Crusader Kings 3 to receive Genghis Khan-inspired expansion in strategy game's fourth chapterKhans of the Steppe.Image credit: Paradox News by Ed Nightingale Deputy News Editor Published on March 12, 2025 Paradox has announced a new core expansion coming to its strategy game Crusader Kings 3 this April, inspired by Genghis Khan and the Mongols.Khans of the Steppe will arrive on 28th April as one of four key components comprising the game's fourth chapter.The expansion will include the Steppe region as players take on the mantle of the Great Khan and lead conquests across the world, fulfilling the prophecy of the "Scourge of God".Crusader Kings III: Khans of the Steppe - Available April 28!Watch on YouTubeFurther, it will allow players to experience the traditions and culture of the Mongols as a young Genghis Khan; embrace Nomadic Governments to manage a mobile population; and utilise a new Tributaries system to forge alliances and secure resources.Alongside Khans of the Steppe, the map will be expanded to include China, Japan and Southeast Asia, with each region having new types of government, special events, character roles and more. This area was previously unseen in the series.Thirdly, a new event pack will task players with preparing an elaborate coronation to display wealth and power as a new ruler takes the throne.Lastly, the Crowns of the World pack will unlock immediately on purchase, including six new historic royal crowns, four new hairstyles, and two beard designs for character portraits.Khans of the Steppe will be available individually for 16.75, or can be purchased as part of the Chapter Four Pack including the other three elements costing 37.15.The release of the fourth chapter is Paradox's big plan for Crusader Kings 3 in 2025. It follows 2024's third chapter which brought the Black Death.Last year was a particularly tough time for the Swedish publisher, following a number of high profile cancellations and delays. That included the cancellation of The Sims-like game Life By You, delayed DLC for Cities: Skylines 2 due to performance issues, and parting ways with Prison Architect 2 developer Double Eleven after nine years on the series.Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester acknowledged the company "made the wrong calls in several projects", which deputy CEO Mattia Lilja and chief creative officer Henrik Fhraeus addressed in an interview with Eurogamer."When it's inside the core, even if we make a mistake or we launch something that may be not up to par, we are generally able to fix it over time and we don't stop... we're not abandoning those projects," said Lilja. "We're going to keep working. And when we have games that do work, we show that we understand what people want and we can absolutely give that to them."

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereEpic Games has introduced a variety of new features to Fortnite in recent years. The game has undergone several quality-of-life improvements, significantly enhancing the overall experience. With the addition of new game modes and gameplay elements, Fortnite now feels quite different from its 2017 release. However, Epic has also removed certain features that didnt succeed.On Wednesday, the Fortnite developer decided to remove Simple Edit from competitive modes. Considering that this feature makes building much simpler, its no surprise that Epic removed it from certain aspects of the game.Why was Simple Edit removed from Fortnite?Its important to note that most of Fortnites game modes still have Simple Edit. If you enjoy playing casual modes or Creative, the latest change wont affect you. However, if you prefer Ranked modes, then you will no longer have access to the feature. Furthermore, this feature was never available in Zero Build, since it only affects player-built structures.At the moment, its unknown why Epic removed Simple Edit from Fortnite Competitive, although we have a good guess. This feature simplifies editing and that could have been the reason. Competitive modes are supposed to be more complex, which is why they have different loot pools, settings, and other changes.Simple Edit makes editing Fortnite structures much faster. Image by VideoGamerThis information comes from Hypex, the most popular Fortnite leaker. Since Epic Games hasnt announced it officially, there is also a chance that this is just a temporary change. Simple Edit may have caused some problems, such as game crashing, in competitive modes, which is why it was disabled for the time being.Simple Edit was added with the release of Chapter 6 back in December 2024. However, considering that the game developer is constantly trying to improve the game and make it more fun, its no surprise that it was already removed from certain modes. FortnitePlatform(s):Android, iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/XGenre(s):Action, Massively Multiplayer, Shooter9VideoGamerRelated TopicsFortnite Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereLarian Studios Baldurs Gate 3 has an extremely dedicated modding community across PC and console, but the rise of custom campaigns using cracked map tools are adding massive new experiences on just PC.However, with a new custom campaign hitting the games first-party mod manager for the first time, it seems that console players may, one day, actually be able to experience entire campaigns as well.Baldurs Gate 3 custom campaigns could come to consoleCreated by modder Bib-qwerty-san, the Features from DnD 5E Spelljammer mod is a huge campaign overhaul that implements a number of features from Fifth Editions Spelljammer Sourcebooks.The custom campaign adds a tonne of additional encounters, spells and items to Baldurs Gate 3. However, it also adds brand-new locations to the RPG. With custom campaigns typically not being allowed on the official mod manager, the Spelljammer mod is an outlier.After buying the Title Deed from Space item, you can teleport to Space Galleon in the Astral Sea to experience the brand-new campaign. Actually floating through the cosmos, the Space Galleon is a new camp that you can use as you travel throughout the new campaign and experience an all-new BG3 story.The Spelljammer mod is drop-dead gorgeous. Who wouldnt want to live here? At the time of writing, the Spelljammer custom campaign isnt available on console. However, with the mod hitting the official Baldurs Gate 3 mod manager there is now hope that, one day, this could happen. After all, custom campaigns werent supposed to be allowed on the official mod manager in the first place, but here we are.Other Baldurs Gate 3 custom campaigns are also in the works by loads of talented fans across the world. One campaign, Path to Menzoberranzan, even aims to add an entire new party of characters to the game while other mods adapt World of Warcraft locations.Baldurs Gate 3Platform(s):macOS, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Adventure, RPG, Strategy10VideoGamerRelated TopicsSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

Trumps efforts to help Tesla could hurt it instead1 of 2|President Donald Trump selected a shiny red Tesla on the White House driveway as he showed support for Elon Musks electric automaker.2 of 2|A banner is left outside a Tesla showroom during a demonstration, in Lisbon, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)Trumps efforts to help Tesla could hurt it instead1 of 2President Donald Trump selected a shiny red Tesla on the White House driveway as he showed support for Elon Musks electric automaker. Share 2 of 2|A banner is left outside a Tesla showroom during a demonstration, in Lisbon, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)2 of 2A banner is left outside a Tesla showroom during a demonstration, in Lisbon, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca) Share By BERNARD CONDONUpdated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Share Donald Trumps support for Elon Musks car company could end up hurting it.Tesla investors cheered Tuesday as Trump came to the defense of Musks beleaguered and boycotted carmaker by lavishing the Tesla CEO with praise in a press conference as five Teslas lined up in the White House driveway. Trump called Musk a patriot and announced that he had even bought one of his cars a show of support that may have helped Tesla stock close higher for the day after a plunge a day earlier. But experts warn the unusual presidential backing of a private company could backfire.Tesla is becoming a political symbol of Trump and DOGE, and that is a bad thing for the brand, said Wedbush Securities financial analyst Dan Ives, referring to the advisory group in charge of cutting government spending led by Musk. You think its helping, but its actually hurting. Teslas stock began rising from the opening Tuesday after Trump posted overnight on his Truth Social platform that Musk was putting it on the line to help the country. Trump claimed in the post that Radical Left Lunatics were attempting to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, one of the Worlds great automakers, and Elons baby. RELATED COVERAGE A few hours later, Tesla stock surged even higher as Trump announced at the White House that he had bought a Tesla himself.This story is featured in our One Notable Number series, which spotlights the key numbers leading our coverage.Take a look at more Notable Numbers here.You can also read more ONEs:I dont like whats happening to you, said Trump, before picking a red Model S, which retails for $80,000. As he eased into the driver seat, he exclaimed, Wow. Thats beautiful. The stock ended up closing up nearly 4% on Tuesday after one of the worst single day sell-offs in Teslas history a day earlier.Tesla has been pummeled this year under competition from rival electric vehicles, particularly out of China. Numerous auto industry analysts have also pointed to Musks close association with Trump and with far right causes globally. Tesla showrooms in the U.S. have been besieged by protesters and its vehicles vandalized on the street. Tesla owners, perhaps in a bid to avoid being targeted, have placed bumper stickers on their cars with messages like, I bought it before Elon went nuts. Shares have plummeted 45% in 2025 and on Monday tumbled more than 15% to $222.15, the lowest since late October, reflecting newfound pessimism as sales crater around the globe. Musk pumped $270 million into Trumps campaign heading into the 2024 election, appeared on stage with him and cheered Trumps victory over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in November. Tesla shares soared to $479 per share by mid-December, but are now trading around $230 per share.That drop could hurt the company in the coming year in two ways.First, Tesla offers many of its workers the chance to buy shares at a discounted price as a way of incentivizing them. But with the stock down sharply, this discounted price offered last year is in many cases higher than the stock is currently trading, meaning there is no discount at all and the incentive is worthless. Second, the price drop could limit Teslas ability to raise money by selling newly created shares to investors to fund research and expansion. In 2020, the company sold $12 billion worth of shares as it was building factories in Berlin and Texas and pouring money into self-driving technology. A falling stock price means it will get far less in proceeds in any future so-called secondary offerings, though slumping sales means it may not need to expand soon.Musk has become the face of the Trump administrations slash-and-burn government downsizing efforts, known as the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The department has promised massive federal worker layoffs and aims to drastically reduce government spending. Musks involvement has raised a familiar issue for Tesla shareholders: That the CEO, who also runs several other companies, is too distracted to fully focus on his EV company.Some of those other companies have also run into trouble recently. His X social media platform crashed several times on Monday, which Musk claimed was a massive cyberattack. But like the clear-cutting hes done with federal jobs, Musk slashed the number of employees at X and technology experts warned of increased vulnerability. Last week, a rocket launched by Musks SpaceX exploded and broke apart over Florida, about two months after another of the companys rockets failed.BERNARD CONDON Condon is an Associated Press investigative reporter covering breaking news. He has written about the Maui fire, the Afghanistan withdrawal, gun laws, Chinese loans in Africa and Trumps business.

Monster Hunter Wilds has been out for a little while now, and as such, many players who have sunk unhealthy numbers into the game are running out of things to do. Totally normal! You can't drop 100+ hours of your week into anything without it getting a bit drab. However, rather than fishing or complaining on Reddit, a select few have created new goals to strive towards: Solo speed hunts. Read more

Image: Nintendo LifeHideki Kamiya has spoken pretty openly about his decision to leave PlatinumGames in late 2023, but in a new interview with Japanese outlet Game*Spark, he dived even deeper into what prompted his departure from the Bayonetta studio.Kamiya cut his teeth in the games industry at Capcom's Studio 4, where he worked under Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami, "a person who has been absolutely indispensable to my career," Kamiya told Game*Spark (translated by Automaton), "both as a creator and as my superior".It was Mikami's approach to game production that Kamiya wanted to maintain at PlatinumGames, though he felt that the studio was "gradually shifting towards a modern model of game development that doesnt place importance on the creators individuality," prompting his sudden departure. "Even if it meant the end of my career as a creator," Kamiya continued, "I couldnt allow myself to kill my soul in order to work in an environment that I didnt agree with.It's a typically dramatic statement from Kamiya, but hey, he's a man of principle. Aiming for a "fresh start", the Bayonetta creator said that he's trying to install some of Mikami's spirit to his new studio, Clovers. He's doing this not by directly quoting his former mentor, but rather by using his approach as guidance: "I have always made decisions based on his teachings, and I have shared them with the production team."I believe that this spirit will be passed down from generation to generation," Kamiya concluded, "and I have incorporated it into our company name to reaffirm the things I have valued in my many years as a creator.While PlatinumGames continues to chip away at Ninja Gaiden 4, the next big project for Clovers is the recently-announced Okami sequel, which will see Kamiya stepping back into the director's seat. Let's just touch baseThe next project could be "entirely new"Including Bayonetta 3's directorWhat do you hope to see from Kamiya's Clovers team? Let us know in the comments.[source gamespark.jp, via automaton-media.com]Share:02 Jim came to Nintendo Life in 2022 and, despite his insistence that The Minish Cap is the best Zelda game and his unwavering love for the Star Wars prequels (yes, really), he has continued to write news and features on the site ever since. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesAnalyst Fears U.S. Tariffs Could Spell Disaster For Physical Games"What a mess"20 Years After Its Demise, Publisher 'Acclaim' Is Being ResurrectedWill look to "support indie developers and reignite classic franchises"Analyst Expects Switch 2 To Sell Like Hot Cakes In Its First QuarterPre-empting a battle with the PS6Inside Dev Threatens Legal Action Against Studio Co-Founder As "Bullying" Allegations Arise"I will not stop being who I am"SEGA Wants To "Reinforce" Its Core Studios, But Don't Expect New Games SoonSonic, ATLUS and Like A Dragon all name dropped

Japanese startup Sakana said that its AI generated the first peer-reviewed scientific publication. But while the claim isnt untrue, there are significant caveats to note. The debate swirling around AI and its role in the scientific process grows fiercer by the day. Many researchers dont believe AI is quite ready to serve as a co-scientist, while others think that theres potential but acknowledge its early days. Sakana falls into the latter camp. The company said that it used an AI system called The AI Scientist-v2 to generate a paper that Sakana then submitted to a workshop at ICLR, a long-running and reputable AI conference. Sakana claims that the workshops organizers, as well as ICLRs leadership, had agreed to work with the company to conduct an experiment to double-blind review AI-generated manuscripts. Sakana said it collaborated with researchers at the University of British Columbia and the University of Oxford to submit three AI-generated papers to the aforementioned workshop for peer review. The AI Scientist-v2 generated the papers end-to-end, Sakana claims, including the scientific hypotheses, experiments and experimental code, data analyses, visualizations, text, and titles. We generated research ideas by providing the workshop abstract and description to the AI, Robert Lange, a research scientist and founding member at Sakana, told TechCrunch via email. This ensured that the generated papers were on topic and suitable submissions.One paper out of the three was accepted to the ICLR workshop a paper that casts a critical lens on training techniques for AI models. Sakana said it immediately withdrew the paper before it could be published in the interest of transparency and respect for ICLR conventions.A snippet of Sakanas AI-generated paper.Image Credits:SakanaThe accepted paper both introduces a new, promising method for training neural networks and shows that there are remaining empirical challenges, Lange said. It provides an interesting data point to spark further scientific investigation.But the achievement isnt as impressive as it might seem at first glance. In a blog post, Sakana admits that its AI occasionally made embarrassing citation errors, for example incorrectly attributing a method to a 2016 paper instead of the original 1997 work.Sakanas paper also didnt undergo as much scrutiny as some other peer-reviewed publications. Because the company withdrew it after the initial peer review, the paper didnt receive an additional meta-review, during which the workshop organizers could have in theory rejected it. Then theres the fact that acceptance rates for conference workshops tend to be higher than acceptance rates for the main conference track a fact Sakana candidly mentions in its blog post. The company said that none of its AI-generated studies passed its internal bar for ICLR conference track publication.Matthew Guzdial, an AI researcher and assistant professor at the University of Alberta, called Sakanas results a bit misleading. The Sakana folks selected the papers from some number of generated ones, meaning they were using human judgment in terms of picking outputs they thought might get in, he said via email. What I think this shows is that humans plus AI can be effective, not that AI alone can create scientific progress.Mike Cook, a research fellow at Kings College London specializing in AI, questioned the rigor of the peer reviewers and workshop. New workshops, like this one, are often reviewed by more junior researchers, he told TechCrunch. Its also worth noting that this workshop is about negative results and difficulties which is great, Ive run a similar workshop before but its arguably easier to get an AI to write about a failure convincingly.Cook added that he wasnt surprised an AI can pass peer review, considering that AI excels at writing human-sounding prose. Partly-AI-generated papers passing journal review isnt even new, Cook pointed out, nor are the ethical dilemmas this poses for the sciences. AIs technical shortcomings such as its tendency tohallucinate make many scientists wary of endorsing it for serious work. Moreover, experts fear AI could simply end up generating noise in the scientific literature, not elevating progress.We need to ask ourselves whether [Sakanas] result is about how good AI is at designing and conducting experiments, or whether its about how good it is at selling ideas to humans which we know AI is great at already, Cook said. Theres a difference between passing peer review and contributing knowledge to a field.Sakana, to its credit, makes no claim that its AI can produce groundbreaking or even especially novel scientific work. Rather, the goal of the experiment was to study the quality of AI-generated research, the company said, and to highlight the urgent need for norms regarding AI-generated science.[T]here are difficult questions about whether [AI-generated] science should be judged on its own merits first to avoid bias against it, the company wrote. Going forward, we will continue to exchange opinions with the research community on the state of this technology to ensure that it does not develop into a situation in the future where its sole purpose is to pass peer review, thereby substantially undermining the meaning of the scientific peer review process.

Snapchat is introducing its first ever video generative AI Lenses, the company told TechCrunch exclusively. The Lenses are powered by Snaps in-house built generative video model. The three new AI Video Lensesare available to users on the apps premium subscription tier, Snapchat Platinum, which costs $15.99 per month.The launch comes as Snap unveiled an AI video-generation tool at its Partner Summit last September. A spokesperson for Snap said the new AI Video Lenses leverage later versions of this underlying technology.Snap has been seen as a leader in AR, but has also been investing in AI over the past few years alongside nearly every other tech company. With these new AI Video Lenses, Snap is adopting AI to stay competitive and provide its users with features that arent yet available on its rivals platforms, including Instagram and TikTok.While Snapchat is starting with three AI Video Lenses at launch, it plans to add more every week. The initial Lenses include Raccoon and Fox, both of which animate furry friends cuddling up with you. The third Spring Flowers Lens generates a zoom-out effect revealing the person in your Snap holding a bouquet.Image Credits:SnapYou can access the new Lenses through the Lens carousel. You can then select the Lens, then capture a Snap through either your front or back camera. The AI video will generate and then automatically save to your Memories.These Lenses, powered by our in-house built generative video model, bring some of the most cutting edge AI tools available today to Snapchatters through a familiar Lens format, the company wrote in a blog post. We have a long history of being first movers to bring advanced AR, ML and AI tools directly to our community, and were excited to see what Snapchatters create.As Snapchat notes, it makes sense for the company to bring generative AI to Lenses, given that its a format users have embraced for years. While Snap has tapped AI tools from OpenAIandGooglein the past to power some of its features, its now also building its own in-house models.Last month, the company unveiled an AI text-to-image research model for mobile devices that will power some of Snapchats features in the coming months. Snap said at the time that by implementing in-house technology, it will be able to offer its community high-quality AI tools at a lower operating cost.

It seems the fall of Technicolor Creative Studios is just the start. Without warning, Jellyfish Pictures (Dog Man, Spirit: Untamed) has ceased all global operations following investor-related issues, reports Animation Xpress. Email attempts to contact the company last night bounced back as undeliverable.The studio allegedly began experiencing financial distress last year, following a downturn in their number of animated projects. While the spontaneous shutdown is reportedly temporary, there is no current information on when operations will recommence. Workers reportedly will still be paid through March.The move is even more troubling given the studios recent joyful expansions. Jellyfish established VFX operations in Toronto, Canada in 2024, which followed its Mumbai, India studio launch in 2023.Its an exciting time for Jellyfish Pictures as we continue to grow our talented team of creatives and further expand our operations globally, CEO David Patton stated in 2024. We opened our 200-seat Mumbai studio at the end of last year and believe now is the right time for us to establish a strong presence in the Canadian market.The studio also bolstered its VFX division last year with ILM and NVIX alum Jamie Wood as Head of Compositing and Peter Seager as Head of CG.Rumors have been swirling on Reddit since late last year that the company was headed for disaster, with claims of massive layoffs and rampant animation team mismanagement. The whispers were largely unsubstantiated and unreported - until now.Jellyfish Pictures VFX credits include critically acclaimed feature films The Creator and Asteroid City. Its television projects include The Gentlemen, Constellation, the Oscar-winning live-action short The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Ellen Kuras Lee, Netflixs Kaos, and the fantasy adventure series Nautilus. Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.

Breakdown & ShowreelsWoodwalkers: VFX Breakdown by PixomondoBy Vincent Frei - 12/03/2025 For Woodwalkers, Pixomondo was responsible for creating the visual effects that allow characters to shift between human and animal forms. Their work includes Carags transformation into a puma, as well as other shapeshifting sequences at Clearwater High! Vincent Frei The Art of VFX 2025