we’ve built together. See you at launch!

Chris Kerr, Senior Editor, News, GameDeveloper.comAugust 22, 20254 Min ReadVia Evil Empire/UbisoftThe Rogue Prince of Persia developer Evil Empire doesn't believe it's worth entering early access in the current climate unless your project is at least 90 percent complete. Speaking to Game Developer at Gamescom 2025, studio marketing manager Matthew Houghton and art director Dylan Eurlings shared their thoughts on the state of contemporary early access campaigns and suggested the system is becoming increasingly risky. You might recognize Evil Empire as the studio that has spent years helping Dead Cells developer Motion Twin expand the franchise with DLC and free updates. Since May 2024, however, the studio has also been shepherding The Rogue Prince of Persia through an Steam Early Access campaign that culminated in an official launch on August 20.Yet, due to a variety of factors including shifting player expectations, the team had to tweak their pre-release strategy in a bid to lure in players. As a result, the studio has become more wary of early access in general. "To be honest, the way I see it now is that unless you're coming into early access with a 90 percent complete game, don't do it. Because players, they don't see it as early access, they see it a game to play," says Houghton. He adds that players are entitled to express their views because they're often paying money to play early access titles, but he feels that sifting viewpoint means consumers are less willing to follow games on an early access journey that will often result in significant changes. Related:Eurlings echoes that point and suggests that a perceived lack of polish and content can now be a "huge issue" during early access campaigns. He explains that Evil Empire was even forced to rethink their original roadmap after the earliest versions of Rogue Prince of Persia failed to meet internal expectations."Initially we wanted to do quick updates. Very fast. In the end, we took a bit more time to ensure that each update would be a bit more chunky," he adds, noting that pivot resulted in a steady cadence of monthly updates that each packed a fair bit of clout. That shift came after the team conceded that early access numbers "weren't great." Houghton explains the project initially attracted just under 1,000 peak concurrent users (CCU). After they flipped the script, the title started to pull in around 4,000 CCU. "That's why we wanted to prioritize chunky content—there would be an impact every time," says Houghton, before acknowledging the title still hadn't quite met the team's CCU expectations even after that switch-up. Related:"Of course you listen to the feedback and take the ideas [on board], but you have to feed them through a filter."It underlines the risks that come with early access, and Houghton specifically wonders whether some developers who can't hit that 90 percent completion benchmark before launching into early access might instead be better off conducting beta tests through Steam instead. If you're curious as to where Rogue Prince of Persia was when it entered Early Access, Houghton suggests the project was roughly 60 percent complete. Eurlings, was slightly more conservative, and claimed it was more like 50 percent. We suggested they meet in the middle. "Steam has evolved now. You can do beta tests and playtests through Steam. I think that's become more like Early Access. People aren't paying for it and your project might be a bit janky [...] but that's okay because they're still going to give feedback and it's not going to be a disaster if it's not great yet," continues Houghton. When asked whether Evil Empire would consider revisiting Early Access in the future, Houghton isn't so certain."I don't know. I'm going to be honest. I've been put off by it, because especially now people are so used to games coming out and then doing live ops for three, four, and five years—so why go with early access and have to deal with the stigma that's around it? I think I would do playtests and then just release," he explains. Related:Houghton adds that teams who are still convinced early access is right for them must have complete conviction in their creative vision—otherwise they might risk being derailed. "Of course you listen to the feedback and take the ideas [on board], but you have to feed them through a filter, otherwise you'll have too many cooks. [...] You'll have people who are super enthusiastic who think you can't do anything wrong, and then you get the people who are just super negative and people who are just throwing ideas at you that you know won't work in the game." It's a situation that can feel overwhelming, with Houghton explaining that Rogue Prince of Persia's game director found the onslaught "too much" at times. "You have to stick to your vision," says Houghton. "Listen, but just cherry pick [your feedback] carefully."Game Developer attended Gamescom 2025 via the Gamescom Media Ambassador Program, which covered flights and accommodation.Read more about:GamescomTop StoriesInterviewsAbout the AuthorChris KerrSenior Editor, News, GameDeveloper.comGame Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.See more from Chris KerrDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

If you've been using the jump button a little too often in the Battlefield 6 beta, then you're going to notice some changes upon launch. DICE has announced that there's now a penalty for making consecutive jumps that lowers the jump height. Momentum carried from a slide into a jump has also been tweaked to reduce its speed. Nevertheless, Battlefield 6 principal game designer Florian "DRUNKKZ3" Le Bihan wants players to know that the movement changes "are not drastic.""Movement is also getting more responsive in general in places that have felt a bit clunky before. so there is a lot more that is getting quality improvements [and] polish in this same area," wrote Le Bihan on X. "Adding diminishing returns to jumping is what we're actually doing, an initial slide or an initial jumps will not be affected. We're still trying to retain depth to movement with some skill curve to it, just making sure it doesn't become insane."The Battlefield 6 devs also recently defended the changes to Rush mode in the beta, including smaller lobbies of 24 players for 12v12 matches. According to the programing team, Rush mode doesn't work as well with more than 24 players at a time.Continue Reading at GameSpot

IntroductionHello, I am Joseph Jegede, born in Nigeria, lived and studied in London, which is also where I started my career as a games developer. Before my game dev career, I was making websites and graphic designs as a hobby but felt an urge to make static images animated and respond to user input. I studied Computer Science at London Metropolitan University for my bachelor’s degree.I worked at Tivola Publishing GmbH, where we developed:Wildshade: Unicorn Champions (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch)Console Trailer: YouTubeWildshade Fantasy Horse Races (iOS, Android)iOS: App StoreAndroid: Google PlayThis project was initially developed for mobile platforms and was later ported to consoles, which recently launched.I also worked on a personal mobile game project:Shooty GunRelease Date: May 17, 2024PlayBecoming an Environment ArtistWith the release of Unreal Engine 5, the ease of creating and sculpting terrain, then using blueprints to quickly add responsive grass, dirt, and rock materials to my levels, made environment art very enticing and accessible for me. Being a programmer, I often felt the urge to explore more aspects of game development, since the barrier of entry has been completely shattered.I wouldn’t consider myself a full-blown artist just yet. I first learned Blender to build some basic 3D models. We can call it “programmer art” – just enough to get a prototype playable.The main challenges were that most 3D software required subscriptions, which wasn't ideal for someone just learning without commercial intent. Free trials helped at first, but I eventually ran out of emails to renew them. Blender was difficult to grasp initially, but I got through it with the help of countless YouTube tutorials.Whenever I wanted to build a model for a prototype, I would find a tutorial making something similar and follow along.On YouTube, I watched and subscribed to Stylized Station. I also browsed ArtStation regularly for references and inspiration for the types of levels I wanted to build.Environment art was a natural next step in my game dev journey. While I could program gameplay and other systems, I lacked the ability to build engaging levels to make my games feel polished. In the kinds of games I want to create, players will spend most of their time exploring environments. They need to look good and contain landmarks that resonate with the player.My main sources of inspiration are games I’ve played. Sometimes I want to recreate the worlds I've explored. I often return to ArtStation for inspiration and references.Deep Dive Into Art-To-Experience Contest's SubmissionThe project I submitted was originally made for the 80 Level x Emperia contest. Most of the assets were provided as part of the contest.The main character was created in Blender, and the enemy model was a variant of the main character with some minor changes and costume modifications. Animations were sourced from Mixamo and imported into Unreal Engine 5. Texturing and painting were done in Adobe Substance 3D Painter, and materials were created in UE5 from exported textures.Before creating the scene in UE5, I gathered references from ArtStation and Google Images. These were used to sculpt a terrain heightmap. Once the level’s starting point and boss area were defined, I added bamboo trees and planned walkable paths around the map.I created models in Blender and exported them to Substance 3D Painter. Using the Auto UV Unwrap tool, I prepared the models for texturing. Once painted, I exported the textures and applied them to the models in UE5. This workflow was smooth and efficient.In UE5, I converted any assets for level placement into foliage types. This allowed for both random distribution and precise placement using the foliage painter tool, which sped up design significantly.UE5 lighting looked great out-of-the-box. I adjusted the directional light, fog, and shadows to craft a forest atmosphere using the built-in day/night system.I was able to use Emperia's Creator Tools plug-in to set up my scene. The great thing about the tutorial is that it's interactive - as I complete the steps in the UE5 editor, the tutorial window updates and reassures me that I’ve completed the task correctly. This made the setup process easier and faster. Setting up panoramas was also simple - pretty much drag and drop.Advice For BeginnersOne major issue is the rise of AI tools that generate environment art. These tools may discourage beginners who fear they can’t compete. If people stop learning because they think AI will always outperform them, the industry may suffer a creativity drought.My advice to beginners:Choose a game engine you’re comfortable with – Unreal Engine, Unity, etc.Make your idea exist first, polish later. Use free assets from online stores to prototype.Focus on creating game levels with available resources. The important part is getting your world out of your head and into a playable form.Share your work with a community when you're happy with it.Have fun creating your environment – if you enjoy it, others likely will too.Joseph Jegede, Game DeveloperInterview conducted by Theodore McKenzie

In 2015, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt elevated the fantasy action-RPG franchise to new heights. Now, publisher CD Projekt Red is teaming up with RoadCo Entertainment and GEA Live for a U.S. tour of The Witcher in Concert.Heidi Joosten will conduct the music for the tour, which will stop in 45 cities starting August 30. Joosten's on-stage musicians will include Polish folk metal band Percival Schuttenbach as part of its 15-piece ensemble. The concert will feature a special arrangement of The Witcher 3's score that was arranged by Paulina Porszke and Nikola Kołodziejczyk under the supervision of the game's co-composer, Marcin Przybyłowicz.Cinematics from the game and "immersive visuals" will be paired with the music, as players revisit Geralt of Rivia's "bold, emotional journey across the Continent."Continue Reading at GameSpot

Introduction My name is Ayush Banik, a 3D artist from India. I got into 3D through a random Blender tutorial back in late 2022, starting with that classic donut. I have worked on weapons for two games that are still under NDA, as well as some foliage and environment props for Dekogon. I'm still in engineering college, so working full-time is a bit difficult.EOTECH EXPS3 & G45The EOTECH EXPS3 scope and the G45 magnifier are part of my Full Internal AR-15 project. For references, I collected many high-quality images from EOTECH's official website as well as additional ones for texturing from The Weapon Room Discord channel. The aim of this project was to improve my texturing skills for black anodized and Cerakote coatings.I modeled this scope the same way I model all my other work: using a CAD/Blender live boolean workflow. For these two scopes in particular, I used Plasticity for modeling, MOI3D for exporting, and Blender for the low poly. The high-poly was derived in ZBrush using the process: DynaMesh > Polish > Decimate.For the topology, I exported the mesh using MOI3D and fixed the low poly in Blender. Some of the add-ons I used were Resample Mesh, LoopTools, etc. I always unwrap in Blender, straighten UVs using TexTools, and pack them with UVPackmaster. As for texture sets, each sight has its own UV set, since this is part of a weapon with removable attachments.MaterialsI love to talk about materials!The metal was very simple: a base with dark diffuse and specular, since it’s an anodized material, which is non-metallic and usually dark in nature. This was followed by a gloss and specular grain, and a metallic grain on the normal for the height.The next step is to put more normal details onto the surface, like milling.After that, I moved on to the color and gloss details. I added oil and fingerprint smudges layer by layer, as can be seen in the GIF below:After that, moving on to the dust, I did it in a way I really don’t recommend – manually. Every piece of dust was placed using a grainy noise stencil.Moving on to the sticker residue: I started with a little bit of glue and paper residue and worked my way up to dust.Parallax & Magnification EffectsFirst, I needed a height map, which can be created using just a simple black square. Next, for the depth, the following settings work very well, although depending on the size of the reticle, the “depth” option can be adjusted.Transmission set to Thin Surface works best, with “Use Albedo” turned on. Reflectivity should be set to Specular, with Conserve Energy turned on. And, of course, the alpha of the reticle should be in emission. Anything below 0.5 transparency works fine.One more important thing you will need in Marmoset Toolbag for this to work is in the Render settings: transmission needs to be at least 3 for the magnification to work (more on that later).Magnification:The single most important setting for magnification is the Refractive Index under Transmission. Refractive Index at 1 = no magnification. As you increase the RI, you get higher and higher magnification, along with more distortion.RenderingRendering the asset was a huge challenge. I didn’t want to do a flat render on a flat background. There was also the element of showing off my WIP gun, as the EOTECH project is just part of the full AR-15 project.Here’s my rendering setup: 20% of a SWAT guy holding a gun. A major mistake I made was not scaling the SWAT model – my man is 6’9” tall. I should have scaled him to 6’.I use a lot of directional lights to light my scene because I don’t like to depend on HDRIs, so here’s my light setup without any directional lights and using just a simple lighting HDRI.After this, I added my fill lights:Then I added a few more key lights to just brighten everything up:Here are my lights. ConclusionA part of the appeal of creating weapons is to stand out, and I think that’s the most important factor if you want to get more reach. Most of the weapons have already been made over the past 30 years of first-person shooter history. The trick is to either make the best version yet or at least add some elements of your own that no one has thought of before. I added the sticker and markers as part of that, not to mention the environment renders compared to renders on a flat white or black background.One of the biggest challenges is making your work stand out. For example, when someone searches for an M4 on ArtStation, there will be a thousand thumbnails that appear, but the one from KEAL will always stand out to both beginners and veterans alike.Ayush Banik, Hard Surface ArtistInterview conducted by Gloria Levine