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A second delay has been confirmed for Prison Architect 2, less than a month before the expected launch date. The game is now expected to launch on Sept. 3.
The announcement came Friday from publisher Paradox Interactive and developer Double Eleven. The initial launch for PS5, Xbox, and Steam was scheduled for March 25 and then delayed to May 7. The extra four months will be used to address crash issues as memory usage was impacting gameplay, as detailed in a statement from Paradox.
“While we currently have builds certified on all platforms and are ready to release, some issues regarding memory usage and minimum spec configurations experiencing more failures have emerged.”
“Considering the legacy of Prison Architect, and you – our passionate community, we want to ship the best possible sequel to such a beloved game, without cutting corners to do so.”

Hello Architects,We’ve made the hard decision of delaying Prison Architect 2 from May 7th to September 3rd.
We’ll use this time to work on reducing crashes, optimizing performance, and polishing existing features. Read more: https://t.co/Jwl8Yoj7rI pic.twitter.com/8FwflOoxnd
— Prison Architect 2 – Pre-Order Now! (@PrisonArchitect) April 19, 2024

Reaction to the second delay for Prison Architect 2
Double Eleven will discuss and elaborate on its intentions to further develop some of the existing features of the game during a Prison Architect 2 stream on April, 25, in which it will detail further updates as part of the timeline to release the game in September.
Social media reactions were generally accepting, especially after Paradox issued an apology this week for the botched release of Cities Skylines 2. One user on X stated, “I’ll take it, Paradox is learning from Cities Skylines 2 that rushing a game is never good,” whilst another opined, “I’m glad this is happening, it’s good to see developers admitting their game isn’t going to be ready when originally planned, and taking action on it.”
There was disappointment expressed but given the context of the previous delay and other Paradox problems, patience and space will be granted by gamers as long as the upcoming release of Prison Architect 2 delivers.

Image credit: PA2/X
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In partnership with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the US Air Force has announced a significant breakthrough in achieving its first artificial intelligence (AI) dogfight. 
Project teams from the Air Force Test Pilot School and DARPA collaborated to great effect, testing AI algorithms using the X-62A VISTA aircraft. 
DARPA is an organization within the US Department of Defense whose many oversights include aircraft design. Over the last four years, it has been focused on developing its Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program to match up human pilots with AI-powered machine learning systems.
In less than a year, ACE evolved from the initial use of AI in the systems of the X-62A to delivering the first AI versus human within-visual-range engagements – also known as a dogfight.
Frank Kendall, the U.S. secretary of the Air Force, lauded the transformational breakthrough, stating “the potential for autonomous air-to-air combat has been imaginable for decades, but the reality has remained a distant dream up until now.”

Use of artificial intelligence in present conflict zones
An important marker for the project was that AI made no meaningful violations or malfunctions, resulting in the tests performing as safely as with a human pilot in control.
DARPA welcomed the dogfight success as “a fundamental paradigm shift,” with the achievement set to act as a catalyst to propel AI aerospace advances in the future, but the Chinese have already recorded this feat,  in March, last year.
AI technology is known to be in use in various conflict situations at present, with the war in Ukraine referenced as an incubator for the use of AI in combat. Both sides, including Russia, have deployed algorithms for use in autonomous navigation, target ID and engagement, and intelligence processing to devastating effect. 
Also, in the current Middle East conflict, Israel is said to have utilized its ‘Lavender’ AI system to identify around 37,000 potential targets due to their apparent links to Hamas.
From a military combat perspective, despite ethical concerns and the need to maximise safeguards, AI is here and here to stay.
Image credit: Edwards Air Force Base
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Cynthia Williams, president of Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast, has resigned from her post. The shock news comes from a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from Hasbro, the parent company of Wizards.
The SEC filing reads “On April 15, 2024, Cynthia Williams, President of Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Gaming, informed the Company of her resignation from the Company effective April 26, 2024. The Company is conducting a process to identify her successor, looking at both internal and external candidates.”
WotC’s revenue is up 40% compared to the previous year. This was due to the critical success of a Lord of the Rings Series, series, which reached $200 million in sales, and the success of Baldur’s Gate 3, last year’s game-of-the-year winner across multiplaye awards series.
WotC took in $120m more in 2023 compared to 2022, but all was not well in the eyes of fans.
Controversy amid profit for WotC
Williams’ two-year tenure was marked by repeated controversies amongst the fantasy RPG faithful. Most recently, she ordered a round of layoffs in December that wiped out some 1,100 jobs as a cost saving move. Additionally, Hasbro sold film and TV department eOne to Lionsgate for $500m in August. The D&D: Honour Amongst Thieves movie failed to break even at the box office and brought in only $208m million globally.
Baldur’s Gate 3 from Larian Studios won every award possible among games launched in 2023. It was one of the few shining lights for Hasbro amidst record lows across all other arms of the company.
Still, Williams would continue the redundancy trail and set the fate of Faerûn on a different path.
In a recent interview, Sven Wicke, CEO of Larian, said  that “Wizards of the Coast have seen massive layoffs … there is no one left from the original meeting with them. You share so much knowledge about D&D (Dungeons and Dragons). It’s sad, and I’m not judging anyone, but they are gone, but their knowledge is now out there.”
Larian will not be involved in any new take on Baldur’s Gate, and Wicke stated that being involved with any new plans is “literally the opposite of what Larian is about. We want to do big, new things. We don’t want to rehash the thing that we’ve done already.”
This week Larian has interestingly created mod support and a closed beta test for some developers in the game’s lively community. This news emerged the same week as Williams’ resignation, so the two could be intertwined.
End of a turbulent era
Hasbro’s share price plummeted during Williams’s control of the company. In 2022, Hasbro, Inc.’s stock went from $102 to today’s low of $52, so the move may have been a forced one in an overall shakeup, but the gaming company’s profits across the past two years would suggest otherwise.
WotC is an integral part of the Hasbro puzzle. However, letting the flagship intellectual property Baldur’s Gate 3 and their relationship with Larian fizzle can only be seen as critical business failures. Sadly, Williams’s position and reputation will be synonymous with fan and staff disharmony and a lack of business acumen and foresight.
Image: Ideogram.
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