Since we first announced Lumines Arise during the State of Play in June, we’ve been inundated with the same question from fans: When will the demo be available?! And the answer is…right now! You can play the limited-time Lumines Arise Demo on PlayStation 5 now through September 3 and try out three single-player stages and help us network test the all-new multiplayer Burst Battle mode. We also have a release date for the full game—November 11, 2025. Pre-orders start today (and include a 10% discount for PS Plus subscribers!)—go to the PS Store page for that and to download the demo. Lumines for all Never played a Lumines game before? Or forgot how it works? Or never “got it” in the first place? Good news: Arise is incredibly easy for anyone to get into, thanks to an excellent interactive tutorial that walks you through everything, step-by-step. (And even old pros won’t wanna miss the intro to new mechanics like Burst!) The Demo only features one difficulty (Easy – the final game will have four different levels), but you’ll also find robust options to fit every play style under “Accessibility” in the Options menu. Want to just groove to the music and not worry about time pressure, or a “Game Over” when you top out? Try the “No Stress Lumines” options for that! Want to strip away the visual flourishes to focus more on the gameplay? There’s options for that! Or playing on your PlayStation Portal and want to zoom in to get the most out of your portable screen real estate? There’s options for that, too! Play Video An all-new multiplayer experience Burst Battle represents a complete reinvention of multiplayer Lumines, borrowing from the competitive-puzzle-game greats, but adding a twist all its own. Now, both players have an entire playfield to themselves and can send garbage blocks to attack their opponent. You generate these attacks by clearing 2×2 (or larger) Squares, or by triggering the all-new Burst mechanic (where you have a few Timeline passes to build a single color match as large as possible). The bigger the Burst, the larger the deluge your opponent will face! Meanwhile, garbage blocks can pile up on the sides, shrinking the available playfield—only matching blocks adjacent to garbage will clear it out. This ebb and flow can get super tense and really fun, I hope you try it out! The Demo features a taste of Burst Battle via matchmaking, but the full version of the game will offer friend / CPU matches, custom matches, and local play. And you’ll get to select your favorite stage music / block-visuals that you unlocked in the single-player Journey mode to use in multiplayer; it’s kind of like having your own theme song as you head into battle! Everyone’s here—including Astro Bot? Starting today, you can pre-order the Standard or Digital Deluxe Edition of Lumines Arise on PlayStation Store. And as mentioned above, PS Plus members get a 10% discount on the pre-order. The Digital Deluxe Edition (also available as an upgrade to the Standard Edition) includes the full game and four exclusive Loomii in-game avatars. You can customize your Loomii in-game to match your personality, and the set in the Digital Deluxe Edition includes skins based on Tetris Effect: Connected, Rez Infinite, Humanity, and, what’s this—Astro Bot is appearing as a guest as well! A big thank you to our friends at Team Asobi for making this crossover possible. The image above is just a preview—the final look of these avatars will be revealed soon. Also, because it wouldn’t be Lumines Arise news without some new music, a new single from the soundtrack has been released. Hydelic’s hypnotically thumping anthem “Dreamland” is the sonic backdrop of the Chameleon Groove stage from the Demo, and is available now on Bandcamp with a release soon on your favorite streaming services. We know that after you play the demo, you’ll want to add this to your favorite daily playlist. A quick note for PS VR2 owners: unfortunately VR mode couldn’t make it in time for this demo, but we can confirm it will be available at launch on November 11! Thank you for all your passion and excitement for VR, and in this case, for your patience. (And maybe you’ll get a glimpse of Arise in VR somewhere sometime before launch after all…?) We hope you’ll check out the Demo, tell us what you think, and get ready for the launch of the full game on November 11.

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

Dive into creating Manga-style NPR rendering with this super extensive and free tutorial series by Harry Helps. Hello Everyone! In this comprehensive tutorial, we'll create a subtle looping animation of a manga style environment in Blender! We'll be using a panel from the manga "BLAME!" as our reference! We'll start with a ready-made starter file and design custom materials to give it a manga aesthetic. Then, using the grease pencil tool, we'll draw hand-crafted elements directly into the scene. To enhance the manga aesthetic, we'll apply compositing overlays that give it the feel of a manga page. In the final step, we'll animate the camera and export the finished piece as both a video and an animated GIF! I hope you enjoy the tutorial! See the full 17-part playlist here:

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, 20252 Min ReadImage via Tencent Tencent debuted a new AI creation tool called VISVISE at Gamescom 2025 that it claims will accelerate video game art production by automating repetitive tasks. The Chinese conglomerate billed VISVISE as an end-to-end AI game creation suit that will "dramatically cut down game art design time from days or even months, down to minutes." "With capabilities spanning animation and modeling to the creation of intelligent NPCs, or managing digital assets, VISVISE provides game developers and designers with a complete AIGC-powered toolset to accelerate workflows," it added. Tencent said the tool will specifically allow developers to rapidly skin and animate characters in a matter of minutes—a process it claims usually takes up to three-and-a-half days. In addition, the company claimed skeletal animations can be produced in just 10 seconds with VISVISE. Tencent said that process usually takes between three and seven days. "This results in an eightfold improvement in character skinning throughput and transforms animation into a fully automated process of 'keyframe generation + intelligent in-betweening,'" it continued. Tencent claims it doesn't want VISVISE to replace 'human ingenuity'Tencent Games VISVISE expert Zijiao Zeng delivered a keynote at Devcom (soon to be rebranded as Gamescom Dev) and shared more details on VISVISE's two key core technologies: VISVISE GoSkinning and VISVISE MotionBlink. Related:GoSkinning works by leveraging a universal AI model to automatically adapt to different skeletal structures. Tencent told Game Developer the tool is based on an AI model developed in-house. The company explained GoSkinning achieves around 85 percent automation and uses a two-step process of bone chain prediction and weight refinement, while its proprietary 'Skirt AI' addresses "complex garment deformation issues." MotionBlink, meanwhile, uses a self-regressive diffusion architecture to rapidly generate keyframes combined with pre-trained CVAE and contrastive learning to produce smooth motion transitions that Tencent claims will rival optimal motion capture and eliminate common issues such as foot sliding and jitter. VISVISE tools have already been integrated into the development of over 90 titles, including PUBG Mobile. Addressing the widespread concerns surrounding AI technology and automation, Tencent said it doesn't envision a future in which VISVIE replaces workers and instead explained it views the technology as a "supporting tool." "VISVISE is designed to automate repetitive tasks with human oversight, enabling creative teams to focus on core artistic and design elements that define a great game," a Tencent spokesperson told Game Developer. "Human ingenuity, intuition and connection continue to be pillars of our industry's success, and the keys to developing engaging, emotionally resonant games. With AI, we hope to accelerate creativity, building a collaborative environment where we can continue to create, play and sell quality games."Related:Game Developer attended Gamescom 2025 via the Gamescom Media Ambassador Program, which covered flights and accommodation.Read more about:GamescomAbout 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

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, launching August 28 on PlayStation 5, is a remake of the 2004 PlayStation 2 classic, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. I had a conversation with the developers during a Tokyo press event to discuss the upcoming remake and its development process.  ​​ Faithfully replicating the thrill and impact of the original PlayStation Blog: How important was it to your team to create a game that stayed true to the original? Noriaki Okamura (Metal Gear Series Producer): We began this project with the intention of bringing a 20-year-old game to the present day. While we updated the graphics and certain game mechanics to ensure today’s players could fully enjoy the experience, we wanted to stay true to the original as much as possible. What challenges did your team face during development, and what specific adjustments were implemented? Okamura: I had no intention of altering the original story, so I insisted that we can just update the game graphics. Korekado disagreed and warned me that that approach will not work, but I initially had the team re-create the game just with new character models. Although the graphics improved, they appeared doll-like and unrealistic, so I finally realized that my plan was inadequate. Yuji Korekado (Creative Producer): We began by reworking the animation and game mechanics. We implemented animation programming that didn’t exist two decades ago to make the game more realistic, but that also meant we couldn’t reproduce the original game mechanics. Metal Gear is a stealth game, so it’s crucial for players to be able to make precise movements. We put in a lot of effort to replicate the same feel as the original, while maintaining realism. Are there any areas of the game that you wanted to recreate as faithfully as possible? Korekado: We made sure that the jungle looked as realistic as possible. We devoted a lot of time modeling every fine detail like leaves, grass, and moss covering the ground. Since the perspective shifts along with the character’s movements, players will get a closer look at the ground when they’re crouching or crawling. To make sure the environment was immersive from every angle, we carefully crafted every element with great precision. ​​ Have any enhancements been made compared to the original PS2 version? Korekado: We enhanced the visuals to be more intuitive. Thanks to increased memory and much faster speeds the user experience has improved significantly, including faster transitions to the Survival Viewer or having a quick menu to swap uniforms. On top of that, the audio improvements are remarkable. Sound absorption rates vary depending on the materials of the walls and floors, which allows players to detect enemies behind walls or nearby animals intuitively. In areas like caves and long corridors, unique echo parameters help distinguish different environments, which I think is a major advancement for stealth gameplay. Extra content for players to enjoy diverse gameplay The remake features Fox Hunt, a new online multiplayer mode. Why did you include this in the game instead of Metal Gear Online (MGO)? Yu Sahara (Fox Hunt Director): The remake features significantly enhanced graphics, so we explored various online modes that aligned with these improvements. We decided to focus on stealth, sneaking, and survival, since those are also the key pillars of the main game. We landed on a concept that is based on hide-and-seek, that is classic Metal Gear, while also being reminiscent of the stealth missions featured in the earlier MGO. Can players earn rewards by playing the Fox Hunt mode? Sahara: While there are no items that can be transferred to the main game, players can unlock rewards like new camouflage options by playing Fox Hunt multiple times. Were there any challenges or specific areas of focus while remaking Snake vs Monkey mode? Taiga Ishigami (Planner): Our main goal was to make Pipo Monkey even more charming, cute, and entertaining. We developed new character actions, including the “Gotcha!” motion, and each animation and sound effect were carefully reviewed to ensure it captured Pipo Monkey’s personality. If anything felt off, we made changes right away. I heard the new Snake vs Monkey mode features an Astro Bot collab. Ishigami: Yes, a couple of bots from the Astro Bot game will make an appearance, and you can capture them just like the Pipo Monkeys. Capturing these bots isn’t required to finish the levels, but you’ll receive unique rewards if you do. Depending on the level, either a standard bot or a Pipo Monkey bot will be hidden away, so be sure to keep an eye out for them. ​​ Do you have any final words for new players as well as longtime fans of the original game? Okamura: I rarely cry when playing games, but I remember bawling my eyes out while playing the original Metal Gear Solid 3. The development of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater was driven by our goal to faithfully capture the impact and thrill that players felt two decades ago. Metal Gear Solid 3 is the ultimate example of storytelling in games, and having dreamed of making a game like this, I now feel a sense of fulfillment. I hope everyone enjoys the story as much as I do. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater arrives on PS5 on August 28.  Read a new hands-on report with the game.