Following multiple days of criticism from fans and fellow game developers over the studio's use of generative AI, Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity maker Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke has announced an AMA (Ask Me Anything, typically on Reddit) in the new year, inviting people to ask members of different Larian departments "any questions you have about Divinity and our dev process directly."

In a post to Twitter/X, Vincke said that since the announcement of the studio's next game, Divinity, at The Game Awards last week, "a lot has become lost in translation." He continued, saying that "Larian's DNA is agency" and said it would be irresponsible of the studio not to "evaluate new technologies," presumably referring to the generative AI discussion that started the controversy. But he also appeared to backpedal somewhat on the idea, adding that "our processes are always evolving, and where they are not efficient or fail to align with who we are, we will make changes."

Vincke's full statement is below:

It’s been a week since we announced Divinity, our next RPG, and a lot has become lost in translation.

Larian’s DNA is agency. Everything we work towards is to the benefit of our teams, games, and players. A better work day, and a better game. Our successes come from empowering people to work in their own way and bring the best out of their skill & craft, so that we can make the best RPGs we can possibly make.

In that context, it would be irresponsible for us not to evaluate new technologies. However, our processes are always evolving, and where they are not efficient or fail to align with who we are, we will make changes.

To give you more insight, we’ll do an AMA featuring our different departments after the holiday break, in which you’ll get the opportunity to ask us any questions you have about Divinity and our dev process directly.

We’ll announce the date in the new year. In the meantime, I wish you all happy holidays!

Vincke's statement comes in response to criticism of his own remarks in interviews following the announcement of a new Divinity last week. In a Bloomberg interview, Vincke admitted that Larian has been pushing generative AI internally, even though it hasn't led to gains in efficiency or speed. Some examples given included using the technology for brainstorming, PowerPoint presentations, pitching concept art, and writing placeholder text.

In response, a number of players across various social platforms, as well as game developers and even former Larian employees criticized the studio, arguing that the listed uses for generative AI at Larian either seemed like things that didn't benefit from generative AI at all (such as placeholder text), or alternatively were key parts of the artistic process and would suffer from not having humans at the helm throughout (concept art).

Vincke then responded with multiple statements, one given to us, and another posted on Twitter/X, where he claimed that critics were misunderstanding what Larian was doing and that "We are neither releasing a game with any AI components, nor are we looking at trimming down teams to replace them with AI."

We also had our own interview with Vincke about Divinity, which you can read in full here.

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

As Stardew Valley fans continue to wait patiently for the previously announced 1.7 update, creator Eric Barone (ConcernedApe) has dropped a couple small, vague, yet exciting hints about what said mysterious update might entail: a new farm type, and "more character/social stuff."

This comes from a tweet/X post from ConcernedApe, where he was asked if he could give any hints about the upcoming update. His response was pretty simple: "there will be some more character/social stuff, it's also traditional to add a new farm type. Lots more but I don't want to reveal much yet."

there will be some more character/social stuff, it's also traditional to add a new farm type. Lots more but I don't want to reveal much yet

— ConcernedApe (@ConcernedApe) December 17, 2025

That's not a ton of detail, but certainly enough to spark the imagination. The new farm type was indeed to be expected. Stardew Valley started with just one style of farm map, and since its release, most major new content updates have added at least one for a total of eight different options. Each farm map centers around a different specialty, with the Standard map being fairly generic and open-ended, and other maps promoting fishing, foraging, mining, combat, multiplayer, a combination of fishing and foraging, and animal raising. Currently, this means that basically every type of playstyle is supported, so there's a lot left to wonder about when it comes to imagining what new farm type could be added. Perhaps something that encourages building NPC friendships?

The "character/social stuff" is a little more vague. This could mean anything from new scenes and events with existing characters to new characters entirely. It's really hard to say at this stage!

Popular fan requests for future Stardew Valley features include more NPCs, including more romanceable NPCs, more dialogue and world lore, but also just generally more of everything: more animals, more crops, more decorations, more clothing, more enemies to fight, dishes to cook, and so forth. ConcernedApe hasn't really revealed anything so far about what 1.7 will contain, or even when we might expect it. He's given no release date, only suggested that it's possible it doesn't come out until after Haunted Chocolatier releases. Maybe. It'll be ready when it's ready.

ConcernedApe did drop one other thing, though. When asked about a potential Nintendo Switch 2 edition, he said he's announce something "very soon." A Switch 2 edition was first announced back in September, and will bring mouse controls, four-player split screen multiplayer, and Game Share multiplayer to the Switch version. No release date has been given yet.

We re-reviewed Stardew Valley in 2024 to account for its many, many updates since launch in 2016. While our original review gave it an impressive 8.8/10, the re-review called it a 10/10 masterpiece, saying, "Stardew Valley is not only the best farming game I’ve played, it is one of my favorite games of all time. That myself and others keep returning to this eight-year old gem each time it gets even the smallest update speaks to how it’s truly a masterpiece in the genre it both reinvigorated and has come to define."

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