Larian Studios, the celebrated development company behind Baldur’s Gate 3, has become immersed in a debate within the industry over the generative AI use within its walls. Speaking in a recent Bloomberg interview, CEO Swen Vincke confirmed that the studio applied AI tool sets into its workflow at the very beginning stages of prototyping and concept art. As this news went on to become public, backlash immediately followed on social media channels and gaming forums, as both fan and developer alike now ponder whether the most independently respected house in the industry is putting down a dangerous precedent for creative labor.
This controversy is about something that lies at the intersection between AI as a productivity tool and its conception, which is degradingly called a “plagiarism machine” that stands in the way of human artists earning a living. Previous to this, Larian’s Publishing Director, Michael Douse, was very much against “AI artists”; meanwhile, Vincke’s comment suggests a practical, albeit controversial, embedment within internal workings of the studio. As Vincke proclaimed, this is to be used on PowerPoint presentations for the internal Deliberation, placeholder art for presentations, and mood-boarding of ideas before getting into the hands of human teams; however, internal mention of AI-supplying concept art has become a sensitive issue, with criticizing voices arguing that this even devalues the site-value work done traditionally by entry-level artist and staff-artists.
An update was subsequently made by Vincke in perhaps an attempt to contain the growing criticism, stating that generative AI is not doing any of the final assets. Rather, these technologies are being used to explore references, which are then substituted with original work from the studio’s internal team. Larian insists that all of its forthcoming projects, including the freshly teased Divinity, will remain all-human endeavors with live human actors and original writing. Vincke insists that at heart the essence of the studio’s output has not changed, only how to get there is changing.
Yet this has not quelled the growing response, and with it, the growing divide within the gaming community. Larian was seen by many as now the last bastion of “pure” game development after the massive success of Baldur’s Gate 3. Now with the near impossibilities in fusing these values with technological expediency called upon by the next few ambitious titles, Larian’s difficulty of balancing act will remain to be seen. For now, the whole industry is keenly observing to see if Larian can sit through such a bridge with no casting off the goodwill they, very clearly, spent decades building.
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