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Tron fans have reason to be excited in 2025. Following a long dormant period, the franchise is racing its way back into theaters this October with a new sequel called Tron: Ares. The third Tron movie stars Jared Leto as the titular character, a program who ventures into the real world on a high-stakes yet very mysterious mission.

But is it safe to call Ares a sequel? Visually, this new movie is clearly cut from the same cloth as 2010’s Tron: Legacy. The newly released trailer makes that much apparent. And with Nine Inch Nails stepping in for Daft Punk, it’s obvious the electronica-heavy score remains as big a priority as ever.

But in other ways, Ares is looking less like a direct sequel and more like a soft reboot of the franchise. Where are all the surviving characters from Legacy? Why aren’t stars Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde returning for Ares? Why is Jeff Bridges of all people the one Tron veteran confirmed for the cast of Ares? Let’s take a deeper look at how Legacy set itself up for a sequel, and why Ares seems to be ignoring that setup.

Garrett Hedlund’s Sam Flynn & Olivia Wilde’s Quorra

Tron: Legacy mainly revolves around the shared struggle of Garrett Hedlund’s Sam Flynn and Olivia Wilde’s Quorra. Sam is the son of Bridges’ character, Kevin Flynn, the CEO of telecom giant Encom who disappeared in 1989. In Legacy, Sam ventures into the digital landscape known as The Grid to find his father and prevent Kevin’s creation CLU from leading a digital army into the real world.

As Sam reunites with his father, he also meets Quorra. Quorra is a member of a race known as ISOs, digital lifeforms who appeared spontaneously in The Grid. Quorra is proof that life finds a way, even inside a computer simulation. In the end, Sam defeats CLU and returns to the real world with Quorra in tow. The world’s first digital lifeform has been transformed into flesh and blood.

Legacy’s ending lays a pretty clear path for a sequel. Sam himself is finally ready to embrace his responsibility as Encom’s largest shareholder. Rather than simply play annual pranks on the Encom board, Sam is prepared to lead the company into a brighter and more open-source future. Quorra is by his side, serving as living proof of the true wonders that await in the digital realm.

Legacy sets up an ongoing storyline for both Sam and Quorra. In fact, the home video release even includes a short film called “Tron: The Next Day,” showing Sam returning to Encom to begin shepherding the company into a new era.

But despite that, neither Hedlund nor Wilde seem to be returning for Tron: Ares. They’re both very conspicuous by their absence in the sequel. On some level, it’s not surprising that Disney would want to pivot to a different, more standalone direction for Ares. Legacy grossed $409.9 million worldwide on a budget of $170 million (not including marketing costs). If not an outright failure, it wasn’t quite the smash hit Disney was hoping for. Like 2012’s John Carter and 2013’s Lone Ranger, Legacy is one of a number of underperforming live-action movies from an era before Disney really started to lean on Marvel and Star Wars. The studio may have decided that Legacy didn’t strike enough of a chord with moviegoers that directly continuing the plot made much sense.

Still, as we’ve explored, Sam and Quorra are too central to the narrative of Tron to just completely ignore. Are we meant to assume Sam gave up on his mission to build a better Encom? Did Quorra grow tired of the real world and return to The Grid? The absence of these characters leaves a major void in the franchise, and we hope Ares finds some way of at least acknowledging Sam and Quorra’s importance, if not bringing them back in unannounced cameo roles.

Cillian Murphy’s Edward Dillinger, Jr.

Hedlund and Wilde aren’t the only Legacy actors whose absence in the Ares cast is baffling. There’s also Cillian Murphy, whose character was clearly being set up for much bigger things in a third Tron movie.

Murphy very briefly appears in an uncredited role in Legacy, playing Edward Dillinger, Jr., the son of David Warner’s Edward Dillinger from the original Tron. The younger Dillinger is introduced as the head of Encom’s software development team, and a fierce opponent of Sam’s commitment to free, open-source software.

It goes without saying that Murphy wasn’t cast just to appear in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo role. Dillinger was obviously intended to play a bigger part in a future sequel, where he likely would have become the main human antagonist, just as his father was in Tron. Dillinger’s role likely would have coincided with the return of the Master Control Program, the sinister entity that served as the main digital villain of the first movie.

Judging from the Tron: Ares trailer, the MCP itself may be back in play. Ares and his fellow programs are marked by glowing red highlights, which is the calling card of the MCP, just as CLU’s faction was orange and Tron was blue. That suggests a sinister undertone to Ares’ mission. We don’t know if he’s meant to be hero or villain. He doesn’t seem to understand much about his mission either. But if the MCP is back, why hasn’t Edward Dillinger returned, too? Why is Gillian Anderson’s new character suddenly the focus of the Encom board?

That said, we do know that Evan Peters is playing a character named Julian Dillinger, so at least it appears that the Dillinger clan has a part to play in this story. And it’s always possible that Murphy (who, again, wasn’t actually credited in Legacy) is still secretly returning for the new film.

Bruce Boxleitner’s Tron

Arguably the most baffling omission of all from the Tron: Ares cast is Bruce Boxleitner. If this is a Tron movie, where is Tron himself? In the original movie, Boxleitner played both Encom executive Alan Bradley and the heroic security program Tron. Boxleitner reprised the Alan role in Tron: Legacy, while it was eventually revealed that CLU’s bodyguard Rinzler was a reprogrammed Tron. When last we saw Rinzler in Legacy, he had fallen into the Sea of Simulation, which wiped away his new programming and restored the hero within.

Sadly, it doesn’t appear that Boxleitner is returning for Ares for either role. We can deal with Alan being written out of the picture, but is the plan really to make a Tron movie without its namesake? Or is it possible that Tron has been recast with a younger actor? Perhaps that’s who Cameron Monaghan is playing?

Whatever is going on here, we would hope that Ares intends to follow up on Tron’s open-ended fate from Legacy. This character deserves redemption after what he was subjected to by CLU. And a Tron sequel needs to include Tron in some capacity.

Why Is Jeff Bridges in Tron: Ares?

Perhaps the single most baffling announcement regarding Tron: Ares is the news that Bridges is returning to the franchise. Sure, he’s the most recognizable and bankable star among the Tron: Legacy cast, but there’s the little problem that both of his characters were killed off in that sequel. In the climax of Tron: Legacy, Kevin Flynn sacrifices himself to destroy CLU and give his son and adopted daughter the chance to escape back to the real world.

So why is Bridges of all people back for a third movie? It’s hard to say. We can briefly hear Bridges’ voice in the trailer, but there’s no indication of whether he might be playing a still-living Kevin Flynn or a version of CLU. Did Flynn’s digital archenemy somehow survive their shared death in Legacy? Did Flynn keep a backup of CLU handy? Or has Flynn himself somehow transcended the limits of flesh, achieving immortality in The Grid?

That’s a mystery that will no doubt be solved in Ares. We’ll also find out whether Ares himself is working with Flynn/CLU or carrying out the Master Control Program’s agenda. But whatever the film reveals, there’s no getting around the fact that it’s pretty weird to have a Tron sequel that resurrects Bridges’ character(s) but ignores all the important players who actually survived the events of Legacy. As much as we’re looking forward to Tron: Ares, the sequel also leaves us more than a little perplexed.

But, hey, at least that NIN score is sounding pretty swell.

In other Tron news, find out about the series return to the gaming realm with the Metroid/Hades hybrid Tron: Catalyst.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.

If you’re looking to build together a car emergency kit, two items you’ll undoubtedly want to add are a tire inflator and jump starter. Right now a couple of AstroAI branded devices are on sale right now, although you’ll need to be an Amazon Prime member to maximize your savings. Not only are they very reasonably priced, they’re both completely cordless, which eliminates the need to plug it into an available cigarette lighte. They’re also compact and pack in other features like USB charging, built-in flashlight, and more.

AstroAI L7 Tire Inflator + Tire Pressure Gauge for $19.99

A Minecraft Movie is now in theaters, and it turns out the team behind the film built their own Minecraft private server that was accessible to the whole cast and crew in order to make the movie as authentic as possible. In fact, Jack Black himself set out to prove he was a “real Minecrafter” and built a massive mansion on top of the highest mountain — with an art gallery.

Having Minecraft so readily available was a huge help for the filmmakers when creating A Minecraft Movie, and producer Torfi Frans Ólafsson told IGN it fostered a feeling of “being in an indie game studio, where things are jamming and ideas are floating around everywhere.” While they couldn’t utilize every idea that came out of that as the “train was already moving,” it did give them a chance to “add a little pizzazz” on top of the film and make it feel true to the game.

A Minecraft Movie director Jared Hess added that Black, who plays Steve in the film, was all the way in on playing Minecraft and proving he could stand toe-to-toe with the best.

“It was so much fun,” Hess said. “Jack was super-weirdly method with the game. He was in his trailer harvesting lapis lazuli and always building stuff. [He] was geeking out on the game and would come back with ideas. It was a constantly evolving thing where everybody was contributing in their own fun, unique way.”

“I had an Xbox in my trailer and I did play because an actor prepares,” Jack Black added with a grin. “So I got as many hours as I could on this Minecraft server, which had tons of props from all the different departments.

“The cast and crew on the server were building some insane structures and I wanted to stand out. I wanted everyone to know that I was a real Minecrafter, so I said I was going to find the biggest, highest mountain in this world and build a stairway to Steve and a mansion up on top of that hill. I had a basement in there with an art gallery and… I don’t even know if it’s still there!”

“It’s up!” Ólafsson confirmed. “I kept it up and I extended it for a year. I popped up in there a couple days ago and I said, ‘Wait, there’s somebody online!’ I went in, and there were these two security guards who worked the gate on set and and they’re like, ‘Hey, welcome!’ I said, “You guys are still in here?’ and they said, “Oh, yeah!”

While it remains to be seen if we’ll ever see Jack Black’s ‘Real Minecrafter’ Mansion, it’s always a joy to hear what goes into making a movie and how these filmmakers brought the beloved game to life.

For more, check out our review of A Minecraft Movie, our explainer of the film’s ending and post-credits scene, and how it had the biggest domestic box office debut in history for a video game adaptation last weekend.

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.

OK, roll with us on this one… Oscar Isaac might just be returning as Moon Knight, and in Avengers: Doomsday no less. Shocked? Us too, but there’s one particular recent development that is starting to make the theory seem plausible.

Earlier in the weekend, Star Wars Celebration’s official social media revealed that Isaac would no longer be making an appearance at the beloved convention in Japan this year “due to changes in his production schedule.”

Isaac’s appearance at Star Wars Celebration was a headline-grabbing announcement back in February, sparking rumors of Poe Dameron’s return to the galaxy far, far away. Rey actress Daisy Ridley appeared at Star Wars Celebration 2023 to announce she would appear in a new film, so fans were wondering if Isaac would do something similar here.

Naturally, Isaac’s production schedule changes were not detailed, but considering Avengers: Doomsday is currently in production in London, it didn’t take long for fans to put two and two together to come up with Moon Knight in Avengers.

He’s gonna be filming doomsday?

— James Young (@YoungJames34) April 4, 2025

Dooooomsday

— G the Gamer (@G_da_Gamer) April 4, 2025

Doomsday

— Taco John (@SWaddict_) April 4, 2025

That said, the theory is still just a theory. Marvel does like surprises, but the fact remains that Isaac wasn’t actually one of the many announced names in the Doomsday cast reveal. However, Marvel Studios producer Kevin Feige did confirm that the livestream did not include the entire cast of Doomsday — “We revealed many, not all,” he said over a video call at CinemaCon — so we can dream, can’t we?

One six-episode season of Moon Knight was released back in 2022 starring Isaac, but Marvel has yet to announce a follow-up. Avengers: Doomsday is set to hit theaters on May 1, 2026, with a whole host of returning heroes and famous faces bringing the story to life as per the epic livestream.

Meanwhile, MCU fans have also turned their inquisitive gaze upon Robert Downey Jr’s hair after the Iron Man actor recently sent out a Doctor Doom-themed invitation for this 60th birthday party.

Last month’s Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal was heavy on veteran X-Men actors. Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, and James Marsden are all now set to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, confirming the X-Men are in the film in a big way. Grammer famously played Beast in the Fox X-Men franchise before making his MCU debut via The Marvels’ post-credits scene. Stewart played Charles Xavier/Professor X in the X-Men films before appearing briefly in the MCU via Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as a member of the Illuminati. McKellen, who played Magneto, has yet to appear in the MCU. Neither has Cumming, who played Nightcrawler, Romijn, who played Mystique, nor Marsden, who played Cyclops. It begs the question: is Avengers: Doomsday secretly an Avengers vs. X-Men movie?

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.

Michael Sarnoski, director of A Quiet Place: Day One, is reportedly set to write and direct the live-action adaptation of Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding.

Per Deadline, Sarnoski will write and direct the Death Stranding adaptation with A24 and Kojima Productions producing, alongside Square Peg. Sarnoski directed and wrote for both the A Quiet Place spin-off Day One and 2021’s Pig, starring Nicolas Cage. He’s also the writer/director for the upcoming The Death of Robin Hood, another A24 project.

Few details were given about what the live-action adaptation of Death Stranding would entail. The original 2019 game sent players out into the wasteland to try and reconnect a scattered America amid an extinction-level event, in a world haunted by nightmarish creatures and strange happenings. It’s already good movie fodder before you factor in Hideo Kojima’s cinematic tendencies.

Death Stranding also featured a star-studded cast that included Norman Reedus in the lead role of Sam Bridges, as well as Léa Seydoux, Mads Mikkelsen, Guillermo del Toro, and Margaret Qualley. It’ll be interesting to see if these actors reprise their roles for the live-action adaptation.

There’s still more for Death Stranding in store though, as Kojima Productions recently confirmed Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will launch later this year on June 26, 2025 on PlayStation 5. The next game in the Death Stranding saga also picked up some more stars, including the likes of Luca Marinelli and Elle Fanning.

Hopefully this particular Kojima-linked project forges ahead, as the Metal Gear Solid movie is still reportedly being worked on despite slowing updates. With all the stars and cinematics though, Death Stranding certainly seems poised to make the jump to live-action.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

If you’re a Minecraft die-hard, you might have seen one particularly sneaky Easter egg in the new film adaptation A Minecraft Movie — but all is not what it seems. According to Mojang Studios Senior Creative Director of Entertainment and producer on A Minecraft Movie, Torfi Frans Olafsson, that moment that seemed to be alluding to the 2010 Creepypasta story Herobrine isn’t an Easter egg, but a mistake the visual effects team ran out of time to fix.

Warning! Spoilers for A Minecraft Movie follow:

For context, A Minecraft Movie has a scene that takes place at the Woodland Mansion where Henry (Sebastian Hansen) meets an Enderman who puts him in a state where he’s able to see a vision of Steve (Jack Black), except the character is verbally berating him as his eyes go white. Because Herobrine is characterized as Steve with white eyes, fans were convinced that the moment signified that there was a future for the Creepypasta story within the MCU (Minecraft Cinematic Universe, duh).

However, Olafsson has cast doubt on this assumption. “It’s super strange that all of their eyes were supposed to be purple but when it was rendered one of the characters eyes kept coming out white in the final rendered frames so we wound up keeping it like that, because the VFX studio ran out of time,” he revealed on X / Twitter.

In the early Minecraft days, an anonymous poster on 4chan claimed they saw an in-game version of Steve with white eyes and weird powers showing up around the game. Following the post, a Creepypasta story surfaced, which “revealed” that the character anomaly was actually the spirit of a dead player.

If you’re in the market for an awesome gift for the Dune fan in your life (even if that person is you), LEGO is offering its first ever big discount on the LEGO Dune Atreides Royal Ornithopter. The set includes the dragonfly-like helicopter, as well as eight minifigures including Paul and Leto Atreides, Chani, Lady Jessica, Gurney Halleck, Liet Kynes, Duncan Idaho, and Baron Harkonnen.

The discount is only the second price drop we’ve seen on this set, but it has officially dropped to a new low on Amazon for the first time since its launch. The Ornithopter was released just last year alongside Dune: Part 2 hitting theaters and has been sitting at or near full price pretty much since then.

LEGO Icons Dune Atreides Royal Ornithopter

Hulu has been around for a while and, for our money, it’s one of the absolute best streaming services available. From great movies like Anatomy of a Fall and Prey to excellent television series like the Golden Globe-winning Shogun, Abbott Elementary, and The Bear there is always something awesome to watch. Oscar Best Picture winner Anora is also now available to stream on the service, so there’s no better time than now to get set up with a plan.

Below, we’ve detailed all of the best Hulu deals and bundles so you can get started on your streaming adventures with its library right away. This includes the Hulu, Disney+, and Max streaming bundle, which starts at just $16.99/month and is currently the best value available for the streaming services following the Disney Plus and Hulu price hikes. To see even more streaming deals, make sure to check out our roundups of the best Disney Plus deals and the best Max deals.

How to Get The Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max Streaming Bundle

The Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle can be purchased on any of the three streaming services and starts at $16.99/month for the ad-supported tier or $29.99/month for ad-free access across all three platforms. If you’re looking to cut down on streaming costs and currently own all three of these, this is an excellent bundle to invest in. It’ll save you quite a bit compared to what you’d pay for the three of them separately per month – 43% on the ad-supported plan and 42% on the ad-free plan.

Hulu deal for students — Get Hulu (With Ads) for just $1.99/month

If you’re a student enrolled in a university (a US Title IV accredited college or university, per Hulu’s website), you can sign up for Hulu (With Ads) for $1.99 a month. That’s an excellent deal if you’re a student, saving you $8 on the usual monthly price.

Hulu subscription tiers

Hulu is available in a couple of different tiers. The least expensive option is the ad-supported tier, which comes in at $9.99/month. This gives you access to everything exclusive, tons of movies, Hulu Originals, children’s programming, and more. If you want to ditch the ads, the ad-free plan is $18.99/month.

Hulu: Bundle to Best

If you want a more affordable option when it comes to a Hulu subscription, you can’t go wrong with a bundle, and Hulu has several to choose from:

• Hulu + Live TV (With Ads) — Hulu + Live TV (With Ads) is $82.99/month and includes Disney+ and ESPN+. It also gives you access to more than 75 channels with live TV and unlimited DVR functionality. The Hulu + Live TV plan also has a three-day free trial to test out the service.
• Hulu + Live TV (Ad-Free) — The ad-free version of Hulu+Live TV is $95.99/month and comes with ad-free versions of Hulu and Disney Plus, although ESPN still shows ads.
• Disney+, Hulu Bundle Basic — This is the most economic bundle. It will set you back $10.99/month and comes with subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu. It lets you stream on multiple devices at once and comes with ad-supported versions of both Disney+ and Hulu.
• Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle Basic — This bundle adds ESPN+ into the mix alongside Disney+ and Hulu, bumping up the price to $16.99/month. You can also download and watch select content on ESPN+ at this level.
• Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle Premium — This bundle is $26.99/month and comes with ESPN+ (with ads) and ad-free versions of Disney+ and Hulu. You can also download select content across all three streaming services.

What can you watch on Hulu?

There is a bonkers amount of shows and movies you can watch on Hulu. Let’s start at the top and simply talk about the verticals on offer with the base subscription, because if we also talk about what is available via Disney+, ESPN+, or live TV, we’ll be here forever. (You can also sync up Hulu with Max to gain access to things like Succession and House of the Dragon.)

Here’s what you get:

• Network and Hulu Original television shows (AMC, Adult Swim, ABC, A&E, FX, etc.)
• Movies (HBO, Hulu Originals, anime films, etc.)
• Sports (NHL, Soccer, MLB, Auto Racing, NFL, College Football, PGA, Tennis, etc.)
• News (ABC News Live, Good Morning America, World News Tonight, 20/20, The View, etc.)

Hulu television

Hulu has some amazing shows, both those that are finished and many which are ongoing. For comedy, there are plenty of options to choose from, including New Girl, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, What We Do In The Shadows, Modern Family, Cougar Town, Broad City, Abbott Elementary, and so much more.

There are also some big Hulu originals to watch, including The Bear, The Old Man, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Only Murders In The Building.

As far as animated fare, there are modern adult classics like Rick and Morty and Bob’s Burgers, as well as Futurama, Family Guy, and King of the Hill. Anime staples like Cowboy Bebop are also available. And if you want to bring more youth-friendly fun, Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, Adventure Time, and Curious George are just a small sample of what Hulu has available.

The future of Hulu

Hulu isn’t going anywhere. As a matter of fact, beyond it being awarded the best streaming service by us and receiving a 9/10 in our updated Hulu review, it was bought in full by Disney in November 2023 and the House of Mouse has created a one-app experience for those bundling Hulu and Disney+. With an FX partnership, Hulu is also home to those shows, including the latest drama miniseries, Shogun.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.

Original story from Brian Barnett.

Nintendo fans are presumably eager to get their hands on the Nintendo Switch 2. But one in particular seems a bit more eager than most, as he’s already starting the line in front of the Nintendo New York store two months in advance to ensure he gets one.

YouTuber ChickenDog has started making the rounds as the “first” person to line up for the Nintendo Switch 2 at the New York store location. He started on April 5, two months before the planned June 5 launch of the new Nintendo console, and he said he plans to camp out and record updates as he does so.

First in line for the Nintendo Switch 2 gonna be camping out for 2 months can’t wait to see what happens throughout my journey! #NintendoSwitch2 #NintendoNYC #nintendostoreus pic.twitter.com/Vb7wrmk52y

— ChickenDog (@ChickenDog64) April 5, 2025

The “camping out” is a little more in the colloquial sense, as ChickenDog clarified in an update video that he has an AirBnB and hotel, as well as friends in the area, so he won’t be braving the elements for two straight months. He’s also got a crew of friends helping him hold the spot down when he’s not physically there.

It’s raining for day 3 staying strong 💪 pic.twitter.com/lkFVycX2xW

— ChickenDog (@ChickenDog64) April 7, 2025

There’s certainly a history of Nintendo fans camping out for big console and game releases, including a month-long wait for the Nintendo Switch. It seems like ChickenDog is looking to follow in those footsteps, waiting out the two months for Switch 2.

The YouTuber plans on recording and uploading content while he’s out there, so head over to ChickenDog’s YouTube if you want to follow all the updates day-after-day. Even without a tent or sleeping bag, waiting out for two months is a long, long time, so best of luck and some sunny skies to him.

Assuming ChickenDog stays the course, he’ll need to hand over $450 just for a Switch 2, or $500 if he wants the Mario Kart world bundle. That is, unless the price goes up in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which have already caused Nintendo to delay Switch 2 pre-orders.

For more Switch 2 info, check out our big Nintendo Switch 2 interview with Nintendo of America’s Bill Trinen going over price, mouse controls, and more.

Image credit: ChickenDog / YouTube.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

Microsoft has created a playable “interactive space inspired” by Quake II using AI, and it’s sparked a vociferous debate online.

As spotted by PC Gamer, the demo is powered by Microsoft’s recently announced Muse and the World and Human Action Model (WHAM) AI system, and “can dynamically create gameplay visuals and simulate player behavior in real-time,” which means a semi-playable environment has been generated entirely through AI and without an in-game engine.

“In this real-time tech demo, Copilot dynamically generates gameplay sequences inspired by the classic game Quake II,” Microsoft explained. “Every input you make triggers the next AI-generated moment in the game, almost as if you were playing the original Quake II running on a traditional game engine. Enjoy the experience, share your thoughts, and help shape the future of AI-powered gameplay experiences.

“This bite-sized demo pulls you into an interactive space inspired by Quake II, where AI crafts immersive visuals and responsive action on the fly. It’s a groundbreaking glimpse at a brand new way of interacting with games, turning cutting-edge research into a quick and compelling playable demo.”

All that sounds pretty impressive, but the demo itself is… well, less so.

After The Game Awards boss Geoff Keighley shared a brief video of the demo in action on X / Twitter, hundreds of people responded, with few having anything positive to say.

Microsoft has created an AI-generated replica of Quake II that you can play in browser.

“Every frame is created on the fly by an AI world model.”

Play it here:https://t.co/WGQymDOmsj pic.twitter.com/35MX5aHPbF

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) April 5, 2025

“Man, I don’t want the future of games to be AI-generated slop,” said one Redditor. “There will be a point where it will be easier to use AI, and then all the greedy studios will do it exclusively. The human element will be removed.

“And the worst part is gamers will buy it. They buy skins for 100 dollars. They will buy whatever you sell them.”

“Microsoft’s boast that they want ‘to build a whole catalog of games that use this new AI model,’ despite it not being clear if the current technique will ever even be capable of letting you turn around without moving to a random point on the map let alone come up with an original game, really typifies what’s wrong with AI and the tech industry,” added another.

“I had a better experience literally just imagining the game in my head,” said another commenter.

Not everyone was so quick to dismiss it, however.

“I don’t know why everything has to be doom and gloom,” said a more cheery respondent. “It’s a demo for a reason. It shows the future possibilities. Having an AI that is able to create a coherent and consistent world is crazy. But this cannot be used to create a full game or anything enjoyable. You cannot play this. Seems like a tool for early concept/pitching phase. This can also bring improvement in other fields in AI as what it is doing is impressive.

“This is not even a product yet but a demo showing how much they’ve improved from just a few months ago.”

Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney had a rather different response:

pic.twitter.com/XidCvhLDTI

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 5, 2025

Generative AI is one of the hottest topics within the video game and entertainment industries, which have both suffered massive layoffs in recent years. It has drawn criticism from players and creators due to a mix of ethical issues, rights issues, and AI’s struggles to produce content audiences actually enjoy. For instance, Keywords Studios attempted to create an experimental game internally using entirely AI. The game failed, with Keywords citing to investors that AI was “unable to replace talent.”

Still, that hasn’t put off a number of video game companies from using generative AI in the development of their products. Activision recently disclosed the use of generative AI for some Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 assets as part of new requirements on Steam, amid a backlash to an “AI slop” zombie Santa loading screen.

And last month, Horizon actor Ashly Burch addressed a controversial AI Aloy video that leaked online, using it to call attention to the demands of striking voice actors.

Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.