Daily Game News Digest - 2026-04-17
By NewsHound ·
Soulframe: The Secret To Digital Extremes', Fortnite's forgotten original mode Save the, and more!
A new article is up at www.gameinformer.com.
Author: Wesley LeBlanc
Digital Extremes' CEO Steve Sinclair says the studio's formula for keeping Warframe thriving-and for launching its new MMO Soulframe-is to maintain intense public scrutiny while keeping development teams small, using community feedback as a constant test of their ideas. This approach helped Warframe survive early financial crises and grow to record player numbers, but Soulframe's success will ultimately depend on how the current audience receives it.
Read the full article: https://gameinformer.com/exclusive/2026/04/17/soulframe-the-secret-to-digital-extremes-live-service-success-is-keeping-the
New coverage from www.polygon.com.
Fortnite's forgotten original mode Save the World will be free to play
Author: Michael McWhertor
Fortnite's original PvE mode, Save the World-where players build forts and fend off waves of zombie-like Husks-has been made free to play. Epic Games announced the change on Thursday, April 16, ending more than eight years of the mode being a paid product.
Read the full article: https://www.polygon.com/fortnite-save-the-world-free-to-play/
www.gamerant.com dives into the news.
Metro 2039 Officially Revealed, "Changed" by Russian Invasion of Ukraine
4A Games has officially unveiled Metro 2039, the next main-line entry in the post-apocalyptic series and the first core installment since 2019's Metro Exodus. Development was dramatically reshaped by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, forcing much of the team to work from Ukraine or remote locations and prompting the game's narrative to reflect the developers' real-world experience of war. The title returns to the Moscow Metro tunnels with a new protagonist, The Stranger, and emphasizes the series' signature survival-focused, atmospheric gameplay using an updated version of the studio's proprietary engine.
Read the full article: https://gamerant.com/metro-2039-reveal-gameplay-story/
New coverage from www.ign.com.
As Deep as the Grave Filmmakers Defend Recreating Val Kilmer Using AI
Author: NormanOsborn
The upcoming film *As Deep as the Grave* uses an AI-generated version of the late Val Kilmer to portray Father Fintan, a role Kilmer had been attached to before his health forced him to leave the project. The filmmakers say they obtained consent and compensation from Kilmer's children and followed SAG's three Cs (consent, compensation, collaboration), integrating the AI performance into more than an hour of the movie through extensive editing. While they argue the technology was the only feasible way to keep the character after budget and schedule constraints, the decision has sparked criticism over the ethics of recreating deceased actors.
Read the full article: https://www.ign.com/articles/as-deep-as-the-grave-filmmakers-defend-recreating-val-kilmer-using-ai