D-Cell Games—the developer behind the genuinely fantastic rhythm game Unbeatable—has put out a mighty strong statement as it rallies against big studio figureheads becoming increasingly blunt about integrating generative AI into game development: from Krafton’s declaration that it was pivoting to become an “AI-first” company, to Tim Sweeney clowning on Steam’s AI disclosure requirements, to Nexon’s CEO casually claiming that everyone was using it now.
That last one in particular is what got D-Cell Games riled up, responding to the original news in a Bluesky post with the statement: “Absolutely everything in Unbeatable was created by human beings without any generative assistance. Every frame drawn, every word written, every model sculpted, every line of code typed, every song sung with a real voice, every guitar played with a real hand, every moment flawed and messy because we are, also.”
maybe we could use another splash screen.
— @dcellgames.com (@dcellgames.com.bsky.social) 2025-11-27T15:21:42.123Z
In a further conversation with The Verge, D-Cell Games studio producer Jeffrey Chiao said: “Ignoring all of the ethical, moral, and legal concerns of using generative AI, it’s a huge waste of effort. We can produce results that meet our quality standards without its assistance.”
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Generative AI is becoming harder to ignore, and it continues to divide both the industry and those who consume the things it produces. Despite a good chunk of our team having a great time with Arc Raiders, its incessant use of generative AI voicework is peeving. Morgan couldn’t help but feel deflated when a little browser game he’d enjoyed turned out to be created by AI.
It’s almost exasperating that this kind of thing has to be said now, but indies like D-Cell games taking a stand also feels mighty important at the moment. Especially when bigwigs are touting what is, to me, a bastardisation of creativity and art that has made this industry what it is today. Even if its benefits are understandably enticing to those who are trying to slim production budgets and timelines.
D-Cell Games hasn’t been the only indie to rally against these comments. Demonschool developer Necrosoft said it “would rather cut off our own arms” than use generative AI. And as Polygon Treehouse co-founder Alex Kanaris-Sotiriou told The Verge: “The foundations that it’s built upon, the idea of using other people’s work without permission to generate artwork … are unfair.”