AI Is All the Rage Right Now

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Author

Rutledge Daugette
December 19, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

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Happy holidays! This is the last TechRaptor newsletter you’ll get for the year, so your inboxes can rest for the holidays. We wish you many days of relaxation, celebration, and of course, video gamin’. We’ll be back next year with more gaming coverage and our objectively correct Game of the Year coverage.

Oh, and they’re using generative AI to help create the game.

It seems like the goal is for all final assets to be crafted by humans, but AI is being used to explore ideas during the early phases of development.

On one hand, it’s understandable as a tool. Writers and artists refer to all sorts of material while conceptualizing their work. Generating references using AI isn’t all that different from looking at a book or doing a Google search, if your ends are justifying the means.

On the other, it’s been widely reported how AI has had negative impacts on the environment, electricity bills, and media literacy on the internet (not that we were on a good path in the first place). I’m not here to tell you how to feel about AI, but like every ambitious technology before it that set out to change the world, there will be drawbacks, costs, and sacrifices.

Larian isn’t the only studio out there using AI, either. EA, Krafton, Microsoft, and more are prioritizing AI use in various scenarios and to different degrees. It’s a competitive industry, and it’s in their professional interest to stay ahead of latest tech that’s relevant to their work. Though in Larian’s case, studio head Swen Vincke said he didn’t see any major boosts to efficiency because of AI.

In lighter news, the latest season of Dimension 20 will be a shorter series with a cast of chaotic players, including the return of Jacob Wysocki and the debut of Vic Michaelis.

Shoppers are adding to cart for the holidays

Over the next year, Roku predicts that 100% of the streaming audience will see ads. For growth marketers in 2026, CTV will remain an important “safe space” as AI creates widespread disruption in the search and social channels. Plus, easier access to self-serve CTV ad buying tools and targeting options will lead to a surge in locally-targeted streaming campaigns.

Read our guide to find out why growth marketers should make sure CTV is part of their 2026 media mix.

Writer Luis Gutierrez chatted with the executive producer of Marvel Games about their hero shooter, which recently turned one year old. Looking ahead to the big MCU movies of next year, the producer hinted that we’ll see some related content in Marvel Rivals. Additionally, we get a nice inside look into how the studio keeps up with all the memes everyone produces, and it’s kinda heartwarming.

Kick “independently published” its app onto the Xbox ecosystem, but the way it announced that was construed as if there was some sort of official partnership. Xbox has denied this partnership and is actively reviewing Kick’s app to make sure it doesn’t violate Xbox’s policies.

Considering Kick’s reputation for hosting gambling streams, its ties to crypto, and its status as a safe harbor for controversial streamers, this really could go either way.

Unity is once again asking for more money, this time from developers who see financial success using their game engine. This fee coincides with their annual subscription fee, and it starts at $250,000 if you make more than $25 million.