Generative AI has been a very contentious issue over the last few years in the game industry, and as more and more developers make use of the technology, it's becoming more difficult to know just what was created by a human being. Next year's Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis will indeed make use of generative AI, but Crystal Dynamics wants players to know there is one area it was not used: the design of Lara Croft herself.

Speaking to GameSpot at Summer Game Fest, experience director Jeff Adams clarified if generative AI was used in the creation of Lara.

"No. Lara is 100% human-crafted," Adams said.

This answer came shortly after our interview had initially concluded. We had already asked this question, but were initially told that team was not ready to discuss Lara's design. We were told the above in much-more-certain terms afterward.

Elsewhere, it sounds like AI is going to be used for concept art and placeholder assets--how this affects the human beings who would usually do this sort of work is not entirely clear.

"At Crystal Dynamics, we see AI as a tool that our teams can use to get to a right answer fast. What that might look like in practice, is, say in early-level development we have an idea for an in-game object but we're not sure if we want to task the team with building it at that time. We can use a generative AI tool to quickly visualize what that object would look like in the world. And if we're like, 'Hey, that works,' we'll then move it into ur traditional pipeline."

Adams added that once the final product is built, the team makes sure all final content is human-created. But the threat of job loss is certainly hanging over the heads of Crystal Dynamics employees, as several major layoffs have hit the studio over the last few years.

Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis launches for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC in 2027.

A Halo trailer was supposed to air during the recent PlayStation State of Play event, but Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and her team decided to yank it, according to a report. This potentially damaged the relationship between Xbox and PlayStation, sources told Bloomberg.

The story didn't have any further information about the Halo trailer, but it was likely a video for Halo: Campaign Evolved, which releases this July. Microsoft and Sony subsequently released a trailer for the game featuring footage captured on PlayStation 5 Pro. Fans are theorizing that this was the trailer meant for State of Play, but that is not confirmed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn2m4Xhk2UE

In any event, Campaign Evolved represents the Halo franchise's debut on a PlayStation platform. It may also not be the last, as Microsoft previously said the future of Halo is on PlayStation and that Halo being on PlayStation is good for the brand and players.

Campaign Evolved is still coming to PS5 because Microsoft already committed to releasing it there, and the company has said it will honor existing agreements. However, it remains to be seen if Microsoft will release whatever Halo game comes next on PlayStation, now that Sharma is leading Xbox and has promised at least two "signature" Xbox console exclusives each year.

The Bloomberg report also backed up the claim that a PS5 edition of Gears of War: E-Day was in the works and planned for release until Sharma decided to cancel it. The report added that "many" Xbox employees were surprised.

These details came to light as part of a wider report detailing layoffs at Xbox that are expected to come in July. It's also been reported that Microsoft might close at least one Xbox studio, but it remains to be seen which one.

In a memo to staff, Sharma alluded to forthcoming changes to the Xbox studio system.

"We expanded our studio system when we needed a pipeline of content to meet multiple strategies across subscription, streaming, and devices. In the process, we have found ourselves over extended as we executed on changing strategies in a landscape of more readily available content," she said.

These changes are coming as Sharma takes steps to "reset the business."

It's a good time to be a Resident Evil fan between the upcoming live-action movie and the recent Requiem game, but there's also Resident Evil: Veronica to look forward to. A remake of Code Veronica, the original game is admittedly dated in several areas, including the problematic portrayal of the original game's villain. Alfred Ashford. If you're looking to enter the remake with fresh eyes, consider this to be your spoiler warning before you carry on reading.

https://youtu.be/Nt6mVYnXaHk

In Code Veronica, players are menaced by Ashford during their imprisonment on Rockfort Island. Alfred happens to have two personalities, switching between himself and his sister, Alexia, during the campaign. When the Alexia personality takes over, she dresses the part, and at one point in the game, protagonist Claire Redfield refers to him as a "crossdressing freak" after learning the truth in the English localization of Code Veronica. The game also has several other unsavory implications with regard to Ashford's relationship and co-dependence on his sister. Again, nothing is ever confirmed, just heavily implied.

When asked about this, Resident Evil: Veronica producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi addressed how Capcom is aiming to dig deeper into the characters that appear, while also respecting their differences in this reimagining of Code Veronica. Hirabayashi added that the original tone of Code Veronica was to tap into the darkest themes of being human, and that tone will be very prominent in the Veronica remake.

While that isn't much of an answer, we did get more concrete responses to our other questions. Hirabayashi spilled the beans on why Capcom chose to remake Code Veronica and how the remake is being treated as a mainline game in the franchise. And in case you were wondering, yes, it is a third-person game from start to finish. Resident Evil: Veronica launches in 2027 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2.

Just like (well, not just like) the original 2000 game, Resident Evil: Veronica will be played from a third-person perspective.

The news was shared with GameSpot during a group Q&A session at Summer Game Fest, which is also where Capcom officially announced the game to the public.

The original Resident Evil: Code Veronica was also played in third-person--just like most of the older Resident Evil games--but it utilized the clunkier "tank" controls of the PlayStation originals.

For Resident Evil: Veronica, GameSpot was told the closest gameplay corollary would be the Resident Evil 2 remake. Both games feature Claire Redfield in a playable role, and because Veronica only takes place a few months after Resident Evil 2, Claire is still not a combat expert--there will be a big focus on resource management, in classic Resident Evil fashion.

Though it was not a numbered, mainline entry when the original version launched, Resident Evil: Veronica is being treated closer to one this time around. The one-word subtitle was chosen to evoke the recent games like Requiem and Village, and as longtime fans know, much of the franchise's main story continued in Code Veronica.

Resident Evil Veronica launches in 2027 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Switch 2, and PC.

If there are two internet gaming celebrities folks love to be parasocial about, it's gotta be Hideo Kojima and Geoff Keighley. For decades, the two have publicly shared what many thought to be an unbreakable bond. Despite their different backgrounds, ages, and positions in the industry--Kojima being the beloved game director behind both the Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding series, and Keighley, a long-time journalist and events-host-turned-founder of The Game Awards--their love of video games and entertainment seemingly served as the foundation for a long and fruitful relationship. Recently, however, internet onlookers had begun to suspect there was trouble in paradise.

Late last week, tweets began to circulate highlighting the fact that the pair had not been seen interacting since 2025's The Game Awards, during which Death Stranding 2 went home with zero awards despite securing seven nominations. As several of the clips and tweets circulating online reflect, this lack of (public) communication was not for lack of Keighley's trying; the host was frequently seen commenting on Kojima's posts only to be met with silence. Most recently, Keighley offered up a polite wave emoji on a recent photo Kojima shared standing next to actress Jodie Foster. Kojima, however, did not respond.

Fans of the duo began to refer to Kojima's "public shunning" of Keighley as indication that the pair were now "divorced." The cheeky jab at how close they once were--and how distant they now seemed--quickly gained traction and spawned videos like the following:

https://twitter.com/wiithteeth/status/2063039074416693442

In an act that further intensified the rumors that there was tension between the pair, Keighley took to X to respond to one of the posts highlighting Kojima repeatedly leaving him on read. The incident took place just two days after Summer Game Fest Live--Keighley's annual showcase that shines a spotlight upcoming games and has essentially replaced E3 as the industry's biggest summer event--and saw the host respond to the above video with a GIF of Kojima looking briefly disappointed before clapping.

https://twitter.com/geoffkeighley/status/2063303121636626641

For a moment, it seemed as if there might be some validity to the pair having undisclosed issued. Shortly after the "divorce rumors" began to intensify, Gene Park, a reporter for The Washington Post, shared a photo alongside Kojima with the caption, "plz don't show this to geoff keighley." Kojima then retweeted that post not once, but twice.

https://twitter.com/GenePark/status/2063433382374072739

Who was to blame for this falling out? Was is the developers behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the game that took home the most Game Awards in the show's history and (theoretically) prevented Death Stranding 2 from securing even one award? Perhaps it was Miss Piggy, fans began to speculate. After all, the pair had grown quite close. (Sorry, Kermit).

https://twitter.com/Greggs_/status/2061471716086268152

However, after a long, speculative, and frankly hilarious week, Kojima and Keighley have finally put an end to the rumors. Last night, the pair shared multiple posts across social media of their dramatic reunion. By the looks of it, the two picked up right where they left off, and spent the evening enjoying flutes of champagne and each other's company.

https://twitter.com/geoffkeighley/status/2064594724087009650

Ever the artist, Kojima also shared a black-and-white video of the two embracing. The clip ends with the two turning to the camera and offering two enthusiastic thumbs ups, just to ensure that we all move on with our lives and stop being a bunch of chronically online little weirdos. Friendship is truly magical.

https://twitter.com/HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN/status/2064605333151236242

Microsoft is reportedly planning major layoffs at its Xbox division next month--a move that comes shortly after new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma admitted its business "isn't particularly healthy."

According to sources speaking to Bloomberg, the layoffs will come sometime after June 30, which is when Microsoft's fiscal year ends. In an email sent to employees on Wednesday, Sharma emphasized that annual revenue had declined "nearly half a billion" over the last five years despite more than $20 million in investments across the Xbox brand, excluding Activision Blizzard King.

"We expanded our studio system when we needed a pipeline of content to meet multiple strategies across subscription, streaming, and devices," Sharma said. "In the process, we found ourselves overextended as we executed on changing strategies in a landscape of more readily available content."

Sharma also emphasized that Microsoft is in a "hardware component crisis," facing issues that have plagued much of the tech industry as more and more hardware is used for AI.

"When I joined as CEO in February, the price we paid for console storage components was over 2x as high as we paid last fall," Sharma said. "These costs have since doubled again. And as we plan for the 2027 holiday season, we expect another significant increase, taking us over 5x the prices we paid only two years earlier."

It remains to be seen exactly how drastic the steps will be, but Sharma's words suggest studio closures aren't out of the realm of possibility. Microsoft drastically increased its number of studios under previous Xbox boss Phil Spencer, acquiring developers like Compulsion Games, Undead Labs, and Ninja Theory alongside the behemoths Bethesda and Activision Blizzard.

The upcoming layoffs, if accurate, are unfortunately not shocking. In late May, Sharma reportedly told staff that "hard choices" were coming as the Xbox brand attempts a resurgence.

One of the first things that Xbox CEO Asha Sharma did after ascending to her position was to unveil the next Xbox, Project Helix. Although Microsoft has yet to disclose pricing details, early estimates suggest that Project Helix may cost $900 or more. Now, Sharma has indicated that Xbox may have to embrace "radically different" plans to thrive in the future.

"I think what is needed for console, rather than just the most premium, high-performance console in the world ... we've reached a point where it will be hard to imagine that mass audiences can afford thousands of dollars to spend on a console," said Sharma during a recent live event hosted by Fortune. "So I think we will start to see radically different business models that we never expected start to come into orbit later this year."

Sharma has previously acknowledged some disappointing numbers from Xbox's most recent financial year, and she offered another frank assessment of the business during her on-stage conversation.

"It's hard to find examples of platforms out there that don't have exclusive services and content," noted Sharma. "And so this is a journey for us. Our business isn't particularly healthy, as you noted, and so we're starting by introducing one to two signature exclusives. And as the business is healthy, we will look to try and do more."

That ties into the decision to make Gears of War: E-Day an Xbox console exclusive. Clockwork Revolution has also been confirmed to only appear on Xbox and PC.

There's still a broader question of whether Xbox can be saved regardless of Sharma's new initiative. Microsoft's current console generation is lagging far behind Sony's PlayStation 5, and that means exclusives like E-Day may sell considerably fewer copies than cross-platform titles like Halo: Campaign Evolved and the eventual port of Forza Horizon 6.

Halo: Campaign Evolved introduces a special modifier that allows you to play the upcoming remake in third-person. That's a big shift, given the franchise is best known for its first-person perspective.

Campaign Evolved isn't third-person by default. Instead, players must toggle on one of the game's 42 gameplay-modifying Skulls to play in third-person. The specific Skull you need for third-person is called Perspective.

For anyone new to Halo, Skulls are collectibles that players can find during campaign missions that unlock modifiers. Exactly how to find the Perspective Skull, however, remains a mystery for now. Check out the new gameplay footage for the third-person mode below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woUnTCVv9JU

The Halo series has featured limited third-person gameplay before, as games like Halo 3 allowed players to briefly enter third-person when driving vehicles and after ripping off chainguns.

Campaign Evolved includes 26 legacy Skulls from past Halo games, along with 16 new ones, one of which is Perspective. Another new one is called Floor Is Lava, and with this one, players take damage every time they touch the ground. The Speed Limit Skull, meanwhile, prevents players from sprinting. The original Halo: Combat Evolved didn't have sprint, so you can use this Skull for an OG experience.

You can see a list of all the legacy and new Skulls for Campaign Evolved below, as shared by Halo Studios.

Additionally, Halo Studios announced a new Campaign Remix feature for Campaign Evolved. This is a new mode that lets players replay completed missions with randomized enemies, different weapon pickups, and new visibility effects. Players need to collect any two Skulls to unlock Campaign Remix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZFVVcEM38c

The developers said at a group interview at Summer Game Fest attended by GameSpot that the Campaign Remix mode gives players yet another way to replay missions and experience them in new ways. "It really is a completely different way of playing the game, and really makes those missions feel very different," Halo Studios said.

GameSpot played some of the remade missions for Halo: Campaign Evolved at Summer Game Fest recently, and we came away pretty unimpressed.

Halo: Campaign Evolved launches on July 28 for $50, and in addition to coming to the places you’d expect like Xbox and PC, it will also be available on PS5. People who pay more for the $70 premium edition can start playing on July 23.

There is no multiplayer support in Halo: Campaign Evolved, but another upcoming Halo game is rumored to be like Fortnite with a live-service multiplayer approach.

Preorders for Halo: Campaign Evolved are live now, for the game's standard and premium editions.

Preorder at Amazon

Legacy Skulls AngryEnemies fire their weapons faster and more frequentlyBlack EyeYour shields will only recharge when you melee enemiesBlindHUD and Weapons do not appear onscreenCatchEnemies throw and drop more grenadesEye PatchAll auto-aim is disabled for all weaponsFamineWeapons dropped by enemies contain half the ammoFogMotion Tracker is disabledForeignPlayers cannot use weapons from another factionIronDying in co-op resets you to your last checkpoint, dying while solo restarts the levelMythicEnemies have increased healthRecessionEvery shot expends twice the normal amount of ammoThat's Just... WrongEnemies have increased awareness of the playerThunderstormUpgrades the rank of most enemiesTough LuckEnemies always go berserk, constantly dive out of the way, and never run away from a fightBandanaInfinite ammo and grenadesBoomExplosion radius is increased by 2xGhostEnemies no longer flinch when taking fireGrunt Birthday PartyGrunt headshots produce legendary celebrationsGrunt FuneralGrunts die in a blaze of plasmaMalfunctionUpon respawn a random element of your HUD no longer appearsPiñataPunching enemies makes them drop inert grenadesCowbellPhysics mass of objects is reduced, making them more easily displacedThey Come BackFlood Combat Forms reanimated by Infection Forms are much more dangerousIWHBYDIt would have been your dialogueTiltEnhances both positive and negative damage multipliers. 
EX: Plasma does MORE damage against shields, but LESS damage against healthAcrophobiaThe Corps: Now issue rifles AND wings...  New Skulls Speed LimitTake your time, enjoy the sights! Disables sprintPopShooting Flood in their weak point causes them to explodeEndurance SpecUNSC vehicles cannot be damagedGive & TakeFiring your weapon drains your shield, but dealing damage to enemies recharges itStowed ReloadWeapons continue to reload while stowedHip FireAll weapon zoom functionality is disabledTemperamentalAllies will attack the player more quickly if the player kills a friendlyFloor is LavaTake continuous damage whenever touching the “ground” Magnified60-round magazines for the AR are now standard-issue Johnny Ammo SeedWhen reloading you lose the ammo remaining in the discarded clipLeadheadHeadshots no longer provide extra damage or instant killsEfficientEnemies killed while the player is at full health drop more ammoPerspectiveChanges the player camera to third-personAdaptationRandomizes the enemy factions present in the missionReloadRandomizes the pre-placed weapons for the missionArmisticeEnemy factions never fight one another

Gears of War: E-Day was reportedly planned for PlayStation 5, but Microsoft has opted to skip a Sony version. The decision was apparently not made at the last minute as some suspected. In any event, the developers at The Coalition are OK with the game skipping PS5, even if it means reaching fewer players, and presumably making less money, overall.

The Coalition studio creative director Matt Searcy told Eurogamer, that, "We never talked about" bringing E-Day to PS5 in the first place. That is true--the game was never even confirmed for PS5, but people suspected it would come to Sony's flagship console considering 2025's Gears of War Reloaded did and because Microsoft has been more receptive to launching its games on rival platforms in recent times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh5Swf5p4jo

However, after Asha Sharma was named Xbox CEO, things seemingly changed, as Sharma began to shift back to exclusives to help revive an Xbox brand that Microsoft said was languishing under the leadership of Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond.

Searcy went on to say that E-Day as an Xbox-exclusive game "makes a ton of sense," going on to say it's "an honor, and exciting" to be an exclusive next to Clockwork Revolution.

The developer added that it would be "awesome" if more people got to play E-Day, "but for Xbox and PC, you've got what is out there."

Art director Aryan Hanbeck, meanwhile, said, "We're not too concerned about the size of the audience. We've shipped to audiences smaller before, and there are great shooters on Xbox already."

"Focus on the future"

In an interview with Game Informer, Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty addressed the exclusivity issue as well. He was asked if Microsoft is doing a disservice to fans by bringing Reloaded to PS5, getting those fans excited about Gears of War, and then making E-Day exclusive to Xbox. Booty didn't respond directly but suggested that things changed when Sharma took over as Xbox CEO.

"We've had an opportunity with Asha coming in to really take a look at our strategy and, I'd say, put the focus on the future. I think that it's that focus out of which that decision came," he said.

Microsoft's policy around exclusives going forward is that big, multiplayer live-service games will continue to be released on a multiplatform basis (except E-Day, which does also have multiplayer), while games that were already announced--publicly or otherwise--for platforms beyond Xbox will still come to those systems. With respect to new games, however, Booty said Microsoft is going to be "really thoughtful about what we do" for future exclusives.

"I think, in general, you can look for us that when we put a date on something, we're going to put a platform on it. So that's going to be the approach. I think the thing that ties those two things together that you talked about is really a drive for that clarity," he said. "We want there to be a reason to believe and a reason to buy Xbox, and for there to be a reward for our loyal fans."

For her part, Sharma recently told Fortune, "It's hard to find examples of platforms out there that don't have exclusive services and content."

She added: "This is a journey for us. Our business isn't particularly healthy. We're starting by introducing 1-2 signature exclusives, and as the business is healthy, we'll look to try and do more."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0hMSekk4XE

E-Day and Clockwork Revolution are not timed-exclusives for Xbox, Microsoft has said, suggesting they may never come to PS5. That being said, Microsoft said Starfield was not a timed exclusive for Xbox, and then it came to PS5.

As for E-Day, the new Gears of War game releases in October, and a multiplayer beta is coming ahead of launch. After playing the game at Summer Game Fest, we found it to be bigger, bolder, and more ambitious than we expected.

The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced on June 10, 2018--that is now a full eight years ago. In the 2,920 days that have transpired, Bethesda has not released a single new image or trailer for it, or even discussed the game in an official capacity beyond small quotes here and there.

The game did not show up at the recent Xbox Games Showcase, prompting some people to wonder how it's coming together and when Bethesda may show it off again. Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty addressed this in an interview with Variety, saying one of the hard parts of his job is deciding what to show, and when, during high-profile showcases.

"You want to get them excited early, but we also know that we want to wait till the right moment. And when you decide to show it, you want it to be the best you’ve got," he said. "And also that when you show the game, you’re also giving them a promise of, hey, it’s coming soon."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQcnDNd3P7Q

Booty was speaking generally here, but he also talked specifically about The Elder Scrolls 6. He said he has sat down with game director Todd Howard as he played it, and Booty remarked that the game "looks amazing" and is "coming along well."

As for when Bethesda may show the game again? The developer is waiting for the "right time," Booty said.

Howard has questioned whether it was the right call to announce The Elder Scrolls 6 so early. “I have asked myself that a lot,” he said. “I don’t know. I probably would’ve announced it more casually.”

He later said announcing The Elder Scrolls 6 in the way that Bethesda did was "not my preference," but it happened anyway.

He went on to joke: “Just pretend we didn’t announce it. It doesn’t exist. No one has heard a word.”

One of the reasons that The Elder Scrolls 6 might have been announced so early was for the purposes of recruiting staff to work on it. This is a common practice in gaming.