{"id":2098727,"date":"2026-08-18T09:29:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T06:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2098727"},"modified":"2026-08-18T09:29:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T06:29:49","slug":"20-year-old-gunz-the-duel-gets-steam-re-release-receives-harsh-criticism-over-network-issues-and-suspected-use-of-generative-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2098727","title":{"rendered":"20-year-old Gunz the Duel gets Steam re-release, receives harsh criticism over network issues and suspected use of generative AI"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/gunz-the-duel\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Gunz: The Duel<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">20-year-old Gunz the Duel gets Steam re-release, receives harsh criticism over network issues and suspected use of generative AI<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Blast, from the past.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/gunz-header.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Gunz: The Duel custom header showing characters on blue background.\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"gunz-header.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/connor-makar\">Connor Makar<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Staff Writer<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\n<p>Published on   <time datetime=\"2026-08-18T09:29:49+00:00\" data-auto-time-zone=\"true\" data-year=\"numeric\" data-month=\"short\" data-day=\"numeric\" data-hour=\"numeric\" data-minute=\"numeric\">Aug. 18, 2026, 9:29 a.m.<\/time>\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"e2c8ba19-8477-4711-b95d-c1010376a771\" data-name=\"Gunz: The Duel\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Gunz: The Duel\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Gunz: The Duel\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Gunz: The Duel\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Gunz: The Duel\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Gunz: The Duel\" title=\"Follow Gunz: The Duel\"><br \/>\n  Follow Gunz: The Duel<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Gunz the Duel, the cult classic 3rd-person action game first released back in 2006, is back on Steam. But the long-awaited return of the genre-defining game has been tarred somewhat by technical issues, and allegations of AI usage.<\/p>\n<p>Gunz the Duel was first developed by MAIET Entertainment, but has been brought to modern platforms by Masangsoft. This resurrection of Gunz the Duel has been in the works for a few years, and has built up organic hype from older PC players with fond memories of Gunz.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Gunz The Duel - Official Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5TTyE7cjDJ8?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/5TTyE7cjDJ8\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Gunz The Duel &#8211; Official Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Here&#8217;s an old trailer for Gunz: The Duel.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5TTyE7cjDJ8\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, with the game releasing on Steam over the weekend, expectations were met with reality, and a wave of criticisms hit Gunz the Duel. For one, the game is reportedly suffering from significant technical issues.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Masangsoft is a group of talented individuals. Not only did they manage to ruin a 20 year old game, but they consistently discover new ways to make it worse,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/steamcommunity.com\/profiles\/76561198071879501\/recommended\/3139440\">wrote user Fizzion<\/a>. They go on to say that in-game events and gifts aren&#8217;t working properly, and that the beloved gameplay experience itself is different than it was in the original title. They explain: &#8220;When slashing a blocking enemy &#8211; even with angles taken into consideration &#8211; flinching\/stagger almost never happens and seems very inconsistent.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Others are alleging that generative AI has been used throughout the game, despite the lack of a generative AI disclosure on the Gunz the Duel Steam page. Another player, <a href=\"https:\/\/steamcommunity.com\/id\/EclipseRT\/recommended\/3139440\">EclipseRT, wrote<\/a>: &#8220;From the extremely obvious AI use everywhere in this game, [to the developer] not even following Steam guidelines about disclosing AI use, over 2000 ping in matches because they cant seem to fix a NAT connection issue, old bugs from the beta reappearing, the devs being completely silent and ignoring all player feedback. Over this past year not a single one has even talked in the Discord, it&#8217;s gotten to the point where people are starting to call the devs themselves AI. Honestly I can&#8217;t blame them either.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It goes beyond Steam, too. The Gunz the Duel Reddit, which has been a hub for fans of the game for over a decade, is awash with complaints.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/gunz\/comments\/1vq8lcf\/hackers_who_could_have_seen_that_coming\/\"> Hackers are seemingly present in-game<\/a>, standing around and being invulnerable from damage. Others are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/gunz\/comments\/1vht02q\/why_did_they_remove_the_gunz_aesthetic_ui_styling\/\">pointing to the plain-looking UI<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/gunz\/comments\/1vqse7q\/is_the_game_cooked_or_am_i_cooked\/\">network problems<\/a>, and &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/gunz\/comments\/1vq7x96\/unsurprisingly_playing_with_3000_ping_and_ai_slop\/\">AI slop<\/a>&#8220;.<\/p>\n<p>It is of course worth noting that not everyone is having a bad time. Some players are <a href=\"https:\/\/steamcommunity.com\/id\/GhostishVT\/recommended\/3139440\">taking the rough aspects of Gunz the Duel in stride<\/a>, and seem happy to just be playing an old favourite. In addition, <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/3139440\/GunZ_The_Duel\/#app_reviews_hash\">the game did undergo a stretch of server maintenance to improve those aforementioned networking issues<\/a>, so perhaps some of the worst problems players are facing will be resolved in time.<\/p>\n<p>Even so, it&#8217;s a rough start for Gunz. Here&#8217;s hoping the developers at Masangsoft can turn the ship around somewhat, or at least make it air dash off the walls or something.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Gunz the Duel, the cult classic 3rd-person action game first released back in 2006, is back on Steam. But the long-awaited return of the genre-defining game has been tarred somewhat by technical issues, and allegations of AI usage.<\/p>\n<p>Gunz the Duel was first developed by MAIET Entertainment, but has been brought to modern platforms by Masangsoft. This resurrection of Gunz the Duel has been in the works for a few years, and has built up organic hype from older PC players with fond memories of Gunz.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Gunz The Duel - Official Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5TTyE7cjDJ8?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/5TTyE7cjDJ8\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Gunz The Duel &#8211; Official Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Here&#8217;s an old trailer for Gunz: The Duel.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5TTyE7cjDJ8\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, with the game releasing on Steam over the weekend, expectations were met with reality, and a wave of criticisms hit Gunz the Duel. For one, the game is reportedly suffering from significant technical issues.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Masangsoft is a group of talented individuals. Not only did they manage to ruin a 20 year old game, but they consistently discover new ways to make it worse,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/steamcommunity.com\/profiles\/76561198071879501\/recommended\/3139440\">wrote user Fizzion<\/a>. They go on to say that in-game events and gifts aren&#8217;t working properly, and that the beloved gameplay experience itself is different than it was in the original title. They explain: &#8220;When slashing a blocking enemy &#8211; even with angles taken into consideration &#8211; flinching\/stagger almost never happens and seems very inconsistent.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Others are alleging that generative AI has been used throughout the game, despite the lack of a generative AI disclosure on the Gunz the Duel Steam page. Another player, <a href=\"https:\/\/steamcommunity.com\/id\/EclipseRT\/recommended\/3139440\">EclipseRT, wrote<\/a>: &#8220;From the extremely obvious AI use everywhere in this game, [to the developer] not even following Steam guidelines about disclosing AI use, over 2000 ping in matches because they cant seem to fix a NAT connection issue, old bugs from the beta reappearing, the devs being completely silent and ignoring all player feedback. Over this past year not a single one has even talked in the Discord, it&#8217;s gotten to the point where people are starting to call the devs themselves AI. Honestly I can&#8217;t blame them either.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It goes beyond Steam, too. The Gunz the Duel Reddit, which has been a hub for fans of the game for over a decade, is awash with complaints.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/gunz\/comments\/1vq8lcf\/hackers_who_could_have_seen_that_coming\/\"> Hackers are seemingly present in-game<\/a>, standing around and being invulnerable from damage. Others are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/gunz\/comments\/1vht02q\/why_did_they_remove_the_gunz_aesthetic_ui_styling\/\">pointing to the plain-looking UI<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/gunz\/comments\/1vqse7q\/is_the_game_cooked_or_am_i_cooked\/\">network problems<\/a>, and &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/gunz\/comments\/1vq7x96\/unsurprisingly_playing_with_3000_ping_and_ai_slop\/\">AI slop<\/a>&#8220;.<\/p>\n<p>It is of course worth noting that not everyone is having a bad time. Some players are <a href=\"https:\/\/steamcommunity.com\/id\/GhostishVT\/recommended\/3139440\">taking the rough aspects of Gunz the Duel in stride<\/a>, and seem happy to just be playing an old favourite. In addition, <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/3139440\/GunZ_The_Duel\/#app_reviews_hash\">the game did undergo a stretch of server maintenance to improve those aforementioned networking issues<\/a>, so perhaps some of the worst problems players are facing will be resolved in time.<\/p>\n<p>Even so, it&#8217;s a rough start for Gunz. Here&#8217;s hoping the developers at Masangsoft can turn the ship around somewhat, or at least make it air dash off the walls or something.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Gunz: The Duel 20-year-old Gunz the Duel gets Steam re-release, receives harsh criticism over network issues and suspected use of generative AI Blast, from the past. Image credit: Eurogamer News by Connor Makar Staff Writer Published on Aug. 18, 2026, 9:29 a.m. Follow Gunz: The Duel Gunz the Duel, the cult classic 3rd-person [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2098727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2098727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2098727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2098727\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2098727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2098727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2098727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}