Pragmata reveals the 'AI-simulated' New York: in reality, it was meticulously designed by humans.

Director Cho Yonghee and producer Naoto Oyama of Pragmata recently shared insights into the creative process behind the game's 'AI-simulated New York' setting.

In a recent press event, as Pragmata prepares for its April launch, the development team delved into the design of the 'New York-like' city that appeared at Sony's State of Play event in February. In an interview with the media (source: 4Gamer), Cho Yonghee stated that the setting was intentionally designed to feel 'AI-generated,' by incorporating surreal distortions into familiar locations, creating a city that is both familiar and strange.

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"In Pragmata, we set the premise as 'a fake New York created by AI,'" Cho shared. "When familiar locations appear, players will feel more connected. At the same time, to emphasize that this is not the real New York, we added subtle distortions." According to him, this is shown through inverted streets or taxis being 'cut in half' midway through the game.

Oyama further explained: "It reflects reality, but its unique appeal lies in the set-piece errors that make things seem out of place, like taxis sinking into the floor, or buses emerging from walls. Although the premise is AI-generated, our development team actually put a lot of effort into designing the mechanisms that convey this 'AI-like strangeness'."

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Cho also stated that creating distortions and 'AI glitches' required careful consideration to be unique enough without negatively impacting the player experience. 'Distortions are when something takes on a shape that humans have never seen before, and things never seen before feel unique. But if it's too unusual, players might think it's a clue to a puzzle or that the terrain has hidden meaning. Balancing uniqueness while still serving as background is very difficult,' he said. Oyama also noted that thanks to this balance, the team hasn't received any feedback indicating players have difficulty moving within the levels.

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Besides New York, Pragmata will also feature other cities, but according to Cho, these will be areas ' somewhere on Earth ' rather than complete metropolises. New York itself in the game isn't an exact replica, but rather a cultural blend from various cities like Madrid or Seoul.

Pragmata is scheduled for release on April 17, 2026, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC (Steam), while the Nintendo Switch 2 version will launch on April 24, 2026.