Joshua Wolens

Joshua Wolens

News Writer

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.

Latest articles by Joshua Wolens

Forget GTA 6, I have brought GTA 5 closer to being the true greatest game of all time: Hulk – Ultimate Destruction

By Joshua Wolens Published

Los Santos Customs Quit staring.

Los Santos Customs
Rideshare Stimulator trailer still - creepy looking dude side-eyeing out the window of his car
Saber CCO Tim Willits is still bullish on AI, but concerned about its environmental impact: 'Elon wants to put servers in space. That could be the answer, right?'

By Justin Wagner Published

News "I mean, it's funny, but why not?"

22 Comments
News
Man in a gas mask.
GSC Game World says there's a reason it didn't give Stalker 2 more time in the oven: 'To make something better, you need to receive feedback, and this feedback should be fresh'

By Justin Wagner Published

News "Every developer would like to have an infinite amount of time, but … the market state is not very promising."

12 Comments
News
Rideshare Stimulator trailer screengrab showing a man in the backseat of a car.
Saber CCO says the studio isn't changing up its comms strategy after recent controversies: 'There's always some dust up'

By Justin Wagner Published

News "The games will speak for themselves."

23 Comments
News
Key art for Dwarf Fortress showing a trio of dwarves exploring a cave system; Dwarf Fortress co-creator Tarn Adams.
Dwarf Fortress co-creator Tarn Adams was amazed other devs had heard of his game the first time he went to a convention: 'I didn't know that anyone knew what we were doing'

By Justin Wagner Published

News "I try to have good moral qualities, but I am apparently subject to all forms of flattery and vanity and such."

News
A Scarab Occult Terminator Sorcerer looks menacing in Space Marine 2.
Saber CCO Tim Willits blames layoffs on games industry overspecialization: 'Studios that have a couple hundred employees that work on one game are going to struggle'

By Justin Wagner Published

News "Why not take a risk?"

News
I have filled GTA 5 with realistic Los Angeles snow

By Joshua Wolens Published

Los Santos Customs Chestnuts roasting on an open car-fire.

Los Santos Customs
I installed a mod that adds building interiors to GTA 5, at the low cost of deleting most of the map's exterior

By Joshua Wolens Published

Los Santos Customs You win some, you lose some.

Los Santos Customs
Alien: Isolation 2's Gamescom demo kept its cards close to its chest, but I'm definitely ready to be terrified again

By Joshua Wolens Published

Xenonaut Just, you know, give me a minute to collect myself.

Xenonaut
A smiling man in military fatigues
'Can I cry?': Stalker 2 devs say its 2.0 update's engine overhaul was a nightmare—but worth the effort

By Lincoln Carpenter Published

News That's going to cause some anomalies.

20 Comments
News
Zach Adams (L) and his brother Tarn Adams, cofounders of Bay 12 Games and cocreators of the single-player simulation game "Dwarf Fortress," pose for a photo at their home office in Poulsbo, Washington, west of Seattle, on December 9, 2022. - A cult favorite among indie game fans, "Dwarf Fortress" has been available for purchase on the Steam online store since December 6, a first for this title that has been distributed for free since its debut in 2006. The real-time management game, set in a medieval-fantasy world and involving overseeing a group of dwarves seeking to build a mighty fortress, has climbed to the fourth best-selling weekly title on Steam. (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP) (Photo by JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images)
Dwarf Fortress co-creator says his life as a millionaire is 'basically like reattaining what my parents could do with regular jobs'

By Andy Chalk Published

news Tarn Adams lives in a house now. I bet that's nice.

11 Comments
news
I modded GTA 6 leak-accurate car fuelling into GTA 5

By Joshua Wolens Published

Los Santos Customs It's a sim now. I'm a sim now.

Los Santos Customs
Dandelion from The Witcher 3
Doug Cockle believes Dandelion is Geralt's real soulmate in The Witcher 3, but 'in a very platonic way'

By Elie Gould Published

News Geralt x Dandelion ship = Gerdelion.

11 Comments
News
A split image showing Henry Cavill from Netflix's The Witcher series, juxtaposed with Geralt from The Witcher 3 Remastered.
Was Geralt's voice actor inspired by Henry Cavill's take on him in The Witcher series? 'No, because we were first'

By Harvey Randall Published

News "I still haven't got a call for a cameo," says Dandelion VA John Schwab.

19 Comments
News
Key art for Dwarf Fortress showing a trio of dwarves exploring a cave system; Dwarf Fortress co-creator Tarn Adams.
Dwarf Fortress creator says we can learn something from simply walling up dwarf nobles to maintain an equal society—but notes you have to abolish the dwarf cops, too: 'Another lesson to be had there'

By Lincoln Carpenter Published

News Much to consider.

News
I modded a GTA 6-like 'wanted system' into GTA 5

By Joshua Wolens Published

Los Santos Customs Help, wanted.

Los Santos Customs
Okay, I wasn't expecting 'Rainbow Six XCOM' to be one of my favourite Gamescom demos

By Joshua Wolens Published

X-TOM And yet, here we are.

11 Comments
X-TOM
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 11: Tim Willits attends The Game Awards 2025 at the Peacock Theater on December 11, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Scott Kirkland/Frank Micelotta/The Game Awards via Getty Images)
Despite horrendous layoffs, obscene hardware prices, and everything else, Saber Interactive exec says 'this is a great time to be in the industry'

By Andy Chalk Published

news Saber CCO Tim Willits believes the availability of platforms like Fortnite and mobile devices are what really matters.

13 Comments
news
Key art for the Dwarf Fortress Myth and Magic update, showing a dwarven wizard casting a spell beneath the looming, ominous figure of Armok.
Dwarf Fortress creator says we have a natural lean towards human-made stories, 'but we're all going to be very sorely tested in the coming years' by AI

By Harvey Randall Published

News Lie, robot.

8 Comments
News
The Witcher 3 Remastered trailer
The Witcher 3 Remastered should run just fine on the Steam Deck, say devs

By Harvey Randall Published

News "This is also the case for the Nintendo Switch 2."

News
Tarn Adams, who cofounded Bay 12 Games with his brother Zach, talks about their single-player simulation game "Dwarf Fortress" during an interview at their home office in Poulsbo, Washington, west of Seattle, on December 9, 2022. - A cult favorite among indie game fans, "Dwarf Fortress" has been available for purchase on the Steam online store since December 6, a first for this title that has been distributed for free since its debut in 2006. The real-time management game, set in a medieval-fantasy world and involving overseeing a group of dwarves seeking to build a mighty fortress, has climbed to the fourth best-selling weekly title on Steam. (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP) (Photo by JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images)
Dwarf Fortress creator says the industry's in shambles over AI and layoff-happy CEOs: 'Everyone I know, their bosses are slowly getting psychosis'

By Harvey Randall Published

News "They're trying to have a CEO press a button that makes a game."

13 Comments
News
Nekome: Nazi Hunter is about gleefully butchering fascists in Germany and America, but its devs swear it's not political

By Joshua Wolens Published

Antifash-ish Nekome is an interesting, politically bold game, even if its studio tried to convince me it isn't.

Antifash-ish
I added player-seeking hit squads to GTA 5, though the billion other mods I have installed keep getting in their way

By Joshua Wolens Published

Los Santos Customs 47 never had this problem.

Los Santos Customs
I have modded many dogs, several cows, 2 lions, and a chimpanzee into Grand Theft Auto 5, and they are all my friends

By Joshua Wolens Published

Los Santos Customs Rolling deep.

Los Santos Customs
Zoom-in of Doom cover art showing doom guy's panicked expression and torn shirt.
id Software's former co-owner says they absolutely would've used gen AI back in the day: 'John Carmack would be like making Skynet or something'

By Harvey Randall Published

News "I make this joke that someone needs to come up with the 'Half-Life 2 of AI'."

42 Comments
News
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