Pragmata Contains a Stage That's a 'Fake New York Generated by AI,' but It's Entirely Made by Humans

It seems like every few weeks, we're finding out about another developer using generative AI to create assets for their games, or at least strongly considering it. So I'm pretty intrigued at the latest interview from the dev team behind Pragmata, wherein they said they're hand-crafting one of the levels in the game to look like it was AI-generated, despite it being fully made by humans.

This comes from an interview published by 4Gamer and translated by Automaton, which has director Cho Yonghee and producer Naoto Oyama from Capcom talking about Pragmata's New York City-like stage, which was designed intentionally to feel AI-generated to the player. (You can see some snippets of this stage in the trailer below.)

“For Pragmata, we set the premise as ‘a fake New York generated by AI,’” said Cho. “When familiar locations appear, players can relate more easily. On top of that, to make it clear that this isn’t the real New York, we wanted something slightly distorted.”

“It mirrors reality, but its unique appeal comes from the setting errors and how they feel out of place, such as taxis sinking into floors, or buses sprouting from walls," said Oyama. "Although the premise is that it generated by AI, actually, our human developers painstakingly worked to incorporate mechanisms that express this AI-like uncanny feel."

Cho goes on to say that this "distortion" of the world is actually very hard to get just right. You want things to look off, but not too off. There's a fine line between something looking like an AI made it and something just being sloppy work - and the latter can be distracting to players. “Distortion is when something takes a shape that people have never seen before, and things unseen before are considered unique," Cho said. "But if the shapes are too unusual, players might think they’re related to puzzles or that the terrain has some hidden meaning. Balancing distortion to be both unique and merely background was difficult."

I'm curious to see Capcom's interpretation of AI-generated worlds, especially after speaking to them at Tokyo Game Show last year about how real-life AI had seemingly surpassed their ideas of fantasy AI during the process of developing Pragmata. AI doesn't have too much more time left to outstrip Pragmata, though, as the game's got an imminent April 24, 2026 release date. As of earlier this month, over 2 million people had downloaded Pragmata's free demo.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

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New Commanders Are Finally Arriving Next Month for Magic Fans: Here’s What To Expect from Secrets of Strixhaven

Magic: The Gathering is gearing up for yet another set in 2026, but this time it’s Secrets of Strixhaven - a return to a familiar plane full of spellcasters and studying, arriving on April 24, 2026.

The set will include five Commander decks for the first time since Tarkir: Dragonstorm in 2025, and now we know a little more about how each will play thanks to the new face Commanders.

Strixhaven’s Commanders Are Here - Which Will You Pick?

Kicking things off with Lorehold Spirit, this Red/White deck is helmed by Quintorius, History Chaser.

This Planeswalker is a four-cost card that creates Spirit tokens when cards leave the graveyard. Its +1 ability lets you discard a card to trigger card draw and mill, while its -4 gives your Spirits double strike and Vigilance.

Next up, Witherbloom Pestilence is a Black/Green deck with Dina, Essence Brewer as its Commander.

A 2/3 that turns creature sacrifice into card draw, Dina can also sacrifice creatures to gain life and power up another creature.

Silverquill Influence has a goad theme in Black and White, and is led by Killian, Decisive Mentor.

He’s a 2/3 that goads creatures as Enchantments enter, and gets card advantage from cards with Auras attacking.

Izzet spellslinger is hardly a fresh archetype, but Rootha. Mastering the Moment is a 3/4 that creates Elemental creature tokens with flying and haste.

Rack up the spells in Prismari Artistry, and it could end up causing a bit of a snowball effect.

Finally, Quandrix Unlimited is a Green/Blue precon with Zimone, Infinite Analyst. It’s a three-cost, 0/4 that racks up +1/+1 counters as you cast ‘X’ spells/

Then, your X spells cost 1 less for each counter you have, potentially making Zimone a really useful engine all on her own (alongside X spells, naturally).

Any of the decks catch your eye? I was going to sit this one out, having picked up three precons already this year, but Dina is a really neat Commander that has me tempted.

For more on Commander, be sure to check out some of the most powerful precon decks in the format so far, as well as a look at some currently on sale.

Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay.

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'I Don't Really Want to Do That Again' - Baldur's Gate 3's Astarion Doesn't Want to Keep Rehashing the Same Type of Roles

Neil Newbon's performance as Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3 is among the most memorable in the game, and that's saying a lot given how many amazing actors are in there cooking. And Newbon's rightfully proud of the good work he did as Astarion - but, inspired by David Bowie, he's not interested in rehashing that performance again and again.

In an interview with FRVR, Newbon talks about how Bowie was one of his early childhood influences, along with Iggy Pop. “Yes, I think there’s definitely a Bowie rhythm in me. I’d love to play him in Labyrinth or love to do a biopic of him," he said, adding that he would “definitely play Jareth in Labyrinth if someone came at me with that."

He says one of the lessons he's taken from Bowie is that "repetition breeds stagnation", and that it's good as an actor to keep making yourself slightly uncomfortable if you want to grow your art. “I always liked that about him as an artist, that he was constantly trying out new things,” he continued. “Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn’t."

He goes on, saying that he has been approached to play roles that were described to him as "just like Astarion." But Newbon isn't interested in just playing Astarion-like characters over and over.

“I’ve definitely avoided a few roles recently not because they were bad projects or anything, just because they, for me, the character—they kinda want the Astarion thing,” he said “And it was just like, ‘Well, I don’t really want to do that again. It’s too close to the character I’ve already done, I don’t think I could offer anything necessarily that’s interesting to this particular character.'"

Newbon has, however, since picked up a number of roles that are quite different from Astarion's character. Most recently, he's been sapiant, dateable drying machine Drysdale in Date Everything!, umbrella-wielding Lumacchio in the Lies of P DLC, and main character Chase Lowry in Dead Take.

Newbon did indicate in the interview that he wouldn't mind revisiting Astarion himself as a character, and it's possible he may get the chance. Last month, HBO announced it was working on a Baldur's Gate 3 TV series that would continue the story from the end of the IGN 10/10 game. At its helm is The Last of Us TV show's Craig Manzin, who also said he was reaching out to the cast of the game to work out the best way to continue their characters. Whether or not that means we'll actually see Newbon reprise Astarion is up in there, but a vampire lover can certainly dream.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

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Stalker 2: Cost of Hope Is 'A Massive Nonlinear Expansion Packed With Dozens of Hours of Gameplay'

Survival horror first-person shooter Stalker 2 is getting its first major story expansion this summer. As revealed at the Xbox Partner Preview showcase, Stalker 2: Cost of Hope is coming to PC, Xbox Series X and S, and PlayStation 5 and brings with it “dozens of hours of gameplay.”

Here’s the official blurb:

Step into a fresh expedition across the Zone — a massive nonlinear expansion packed with dozens of hours of gameplay. Expect haunting stories, twisted characters, and that same heavy atmosphere of decay… with just a flicker of hope breaking through.

It’s time to step into a new chapter of a well-known conflict. Duty, one of the oldest factions, sees the Zone as a threat that must be contained and destroyed. On the other side, Freedom believes it’s a gift — something to explore and harness for the greater good. For a time, this tension was held together by a fragile peace. But deals like that rarely last.

In Cost of Hope, you once again take on the role of Skif, the protagonist of the core game. After installing the DLC, a signal on the PDA will trigger the new storyline as the game unfolds. Developer GSC Game World said your choices shape what happens next.

Cost of Hope introduces two new regions to explore: “Navigate the iconic Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, once abandoned and locked away for decades, now calling stalkers back in. Traverse the Iron Forest’s maze-like paths and uncover uncharted locations along the way. Each region features its own hub, quests, and activities. New weapons and gear give Skif a fighting chance against mutants, anomalies, and other dangers that are lurking.”

GSC Game World said Stalker 2 expansions will be released in installments, with Cost of Hope serving as the middle chapter of the “second trilogy.” That confirms there’s a future story DLC — details of which will be revealed later — and it will form a new, expansive narrative arc within the Stalker saga.

Stalker 2 and Cost of Hope are of course being developed amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which is ongoing. Stalker 2 launched in 2024 and was a hit for GSC Game World, with over 6 million players.

In case you missed it, here's everything announced at Xbox Partner Preview March 2026.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

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Play Faster, a Precision Platformer Purpose-Built for Speedrunning, Announced for PC

Introducing Play Faster, a minimalist precision platformer purpose-built for speedrunning. It features built-in tools to support that, like input display, a replay system, instant retries, and practice mode; as well as anti-cheat and anti-splice to best make sure it has fair competition and leaderboards. It's in development for PC from developer GoBlimp and publisher Byzantium.

Play Faster is focusing on "short, intense" 5-8 minute runs and "deterministic movement" with "outcomes [that] depend entirely on player skill." Check out the first trailer above and the first screenshots in the gallery below.

Wishlist Play Faster on Steam if you're interested.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our semi-retired interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

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What do you Consider to be the Most Graphically Impressive Games of this Generation?

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Pokémon Champions Launches Next Month With Paid Upgrade Pack to 'Support Early Progression'

The Pokémon Company has announced a Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 release date for its upcoming free-to-play battler Pokémon Champions, alongside a paid starter pack which provides "useful in-game items."

Like the Stadium games of old, Pokémon Champions is a turn-based battle game that allows you to import Pokémon you've caught elsewhere and command them in battles. It will launch on April 8 for Switch consoles, with a smartphone release still planned for later this year.

Within Champions, you can bring in any creature you've previously uploaded to the Pokémon Home cloud service from recent Switch games such as Scarlet/Violet and the Legends titles, as well as from Pokémon Go. Alternatively, you can gather a limited selection of creatures in-game — though you'll have to hand over in-game currency to make them permanently yours.

Alongside being a vehicle to promote Pokémon Home (and give further life to your beloved creatures from past games), Pokémon Champions is being positioned as the franchise's new flagship PVP video game platform for the future.

While various other Pokémon games may come and go, Champions will be the series' main competitive console game going forwards, beginning in just a few months' time with officially sanctioned championship events starting in May onwards. This includes regional heats in Indianapolis, through to the North America International in June and the Pokémon World Championships in August.

At launch, a paid-for Starter Pack will allow you to store more Pokémon (an additional 50) and receive a smattering of extra in-game Teammate and Training Tickets. You'll also get to unlock the Trainer Battle song from Pokémon: Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee. Exactly how the game will be monetized in future, Nintendo has yet to properly detail.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

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