20 Years of Awesome
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The Last of Us game director Bruce Straley has apologized to the God of War Laufey team after his comments about modern AAA games brought "uninvited and unnecessary negative attention."
The comments in question surfaced as part of a recently published piece by Edge magazine and saw the former Naughty Dog developer tackling the state of AAA gaming and game development. Straley initially said with a laugh that he thinks "the verbs and experiences we're delivering in the triple-A space are… I wanna say boring," before bringing God of War Laufey into the equation.
"God of War Laufey, I look at that game, and every pixel is mindblowing," he said to Edge. "The amount of work and skill that's gone into every single frame… I've made those kinds of games, and I'm still blown away. But when I actually look at what you're doing in the game? I'm not excited. And that's nothing against the God of War team. Just, across the board in triple-A, it feels like there’s no opportunity to inject fresh, innovative ideas."
The Last of Us has certainly had its influence on the state of big-budget games, so it was no surprise to see social media light up with reactions to Straley's thoughts. The former Naughty Dog lead then followed up the commotion with a thread of posts on X/Twitter, taking the opportunity to elaborate on his perspective on where the industry is at and where it's heading.
"I want to apologize to the Laufey team for dragging you all into this uninvited and unnecessary negative attention," he said. "I was trying to illustrate an industry concern and my mistake of naming your game is being used out of context and for clickbait. You don’t need this. I’m sorry.
"A journo asked me about the state of our industry. I mentioned a few concerns. One being the lack of innovation & risks taken in the AAA space. Though this isn’t the team’s fault! My fear is that our player base is getting tired of playing the same verbs for the last 20 years.
I want to apologize to the Laufey team for dragging you all into this uninvited & unnecessary negative attention. I was trying to illustrate an industry concern & my mistake of naming your game is being used out of context & for clickbait. You don’t need this. I’m sorry. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/Ri2KgfJ4yY
— Bruce Straley (@bruce_straley) September 18, 2026"My hypothesis: Our medium is unique because players are DOING a thing. There’s a different physiological response than viewers who just WATCH a movie. This requires us creators to continue to push and create new experiences, or we run the risk of diminishing players’ dopamine."
Straley then pointed to Half-Life 2, Gears of War, BioShock, Uncharted 2, and The Last of Us as a string of games that helped "set the 'modern AAA' mold," saying that each title felt like it wanted to bring new experiences to the space. He then clarified that this part of the conversation "is only one side of my concerns."
"Unfortunately the platforms that need to bring stability have eroded the ability to innovate," he continued. "The quest for [games as a service] and wanting to recreate the next Overwatch, Fortnite, Roblox, etc. is not a viable strategy and frankly shows these 'industry leaders' don't know their own brand.
"Hot take: There's a lack of good leadership, clear direction, and conviction from the people at the top, in charge of the money. (Money = stability) I believe if they understand their brand, they could have honest, inspiring conversations with creators to steer our medium to innovate."
Straley left The Last of Us studio after 18 years in September 2017. He went on to help start new game studio Wildflower Interactive in 2022 and is currently working on a new game called Coven of the Chicken Foot.
"ANYWAY… blah blah blah. I have thoughts about what's wrong and the possible serious harm done to our industry and how we might be able to fix it. But in trying to have a thoughtful conversation I stuck my foot in my mouth and mentioned Laufey, and that was my mistake. FIN (for now)."
God of War Laufey was announced as the next chapter in Santa Monica Studio's mythology-hopping action-game saga during a PlayStation State of Play presentation in June of this year. Although it's set to offer a different perspective on the universe with a story told through the eyes of Deborah Ann Woll's all-powerful Faye, it's already faced its fair share of pushback online. While some have expressed concern about playing any character other than Kratos, the studio has promised time and time again that the Ghost of Sparta will return.
God of War Laufey director Ariel Lawrence has asked skeptical fans to give Faye's story a chance ahead of its February 16, 2027 launch. While we wait to see more about how it connects to Santa Monica's gaming universe, you can read why one IGN writer felt that what we've seen so far looks too similar to Kratos' Norse saga.
Insomniac Games has stepped in to confirm Marvel's Wolverine contains no generative AI after a few bizarre in-game signs raised eyebrows on social media.
The hubbub surrounding the new PlayStation 5 exclusive's latest controversial moment kicked off when TikToker SmoothMango shared a video of their findings online (via Kotaku). Their minute-long clip focused on not one but two different bathroom signs that featured melted-together figures that look not unlike the kind of AI-generated assets audiences have attempted to train themselves to watch for.
"Folks, that looks AI-generated," SmoothMango said. "I am trying to think of a way to describe this that is not AI generation because there's no way it's a bathroom for mutants. That looks supremely suss."
@smoothestmango Was Wolverine Made With AI Generated Assets?!?! #gaming #glitch #ai #aigenerated #streamer #wolverine #marvel #marvelswolverine #logan #essex ♬ original sound - SmoothMango blockquote.tiktok-embed[data-video-id='7686642938012568845'] { width: 325px; margin-left: 0; } blockquote.tiktok-embed iframe { border-radius: 8px; }At least as it's presented here, the bathroom signs certainly seem odd. With fear surrounding AI at an all-time high, fans latched onto the clip, concerned that Insomniac had used the controversial technology to help build Marvel's Wolverine.
The glitchy bathroom signs then, of course, found their way over to X/Twitter, where user Rock Solid shared images from the video. Fans again swarmed out of fear, but Insomniac has since said its Wolverine game doesn't feature a drop of genAI.
The developer's director of community and marketing, James Stevenson, replied to the X post in question to clear the air. He said "a UV map bug" is behind the strange bathroom signs, promising that Insomniac is currently working on a fix that should address any similar instances of glitchy visuals. For those who still had question marks above their heads, Stevenson was more direct: "There are no AI-generated assets in Marvel's Wolverine."
No. This is a UV map bug and we have a fix coming. There are no AI generated assets in Marvel’s Wolverine.
— James Stevenson (@JamesStevenson) September 18, 2026When Insomniac will deploy the fix remains unclear, but those worried the bathroom image may be a sign the developer used genAI for its new PS5 game can at least rest easy. It's the conclusion to yet another speed bump for the Wolverine game just days following its September 15 launch.
The first and, perhaps, most visible controversy arrived in the form of Logan's Scent Trails, which fans online had not-so-lovingly dubbed "fart gas." Thankfully, a small fix for that arrived just yesterday, with Insomniac promising to investigate a toggle option for the tracking feature as post-launch work continues. While one issue is stamped out, others are still finding reasons to be upset with the game's linear story.
Despite the backlash online, Marvel's Wolverine showed up with a seemingly strong start in terms of sales. IGN gave Insomniac's latest a 6/10 review, saying that its "slick and satisfying combat wears thin well before its conclusion, so much so that even its strong character work can't quite save it from being anything more than okay."
If you know one thing about me, it’s that I love Eevee.
Between a shelf overflowing with a collection of over 100 Eevee plushies and my ongoing quest to complete an ultimate Eevee Master Set binder (collecting every single variant, promo, and English card ever printed for our favorite fluffball), this Pokémon is my number one.
Call me basic, but it’s true.
So with the 30th Celebration expansion release and Eeveelution chase cards dominating the market, what better time to settle this once and for all: which is the best Eevee card of all time? And I mean Eevee - pure, unevolved, Normal-type Eevee.
No disrespect to the Eeveelutions, but if we let them on this list, we all know Moonbreon would shoot to number one quicker than we can shuffle a deck.
Before we jump in, for those after 30th Celebration boosters, our best suggestion right now is to request an invite from Amazon for the ETB at least, priced much more reasonably compared to other retailers. Invites will be sent out soon!
10. Eevee — Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration 2-Pack Blister PromoKicking off our list at number ten is the brand-new promo dropping as part of the 30th Anniversary celebration, illustrated by Haru Akasaka.
This compact blister pack bundles two 30th Celebration booster packs, a plastic commemorative coin, and a guaranteed, absolutely adorable foil Eevee promo for $9.99.
It’s a very cute card, and an accessible pickup for anyone looking to join the anniversary hype while adding a fresh Eevee promo to their collection.
9. Eevee — Jungle #51/64I have a soft spot for this card - this is the classic card that started my personal Eevee master collection after a friend picked it up for me at Christmas. Illustrated by legendary artist Kagemaru Himeno, this original 1999 Jungle common was one of the first cards I collected as a kid, and I know I’m not the only one. While a raw Jungle copy will only set you back a few bucks today, it served as the original artwork base for the famous 2002 Legendary Collection Reverse Holo Fireworks variant (#74/110)—a pristine PSA 10 copy of which recently made history by selling for a staggering $66,000 at auction!
8. Eevee — Skyridge #054/144Hailing from the beloved 2003 Skyridge expansion—the final e-Reader set printed by Wizards of the Coast—this card features artist Sumiyoshi Kizuki's signature patch-style of art. I love the 3D fabric effect of this card, it really stands out. Its low print run and iconic e-Series frame make raw copies command around $51.45 on the secondary market.
7. Eevee (Holo Promo) — 2000 Japanese Pokémon Fan Club PromoThis is one of the most prestigious trophy cards in the entire Eevee TCG history. Its rarity bumps it up a few spots in this list, but it’s mainly made it thanks to its cheeky wink. Originally awarded to members of the Japanese Pokémon Fan Club who accumulated 500 total GET Points through magazine activities and events in 2000, this holy grail card features a gorgeous rainbow foil finish and unique expansion stamp. Because of its extreme rarity, copies of this card can fetch between $2,200.00 – $2,800.00 on major auction sites.
6. Eevee (Illustration Rare) — SV: Scarlet & Violet Promo #173Illustrated by Atsushi Furusawa, this promo card captures Eevee lounging lazily on a comfy looking cushion. I love this card because it’s the spitting image of when my cats are comfy as heck, with their whole tummy out. With the sun streaming through the window, it makes me wish I could live the life of a spoiled Eevee. Sitting right around $13 on TCGplayer, it is an absolute steal for any Eevee fan.
5. Eevee & Snorlax-GX — Sun & Moon: Team Up #120/181This is the legendary tag team from Sun & Moon: Team Up. Illustrated by the iconic Mitsuhiro Arita, this card shows a tiny Eevee happily perched on top of a massive, sleeping Snorlax's belly. A hallmark of TCG history, it comfortably goes for around $91 on TCGplayer.
4. Eevee-GX — SM Black Star Promos #SM233Affectionately called Eevee Chungus in fan communities, this card cracks me up every time I see it. The only card illustrated by popular Japanese manga artist and animator Q-rais, this SM Black Star Promo features a delightfully chunky, wide-eyed Eevee drawn in Q-rais’s signature quirky, webcomic art style. Released as part of the Eevee-GX Box, its unique aesthetic has made it a massive cult favorite among collectors, pushing its price to over $134 on TCGplayer.
3. Eevee ex (Special Illustration Rare) — SV: Prismatic Evolutions #167/131The cover star of the incredibly popular Prismatic Evolutions, this Eevee, illustrated by Sowsow, is one of the top chase cards in the Prismatic Evolutions expansion. this Special Illustration Rare shows Eevee ex surrounded by colorful, glowing elemental crystals that subtly hint at all eight of its possible evolution paths. It’s a breathtaking card, along with its breathtaking price - sitting near $181.
2. Eevee V - SWSH: Crown ZenithBig stepper - this Eevee card, illustrated by You Iribi, is a steal at $8.35 on TCGplayer. If you place this Eevee V card side-by-side with the Pikachu V (#SWSH285) promo card (released in the Crown Zenith Special Collections), the background graphics and vibrant rainbow artwork align to form a single, continuous connecting panorama.
1. Eevee (Illustration Rare) — SV06: Twilight Masquerade #188/167What’s better than one Eevee? Eight Eevees! Narumi Sato’s beloved Twilight Masquerade hit is a masterpiece in domestic chaos. If I lived in the mysterious world of Pokémon, I feel like this is an insight into my life. This mischievous pack of Eevee completely taking over a living room—knocking over pillows, climbing furniture, and causing adorable mayhem. It quickly became one of the most sought-after chase cards in the Scarlet & Violet block, steadily holding a $93 market value.
This is an IGN opinion piece from Mat Jones, who thinks everyone’s made too big a deal out of experience-altering mods, and wouldn’t replay a video game ever, even if he were forced to do so by vampires holding his family hostage.
I’ve spent the weeks since The Blood of Dawnwalker’s release nodding at headlines about how the time-pressured quest to rescue lead character Coen’s family – which is on a controversial 30-day timer – is the heart of the design, and that anyone looking to extend that clock with a mod wouldn’t be having the intended experience.
But, after reading that the developers themselves aren’t so bothered about the timer that they’d definitely want to add it in again – that a Dawnwalker sequel could strip out this mechanic and still inexorably be a Dawnwalker game – I’ve interrogated my own assumptions. I wonder if we’ve been giving anyone who’d roll back a couple of 0s on the odometer too hard a ride. Is the example of the “irresponsible modder”, someone incapable of understanding that developer intent should supersede any possible alteration, a fantasy?
The threat of a ticking clock is one of the first things you learn in screen writing classes: that a scene is more tense if there’s an outside force driving it forward, that a conversation which would otherwise just be two people in a room is twice as interesting if one of them really needs to get out of there. In a movie it's contrivance; obviously the timer can’t end until it’s dramatically interesting. A game, meanwhile, has to account for your character learning they’re about to explode and then just doing their idle animation for their remaining twenty minutes of life. The idea of a long-tail timer achieves the same aim as the movie version, though. Every decision matters if you can only make so many of them, and everything has more weight if there’s a cost.
It’s unlikely that Dawnwalker’s modders, or any modders who’d take the time limit out of any game, are unaware of this. I’m cynical about trends, I’m not cynical about individual people. I can imagine someone who has reckoned with this decision has thought about why these systems are implemented, but eventually accepts their “vandalism” of the art as a small price to pay to overcome problems inherent to this scale of game design.
Many games don’t benefit from a second playthrough. I’ve been playing games almost daily for over thirty years. I’m more than aware of how much gristle and sinew there is among the meat. I’ve chosen not to go back to a lot of things that I’ve loved in the past because I haven’t wanted to do the same stuff over and over. For every great bit of combat design in the best open world games, for every narrative twist and turn, there’s a lot of looking around in cupboards for bullets or pissing around in menus trying on new shoelaces that give you an extra 3% poison damage. Dawnwalker is no different; the equipment variety that will help in the quest to defeat the story’s vampiric villain, Brencis, is as incremental in scale as any other game. I’m fine doing this sort of stuff the first go through, but when I’ve absorbed the majority of the experience, it’s a challenge to get myself to care again.
For every great bit of design in the best open world games, there’s a lot of looking around in cupboards for bullets or pissing around in menus.If there’s, say, enough unique stuff in Dawnwalker for a player to only see 70 or 80% of everything in a playthrough, maybe just enough to miss a chunk if you were busy making other choices, but not enough to have a radically different experience the second time around, then playing it twice would just be pushing through a lot of the same things you’ve already done. Micro changes in context, but macro similarities in activity. If someone wants to see everything in there and they still want the goodie gumdrops school prefect ending, they’re being more generous to their own time and patience than they’re limiting their appreciation of art.
I respect people’s intelligence enough to believe they can be placed in a scene where the cost will be having to spend a lot of time they don’t want to spare, and empathise how much that would weigh on a person who doesn’t have it, without themselves actually having to carry that burden in their own game.
Personally, I don’t have any desire to mod the game to give Coen’s family a bit more breathing room, because I’m happy to accept whatever narrative conclusion I’m given as the result of my actions. I like the idea that my one playthrough would be informed wholly from my decisions, good or bad, and presumably expertly paced around the amount of time the devs think a person can play the game without it overstaying its welcome. Anything I miss, well, it wasn’t meant to be.
I am, however, willing to admit that my stance here comes with some baggage: I don’t really care that much about finishing games at all, at least when I’m not playing for review. I’ll often get very close to the end of a game and decide that I’ve seen enough of it. Star Wars: Zero Company has a very interesting take on the tactics genre and a few excellent surprises; I still can’t help but feel like I’ve experienced every possible combination of abilities it has available and I’m not really driven to repeat them. I’m a mechanics guy, not a story guy. If there were 100 possible endings, I’m never going to see 100 of them. Given that I will pay upwards of £60 for one weekend of a game I’ll get over without completing, I think anyone who would care to mod their ability to achieve a particular endings, or see more of a game’s story, inherently cares more about the experience than I do, rather than less.
This is beside my point, but it’s fun to think about: Why is narrative intent considered more sacred than aesthetic design? I’ll regularly watch clips of people playing Deadlock where characters have been modded to look like Lebron James in the Space Jam sequel. I couldn’t imagine anyone writing an op-ed to deride anyone doing it as straying outside of the game designer's artistic necessity.
I’ve entertained the argument for being against modding difficulty, that games in the Souls series are easier than they get credit for and they’re more about the determination to continue, which you’d be robbing yourself of by not giving it your all. Dawnwalker initially feels like we’re having the same conversation, but the alteration made by modders isn’t necessarily making the game easier so much as it’s making the game less restrictive.
The time limit might be the point of the game, but really the point of the game, like all the rest of them, is to have something to do while your mates are out of town and your partner is at a work thing. I just don’t think it’s that deep, and if it were that deep, I think it’s as deep as doing a YouTube search for an ending you didn’t get, but you get to play a few extra hours of a video game you really like first.
World of Warcraft: Forever looks like it could be a smash hit after the launch of the beta was overrun with eager fans, surprising even Blizzard itself.
Blizzard’s ended last weekend’s BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremony with the announcement of World of Warcraft: Forever, a “Classic Plus” MMO developed by the World of Warcraft Classic team, and set during the first year of World of Warcraft.
While Forever doesn’t launch until November 4, the beta was made available this week, and it was flooded by players. Those who did manage to get in faced disconnects. And then actually playing the game was tough due to extreme lag with looting and accepting quests. Hardly ideal.
World of Warcraft Classic developer Josh Greenfield took to X / Twitter to provide some insight into the popularity of the beta.
“Man, it was hard to sleep last night, I was so excited,” Greenfield said. “Beta has been... crazy. The craziest numbers I've seen in 17 years working at Blizzard and almost eight years on classic.
“We've got something really special here.”
That suggests significant interest in Forever, beyond even the launch of Classic itself. As a grizzled veteran of World of Warcraft’s early years, I remember well the brutal login queues most players would face when the groundbreaking MMO launched late 2004 and early 2005. Forever is rekindling those memories for me.
So, what’s going on with those queues? World of Warcraft senior game producer Tom Ellis took to X / Twitter to offer an explanation that acts as a fascinating insight into what goes on with the launch of an MMO. The upshot is this is a beta, and usually World of Warcraft betas don’t see this sort of interest.
“AHMAGERD, this game is 20 years old, how do you still suck at this!?! a. Heh, fair enough, short answer is, this is our BETA PTR environment stack, it's not a Production stack by a long, long, long, long, long, long shot. Betas for WoW aren't usually huge meter movers so this environment just isn't that powerful. This led to the first problem you saw today,” Ellis explained.
If you’ve got even a casual interest in online game infrastructure, Ellis’ post is worth a read. Ultimately, though, Blizzard sorted out the problems and the Forever beta is now running smoothly.
“Marked live once again and you all poured in without fuss,” he said. “Right now things are incredibly smooth for the first few hours of a public beta, Classic teams watching and fixing anything blocking that comes up but we're otherwise pretty much done for the night, enjoy!”
And that's what players are doing. I've seen multiple posts from fans praising the new visuals (in particular, the improved lighting), new sound effects (that rain!), and, from those who were there back in the day, the nostalgia-fueled trip down memory lane.
Primary Portal Games
World of Warcraft
Sturmgrenadier is more organised, more active, and more structured than most guilds you would come across in WoW. We believe this gives us a distinct advantage in being the best guild we can be for our members, because everyone knows where they stand, and are treated equally. Players with negative attitudes will not be tolerated. That means that there is no epeen measuring, no belittling of other players, and no trolling.
EVE
EVE Online is Sturmgrenadier’s longest-played game, with over 16 years of continuous influence throughout New Eden. Traditional hallmarks of our gaming syndicate; organization and leadership, have propelled our in-game history to include participation in many of the defining moments of EvE gameplay.
New World
New World is an upcoming massively multiplayer online role-playing video game by Amazon Game Studios set to release in May 2020. Set in the mid-1600s, players colonize a fictional land modeled after British America in the Atlantic Ocean. Players scavenge resources, craft items, and fight other players.
Coming Soon!
Game is in early Alpha/Beta.
Join us and get involved early!
Other Games we PLay
