Latest news with #Baldur'sGate3
Metro
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Baldur's Gate 3 devs reveal the weirdest and most bizarre fan stats
For the second anniversary of Baldur's Gate 3, Larian Studios has shared new player stats and a thank you from its CEO. This week marks the second anniversary of Baldur's Gate 3, the surprise smash hit of 2023, that managed to snatch that year's Game Of The Year award from the likes of The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom and the Resident Evil 4 remake. To honour the occasion, developer Larian Studios has shared some new player statistics. Rather than the usual stuff about player choices and preferences, though, Larian opted to focus on the community's more… niche proclivities. This includes the number of people who respected their companions' character classes, with one especially unpopular choice prompting Larian to question some players' well-being, asking, 'Are you folks doing okay?' According to the stats shared on X, only 350 players opted to respec the character of Minsc (an optional companion you can only encounter in Act 3) from his usual ranger class into a death domain cleric. If you've played Baldur's Gate 3, you're probably just as baffled as Larian is, since this class simply doesn't suit Minsc from either a gameplay or character perspective, especially since it involves necromancy – a far cry from the ranger class that's all about nature and bonding with (living) animals. The death domain cleric class is more associated with Shadowheart, since she already starts the game as a regular cleric. Larian's stats reflect this, with Shadowheart being the most respecced companion in the game, at 4,890,005 times, and usually as a death domain cleric, if not a life domain cleric. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Fans are also baffled by other obscure player achievements. For instance, the fact that 598 players adopted a baby with companion character Wyll. However, their shock is more due to the fact that they didn't even know this was an option. 'Wait what? You can adopt a child with Wyll????' writes one baffled fan on Reddit. This has prompted several others to explain how to achieve this, followed by some admitting they now plan to pull this off for themselves. 'And now I need to try that,' writes one, 'How am I supposed to stop playing Baldur's Gate 3 if there are still things I need to try?' Other fans are more shocked by the stats for the game's Honour Mode. For context, Honour Mode is an extra-hard difficulty level that includes permadeath and a single save slot. So, if you die, the game ends, and you have to start over from the very beginning. The fact that some players have managed to beat the game on Honour Mode isn't itself surprising, but according to Larian, 4,647 players have achieved this with a level one character. 'How the f*** can you beat honour mode as a level one ????' reads the top comment on Reddit, with a fellow fan replying with, 'I'm certainly not going to find out.' More Trending It's definitely the kind of challenge you'd have to be a real masochist to attempt, although one fan suggests the strategy is to use 'many item exploits and tons of barrels.' Meanwhile, Larian CEO Swen Vincke shared his own message for the two-year anniversary, adding that it's thanks to the success of Baldur's Gate 3 that the team can work on 'our next crazy thing.' Exactly what Larian's next project is remains a secret. Beyond vague hints that it might be sci-fi, Vincke has offered no real information and only asked fans be patient: 'We're working hard to ensure you'll have plenty of fun. Like really – loads of it.' Larian is actually meant to be working on two new games, though neither is Baldur's Gate 4. Licence holders Hasbro and Wizards Of The Coast, however, absolutely want a sequel and have been speaking with other potential partners about it. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Baldur's Gate 4 was playable before it was cancelled admits Larian Studios boss MORE: Baldur's Gate 3 boss criticises 'boring' DLC and explains new five year plan MORE: 'Almost all video games should cost more' says Baldur's Gate 3 publisher
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
"A giant black hole sucking everything in, and spitting out bones": Devs react with anger and concern as yet more Microsoft layoffs see huge cuts and cancellations at game studios
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. As part of broader layoffs at Microsoft affecting several thousand people, multiple studios and teams under the Xbox umbrella have seen significant cuts, cancellations, and closures of their own – the fourth big wave of such redundancies in roughly 18 months. Devs across the industry responded to the news – which seems to have reached affected employees in confusing and disconcerting patches, assuming they were informed at all before seeing it reported elsewhere – by expressing concern for the direction of Xbox and the games industry, support for affected employees, and frustration at yet another case of workers cashing leadership's checks. Many current and/or former Xbox studio employees shared word of the layoffs on social media. One employee says Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, who's been covering the layoffs in social media updates as staggered confirmations roll in, "is getting these updates almost faster than I, an impacted employee at Zenimax Online Studios, am. Which is creating a borderline slapstick layer to this experience." Schreier reported that the rollout has been such a mess that some Zenimax employees were abruptly locked out of their Slack accounts without explanation or notice, left wondering if they still have a job or if there's just been collateral damage to company logins. "This literally just happened to my coworker as we were in the middle of a conversation," one Zenimax employee says. "Just a giant black hole sucking everything in, and spitting out bones," says Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director Michael Douse, sharing a post reporting some 9,000 layoffs across Microsoft. In a statement to GamesRadar+, Microsoft confirmed that the total layoff impact is "less than 4%" of the company, which was last estimated at around 228,000 people, so the math roughly checks out. "While I'm excited for more games, it's important to remember that behind all the PR and hype is the simple truth that they bought portfolios, not people," Douse continues. "When you're bought, they're not buying *you*. Consolidation is bad for jobs. Bad for the industry. Bad for consumer rights. Growth shouldn't come at the expense of people, it should be for the people." Veteran animator Robert Morrison, known for the likes of The Last of Us and God of War, writes: "The long time problem in the video game industry is too many people in leadership positions have been allowed to fail upwards. People that have made poor decisions with bad ideas, contributing to project cancellations, low sales, and studio closures. Good at talking and good at making friends, but not good at making great games. They keep their jobs, they keep getting promoted, and everyone else has to pay the cost." Indie dev and consultant vet Rami Ismail examined a message sent to staff by Xbox boss Phil Spencer. "One mistake people make with these letters is assume they're written for humans, but they're not," Ismail said. "There's no contrast. They're written for shareholders, & for them, this text is just a non-stop parade of good news. Record numbers? All verticals up? Layoffs?! What a feast, for them, what a feast." Bonnie Patterson, "lead narrative designer on unannounced console shooter," responded to another report noting 9,000 affected staff. "9000 people who have poured every inch of their hearts and souls into titles just so they can make people happy, watching everything they made just get dumped like it was worthless," she says. "It wasn't worthless. We aren't worthless. The world is just fucked." "Today is just another travesty in the game industry," says Respawn veteran and former Halo dev Patrick Wren. "Every day it's hard to see what the future of this industry is." After 7 years of development, Elder Scrolls Online developer's new MMO is reportedly canceled amid wider Xbox layoffs. Solve the daily Crossword
Express Tribune
28-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Death Stranding character used to bypass UK age checks due to realistic facial rendering
UK residents are reportedly using images of Death Stranding protagonist Sam Porter Bridges, portrayed by Norman Reedus, to bypass online age verification systems. The workaround exploits the game's high-fidelity facial rendering and photo mode features. Recent government-imposed online age restrictions in the UK require users to verify their age using real-time facial recognition for accessing adult-rated content. These measures extend beyond websites to platforms like Discord, where even access to age-restricted channels is gated. To comply, users are often prompted to upload photos of themselves in different poses, preventing the use of static or duplicated images. However, images from Death Stranding's in-game photo mode have proven detailed enough to pass some of these checks. The character model of Sam Porter Bridges includes dynamic facial expressions, which users have applied to generate multiple images with varied poses. According to reports, the facial recognition systems occasionally misidentify these game-generated images as real faces, allowing users to access restricted content. Tests show the trick works with both Death Stranding titles and, to a lesser extent, other highly detailed games such as Baldur's Gate 3 and WWE 2K25. The unintended use of Kojima Productions' advanced graphics technology highlights potential weaknesses in automated age verification systems. While developers originally designed the game's photo mode to enhance player immersion and narrative depth, it has inadvertently become a tool for circumventing digital age gates. Authorities and platform providers may need to re-evaluate current systems as this method gains attention online.
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Time of India
Faster than light? Japan breaks internet speed record — download all of Netflix in just 1 second
Japan has just pulled off something out of a sci-fi movie. The fastest internet speed in the world is 1.02 petabits per second , which researchers in Japan have reached. That's fast enough to download whole libraries of music, movies, and games in no time at all. This breakthrough, which uses existing fiber optic technology , could change how people share data around the world, how they use cloud computing, and how they use artificial intelligence. You can stream millions of 8K videos at once and download every game on Steam in a split second. That is the speed of the fastest internet in the world , located in Japan, as per a report by Business Today. Japan demonstrated the future last month. Imagine being able to download all of Netflix's content faster than it takes to launch the app, and it's going to translate into a reality. ALSO READ: Desperate for a Nobel Peace Prize? Donald Trump's dream faces these brutal committee rules Live Events By sending data at an astounding 1.02 petabits per second in June 2025, researchers at Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) subtly broke the world record for internet speed. 1,020,000 gigabits per second, that is. How did Japan achieve it? It was more than a lab trick. NICT transmitted data using standard-sized fiber optic cables, the same type that is used globally, but with four cores and more than 50 distinct light wavelengths. Even more amazing is the fact that they were able to sustain this crazy speed for 51.7 kilometers, which makes it practical for infrastructure in the real world. What can this speed actually do? This type of internet speed could enable instantaneous global AI processing, connecting data centers across continents as if they were on the same local network, given the demands of cloud computing, generative AI, autonomous vehicles, and real-time translation tools, which all require massive data throughput, as quoted in a report by Business Today. You can download all of the games available on Steam in just a moment. You could theoretically download every game ever made, from Counter-Strike 2 to Baldur's Gate 3, in less than 10 seconds with Japan's new internet speed. Ten million 8K ultra-HD videos could be streamed at once at that speed. This would equate to offering a free, high-quality movie stream to every individual in Tokyo and New York City. This also implies that you could download 1,27,500 years of music in a second, and backup all of Wikipedia's content 10,000 times in a second. Will home users get this speed soon? Unfortunately, not anytime soon. Terabit speeds have not yet been attained by consumer internet. However, governments, data center operators, and telecom behemoths are taking notice. Japan's recent success could serve as a model for 6G networks, national broadband backbones, and the next generation of underwater cables. FAQs How fast is 1.02 petabits per second? It's fast enough to download every game on Steam or stream 10 million 8K videos simultaneously. Can we have this type of internet at home? Not yet. This speed is years away for consumers, but it may soon power undersea cables and national networks. Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
Business Insider
09-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Veteran Game Developer Calls Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox Game Pass ‘Unsustainable'
Microsoft (MSFT) may be putting a billion dollars a year into Xbox Game Pass, but one veteran game developer believes the model is 'unsustainable.' WolfEye Studios founder Raphaël Colantonio said as much in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Colantonio is also a founder and former president of Arkane Studios, which was acquired by Microsoft in its 2021 acquisition of Bethesda's parent company, ZeniMax Media. Don't Miss TipRanks' Half-Year Sale Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. Colantonio stressed that Xbox Game Pass has damaged the video game industry over the last decade and said it has done so due to Microsoft's near-infinite money it can pump into the service. He said the model can't 'co-exist with other models, they'll either kill everyone else, or give up.' Colantonio's post about Xbox Game Pass stirred up other developers who were critical of the model, including one from Larian Studios, the developer of Baldur's Gate 3 and the Divinity series. Publishing Director Michael Douse said Microsoft's infinite money plan never made sense. Microsoft Stock Movement and Analyst Updates Microsoft stock was down 0.55% on Tuesday, but is still up 17.89% year-to-date and 8.31% over the past 12 months. While criticism of Xbox Game Pass wasn't welcomed by shareholders, it's important to remember that Xbox is only a small part of Microsoft's business. Even so, the company likely won't want to lose money on Game Pass forever. If that happens for too long, it could turn investors against leadership. Michael Briest reiterated a Buy rating and $500 price target yesterday, only suggesting a 1% upside for the shares. Is Microsoft Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold? Turning to Wall Street, the analysts' consensus rating for Microsoft is Strong Buy, based on 30 Buy and four Hold ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average MSFT stock price target of $524.86, representing a potential 6.03% upside for the shares.
