AI Slop Has Hit The Video Game Industry

Is Generative AI destroying game making? Recently, Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 came under fire for using generative AI to create their cosmetic calling cards, mimicking the artstyle of Studio Ghibli films, and raising questions about how a franchise worth billions of dollars could be unable to pay real artists to create their graphics.

The question now is how widespread is AI in game making? Ubisoft’s Pax Romana: Anno 117, Larian Studios’ Divinity, and Sandfall’s Expedition 33: Clair Obscur all came under fire for using AI artwork. EA also felt the brunt for their use of LLMs. ARC Raiders is training AI using voice over actors. So is there an ethical dilemma with this kind of technology? Or is it another tool in the gamemaker’s arsenal that should be embraced and disseminated?

We explore both sides of the story: the history of AI in games, including NPCs and procedural content generation; games that could have used AI to streamline processes but chose not to as an artistic choice, like Balatro and Undertale; and the strides taken by Steam to label games that use AI as such on their page, a move which has made AAA studio heads like Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney nervous, as he believes all games will use AI in the future.