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

Gears of War! Metal Gear Solid! Lost Soul Aside! Shinobi!Now we're in the thrust of it, folks! The release schedule is utterly insane from here on out, with new titles dropping at an unthinkable pace.The big highlights this week are obvious: Metal Ge

Season 10 of Fortnite Festival is starting on August 26, and that means a new headlining artist--Gorillaz--a new music pass with paid and free items, and the first major update for the Festival mode in a couple months. Say goodbye to outgoing headliner Bruno Mars, and say hello to 2D, Noodle, Russel, and Murdoc. This is the first time aside from Metallica last summer that the Festival headliner has been a group rather than an individual, and Epic is handling the Gorillaz a little bit differently than they did those elder statesmen of metal.Gorillaz in the Fortnite item shopThis bundle of Gorillaz cosmetics will be in the Fortnite shop all season long.When Metallica was the headlining artist, there were skins for each member in both the shop and in the music pass. With Gorillaz, the four fictional, cartoon members of the group are split between the pass and the item shop, and it's 2D and Noodle who will be on shop duty throughout Season 10. Naturally, all the Gorillaz skins are cel shaded.Those two brought some stuff with them, of course, as they each have a back bling and musical instrument: a mic stand for 2D and a guitar for Noodle. The selection of shop stuff is rounded out by a camo wrap, a contrail, a jam track for the song Clint Eastwood, and both an emote and a jam track for the song Dare. Everything listed in this paragraph, except for the Clint Eastwood jam track, is included in one big ole bundle, but you'll also be able to buy everything individually if you only want one or two things.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Sony looks to capitalise on Lost Soul Aside.Sony raised the price of the PS5 in the US this week blaming a “challenging economic environment”.Look, we don’t want to get too deeply into the politics of it all, but we know the uncertain situation cause

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!

Watch a new making-of featurette.The next Sony-published game is right around the corner — the long-awaited Chinese action title, Lost Soul Aside.Scheduled for release on 29th August 2025, a new post on the PS Blog details the PC and PS5 Pro versions

Team Cherry, developer of Hollow Knight, has announced a release date of September 4 for the long-awaited sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong.Over 300,000 concurrent viewers gathered to watch the announcement via Team Cherry's YouTube channel earlier today. At the time of publication, roughly three hours later, the video has over 1.4 million views and counting.The numbers above encapsulate a fraction of the popularity around the sequel, which was announced back in 2019, two years after the release of Hollow Knight, which is a sprawling action-adventure game. Team Cherry hasn't run an extensive marketing cycle, aside from sporadic appearances in video game showcases from Xbox, Nintendo, and Gamescom. For a while, before any conference, people turned to the meme of expecting news of a release date for Silksong. This included industry figure Geoff Keighley, who joked about it on Monday of this week via X (formerly Twitter), ahead of his hosting Gamescom Opening Night Live, which took place on Tuesday.Team Cherry seems unaware of what Jira isHollow Knight sold over 2.8 million copies by 2019, two years after its release. It was, by all means, a successful launch for Team Cherry, an indie development team consisting primarily of three people. But the popularity continued to snowball from there. As of today, according to an interview with Bloomberg, Hollow Knight has sold 15 million copies.Related:Silksong has been in development for seven years now. When asked about why the dev cycle has taken this long, Team Cherry co-founders Ari Gibson and Willian Pellen said that they've been having fun, and that the project has been a vehicle for their creativity."It was never stuck or anything," Gibson told Bloomberg. "It was always progressing. It's just the case that we're a small team, and games take a lot of time. There wasn't any big controversial moment behind it."The idea for the sequel came from designing a DLC that progressively grew in scope, until the team realized that it could become a separate title altogether. According to the devs, that growth continued over time—in 2022, Team Cherry featured Silksong during an Xbox event that promised that all of the games shown would be out within a year. But that wasn't the case."I think we're always underestimating the amount of time and effort it'll take us to achieve things," Gibson told Bloomberg. "It's also that problem where, because we're having fun doing it, it's not like, 'It's taking longer, this is awful, we really need to get past this phase.' It's, 'This is a very enjoyable space to be in. Let's perpetuate this with some new ideas.'"Related:According to Team Cherry, maintaining the team small saved them from having to manage and delegate, even if that led to extended production time. The co-founders are joined by programmer Jack Vine, composer Chris Larking, and "a few contractors" who helped with programming and testing."We don't want to mess with the formula and then find out it's not fun," Gibson said. "I used to manage teams in past lives. I don't really want to do that ever again."This methodology has allowed for a distinct approach to developing a game, to the point where the team seems unaware of task-management applications. Gibson asked "What is Jira?" when prompted if they had used it at some point. Meanwhile, Pellen wondered "Is it software?" and added that the team briefly used Trello before their account was deactivated for lack of use.

We continue to get more player ratings for the upcoming NBA 2K26, and the latest set reveals who the game's best dunkers are. Specifically, this ranks the the top 10 dunkers based on their Driving Dunk stat, which helps represent those players who are best at pulling off a spectacular dunk on the court.This is a continuation of ratings week for 2K26, and we've already gone over the top 10 lists for the best three-point shooters, best handles, and best rookies. Anthony Edwards - 97 (Driving Dunk)Anthony Edwards leads the list of dunkers in NBA 2K26, and for good reason. No one had more flashy dunks over the course of last season than Ant. Ja Morant - 96 (Driving Dunk)Ja Morant comes in right behind Anthony Edwards at 96 OVR. If some of Morant's attempted dunks from the last two or three seasons had gone in, we'd probably be talking about him in the number one spot. Nevertheless, Morant is still one of the elite dunkers in the NBA. Jalen Johnson - 96 (Driving Dunk)Jalen Johnson is a player that's really come into his own the past two seasons, and he's flown under the radar as one of the best dunkers in the NBA since he was drafted four years ago. Johnson regularly puts on a show playing the Hawks, and he's had some of the most jaw-dropping dunks in the league recently. Amen Thompson - 96 (Driving Dunk)Amen Thompson is a young player who is on the verge of becoming a superstar. His sheer athleticism is something to behold every night he steps on the court, and his dunks have only been improving since being drafted by the Rockets. Shaedon Sharpe - 95 (Driving Dunk)Shaedon Sharpe is another underrated dunker who has become a near-20-point scorer for the Trail Blazers during the past two seasons. Many fans have wanted to see him compete in the Dunk Contest, so perhaps we'll finally get him included in 2026. Jaylen Brown - 94 (Driving Dunk)Jaylen Brown might be remembered most for a lackluster Dunk Contest in 2025, but let's put that aside and think about all of his miraculous dunks from the regular and postseason in the 2020s. Brown delivers some of the best posters in the NBA year in and year out, and his rating is right where it should be. Derrick Jones Jr. - 94 (Driving Dunk)Some players in the NBA have made a career off being able to dunk the ball, and while Derrick Jones Jr. is a good defender, his dunking ability is his best offensive skill. He won the 2020 Dunk Contest over another member of this top 10 list, cementing his place in NBA dunking lore. Zach LaVine - 94 (Driving Dunk)Zach LaVine is another spectacular dunker in the NBA, particularly due to his Dunk Contest performance in 2016. LaVine has remained elite in this regard as he's transitioned to a few different teams. Aaron Gordon - 94 (Driving Dunk)Aaron Gordon is perhaps the most well-known and highly-regarded dunker of his generation. Multiple Dunk Contest finals appearances and consistent dunking performances throughout his time in the NBA has cemented his status. It's only appropriate the top 10 would include someone who pulled off a game-wining, buzzer-beating dunk in this past year's playoffs. Zion Williamson - 93 (Driving Dunk)Rounding out the list is Zion Williamson, a player who can still pull off incredible dunks when he's playing, though he is often not on the court consistently, as Zion has certainly dealt with his fair share of injuries over the years.

Blackbird Interactive, developer of Homeworld 3 and Minecraft Legends, has reacquired full intellectual property rights of Hardspace: Shipbreaker.Announced today, the developer now has full ownership of the IP. Originally, the game was brought to market in partnership with Focus Entertainment, which not only assisted as publisher but also acquired partial ownership of the IP.According to the announcement, Blackbird isn't ready to share specifics aside from there being "multiple Hardspace projects" currently in development, paving the path forward to flesh out the IP into a franchise. According to a financial report issued in June 2022 by Focus Entertainment, Hardspace: Shipbreaker had sold over 500,000 copies in its two years in early access.It's been a year since Blackbird Interactive talked about a "realignment plan"Hardspace: Shipbreaker has been a standout release for Blackbird. In recent times, however, the team has undergone layoffs and leadership changes internally.As reported by Business in Vancouver, where the studio is based, founder Rob Cunningham transitioned from the CEO role to board chairman back in March of this year, with Eric Torin taking over the helm after his tenure as chief strategy officer. This is reflected in Blackbird's official site.Related:The news came around a year after Blackbird made layoffs due to "economic pressures" beyond its control, claiming the cuts were part of a wider "realignment plan" that was implemented after some of its partners shelved in-development projects. "We looked at multiple ways of avoiding this and regretfully other options weren't viable," a Blackbird spokesperson said at the time.The layoffs followed another round of job cuts that took place in August 2023, which affected 41 staff members. Months later, Mojang pulled the plug on Minecraft Legends.