Games Industry News Roundup- December 23rd, 2025

Here at Goonhammer, we know that it’s hard to keep track of all the news happening all the time in the games industry. So much is always going on with games of all sorts, and their related media, it can be a real blink-and-you’ll miss it situation.

That's why every week, we round up five of the biggest stories in the gaming sphere from the past week in the Games Industry News Roundup. Our trusty news boy, Dan “Swiftblade” Richardson, is at the very real and cool Goonhammer newsdesk with the scoop.

Larian Admits to Using AI Tools During Development of Divinity

Credit: Larian Studios

There was one piece of news last week that dominated the gaming space, which was the admission by Baldur’s Gate 3 creator Larian Studios that it is using Generative AI as part of the development process of their upcoming title, Divinity.

This information came out during an interview between Bloomberg’s Jason Schrier and Swen Vinke, the founder and head of Larian, regarding Divinity after the game was announced at the Game Awards earlier this month. During the interview, Vinke spoke earnestly about the use of generative AI in the project, noting that while everything in the final project will be created by human actors and not AI, the team has been using AI for things such as PowerPoints and placeholder text, as well as the development of concept art. Schrier also notes that Vinke said that the use of AI drew internal pushback at the studio, but Vinke says now that, “I think at this point everyone at the company is more or less OK with the way we’re using it.”

The admission of using AI on the project drew ire from fans of the studio, particularly in the area of concept art, criticising Larian for removing work that could be done by human hands and handing it over to a computer, especially if members of the team at Larian were uncomfortable with doing so. Other fans brought up previous statements from the Larian team which swore off use of the technology, now feeling betrayed by the company’s face on this stance.

Vinke took to social media to clarify and defend the company use of the tech, writing, “Holy fuck guys (sic) we’re not ‘pushing hard’ for or replacing concept artists with AI.”

“We have a team of 72 artists of which 23 are concept artists and we are hiring more. The art they create is original and I’m very proud of what they do. I was asked explicitly about concept art and our use of Gen AI. I answered that we use it to explore things. I didn’t say we use it to develop concept art. The artists do that. And they are indeed world class artists. We use AI tools to explore references, just like we use google and art books. At the very early ideation stages we use it as a rough outline for composition which we replace with original concept art. There is no comparison.”

The tone of the response did very little to cool the heat from fans, as the statement doubled down on the use of AI for the development of Divinity, rather than make any real attempt to walk it back. Rather than wait for the bad press to blow over, Larian announced that it will be holding an AMA with members of the Larian development team in mid-January to clarify its commitment to hand-developed experiences with Divinity while now tripling down on the use of Generative AI as a development tool. The exact date of this AMA has yet to be announced.

Asmodee Acquires Exploding Kittens

Credit: Asmodee

Asmodee has made a big impact on the world of tabletop gaming this year with multiple high profile deals and acquisitions, including the announcement of a Netflix and Catan deal and buying out multiple high profile IPs from its struggling rival, CMON. It looks like Asmodee has one last bombshell buyout to close out 2025 with, announcing on Monday that it is fully buying out the popular party game company, Exploding Kittens.

According to the announcement, Asmodee acquired a 55% stake in Exploding Kittens in December of 2021, with a call option to purchase the remaining 45% ownership stake at a later date. It looks like Asmodee is now exercising that option to buyout the remaining stock at an unknown price, which would give the company total control over the direction of Exploding Kittens.

Exploding Kittens was founded by webcomic artist Matthew Inman and former Xbox game designer Elan Lee, and achieved worldwide popularity with its breakout game, Exploding Kittens. Since then, the company has focused on creating and publishing off-the-wall party games, such as Throw Throw Burrito, Poetry for Neanderthals, and the Survivor board game adaptation.

The completion of the sale of Exploding Kittens shares to Asmodee is expected to take place in early 2026.

Mechanicus 2 Delayed to Spring 2026

Credit: Games Workshop/Kasedo Games/Bulwark Studios

One of the most anticipated games for fans of Warhammer, strategy games, and/or robots is getting a small delay, as the team behind Mechanicus 2 announced that they will be delaying their game until Spring of next year following fan feedback.

Earlier this year, Mechanicus 2 released a free demo as part of Steam NextFest, an annual event hosted by Valve that highlights demos for popular upcoming titles. During that time, players had the chance to play a handful of hours of the upcoming strategy game from Kasedo Games and Bulwark Studios, and provided feedback directly from the demo.

Alongside performance issues with the game, and improving the movement mechanics found in the demo, one of the most frequent complaints that players had was the use of traditional voice acting for the Adeptus Mechanicus characters in the game, rather than the use of the binharic “lingua-technis” language used in the first game. Following this criticism, Bulwark will be adding an option in the final game for players to toggle between the use of traditional VAs or lingua-technis for Ad Mech characters, noting the importance of the atmosphere that the use of the machine language added to the first game.

Kasedo and Bulwark emphasised the importance of these changes to Mechanicus 2 in their press release, writing “These optimisations, together with the continued refinement of new systems and campaign content, are central to delivering a sequel that meets the expectations set by both the community and the studio’s own ambitions.”

At time of writing, an exact date has not yet been provided for Mechanicus 2’s release, only the promise of a release sometime in Spring of 2026.

League of Legends Plans for a Massive Revamp in 2027

Credit: Riot Games

One of the most popular multiplayer games in the world is getting a facelift after nearly two decades of MOBA dominance. In an interview last week with Bloomberg, Riot Games spoke of their plans to give the venerable game a complete overhaul in 2027.

The revamp, dubbed “League Next” by Riot Games, will take place following the game’s 2026 season, and focus on various improvements to the games visuals and optimization. These changes include a fully integrated in-game client for league, gameplay and balance changes, new champions and game modes, and a total facelift for the game. Another major focus for the team is improving the new player experience, which is famously steep.

In a video posted to their social media, League of Legends executive producer Paul Belleza clarified that this is not a sequel to League of Legends, but rather improvements on the original game, and emphasised his team’s commitment to continue to provide regular updates and improvements to League of Legends.

Riot Games has not shared any specific screenshots or information about League Next outside of this announcement, saying that the team is still working on many of these announced changes, but Bellezza noted in the video announcement that the team is eager to share more as soon as it’s ready.

“Call of Duty”, “Titanfall” Creator Passes Away

Credit: The AV Club

One of the most influential figures in the modern video games landscape passed away last week, as its been reported that Vince Zampella, creator of franchises such as Call of Duty, Titanfall, and Apex Legends, passed away in a car accident on Sunday afternoon.

According to news reports, Zampella, 55, and one other currently unnamed passenger was killed in a single-car accident in Los Angeles when his vehicle collided with a concrete barrier. No information has been released at this time regarding what caused the loss of control of the vehicle and its subsequent collision.

Zampella’s mark on the video game industry, particularly the modern landscape of cinematic first person shooters, is hard to understate. Zampella rose to industry fame with the release of the first Medal of Honor game, before going on to be the lead producer of the first two Call of Duty: Modern Warfare games. Following this, Zampella founded Respawn Entertainment, responsible for the creation of several popular franchises like Titanfall, Apex Legends, and the Star Wars: Fallen Order series. Zampella also worked with EA on the development of the most recent entry in the Battlefield franchise, Battlefield 6.

EA released a statement following the news of Zampella’s death, writing, "This is an unimaginable loss, and our hearts are with Vince’s family, his loved ones, and all those touched by his work. Vince’s influence on the video game industry was profound and far-reaching. A friend, colleague, leader and visionary creator, his work helped shape modern interactive entertainment and inspired millions of players and developers around the world. His legacy will continue to shape how games are made and how players connect for generations to come."

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