The AI boom has arrived, and it’s infiltrating the video game industry at large.
Stability AI, a “leading independent and multi-modal generative AI company”, has announced a strategic partnership with EA to “co-develop transformative generative AI models, tools, and workflows that empower EA’s artists, designers, and developers to reimagine how games are made”.
The press release explains:
“This partnership combines EA’s leadership in interactive entertainment with Stability AI’s unparalleled technical expertise in generative AI. Together, we’re opening new creative frontiers that will shape how EA designs, builds, and brings experiences to players around the world.”
While there’s not much clarity about what the partnership will entail, the press release adds that the companies are “exploring ways to add the value of generative AI to the creative workflows to open new doors for rapid prototyping and visual storytelling, allowing artists and developers to ideate, visualise, and refine gameplay experiences faster and at greater scale”.
It continues:
“Among the first joint initiatives is accelerating the creation of Physically Based Rendering (PBR) materials through new artist-driven workflows, for example, generating 2D textures that preserve exact colour and light accuracy across environments. The partnership will also pursue developing AI systems capable of pre-visualising entire 3D environments from a series of intentional prompts, allowing artists to creatively direct the generation of game content with unmatched speed and precision.”
A lot of what’s been discussed here still leaves the artistry in the hands of the developers, but who knows how prolific the use of AI is going to become in the future.
A recent poll determined that over 87% of game developers are already using AI in some capacity, whether it’s to streamline workflows or automate more tedious tasks.
Clearly there is a place for AI as a tool to help expedite certain processes, but as its influence gradually begins to filter into artistic endeavours, many feel that the “human touch” may be lost.
[source stability.ai]
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As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.