Xbox Strategy Manager Claims AI Is Already Used in Game Development

Brandon Stirrup, a strategy manager at Xbox, recently claimed that Xbox is currently using AI to develop games and that people who say they are not are merely "pretending." He deactivated his social media account shortly after, though his posts have been archived elsewhere, and the comments ignited conversations about what role generative AI should have in game development.

AI use at Xbox and across studios

In some ways, it would be unsurprising to learn that Xbox is using AI to the extent that Stirrup implies. Xbox recently announced the formation of Xbox Labs at least in part as a response to a rising trend of AI-coded game ports; the announcement heavily implied that the new team would use AI but did not say it outright. Xbox owner Microsoft is also a major player in AI development, a fact that has already made Xbox the target of a BDS boycott due to that AI's use by the Israeli military. While Xbox has yet to officially state a position on developing games with AI, other developers are drawing clear lines around where they stand on the practice. Particularly among the largest game studios, there is an insistence that generative AI should be used to speed up game development. Developers including Capcom, Square Enix, Sega, Nexon and Activision have all either used AI in their games or pledged to do so. Fortnite developer Epic Games has been particularly up-front about its AI use, and CEO Tim Sweeney has aggressively promoted it on social media.

Opposition, players and game impact

On the other hand, there are large pockets of the game industry vocally opposed to generative AI. Notably, these tend to be smaller, independent studios without shareholders to impress by touting the cost-savings of AI. These studios include Tunic publisher Finji, Stardew Valley developer ConcernedApe and Clickolding developer Strange Scaffold, among many more. Due to the sheer number and variety of game studios, it is impossible to say just how much of the industry actually uses AI at this point, but claims that "everyone" is using it are clearly false. There is a similar divide among players about whether generative AI should be embraced or avoided at all costs. While some simply accept AI as part of games going forward, others have pledged to avoid games that use the technology outright due to its environmental costs, labor issues or pure aesthetic preference. That has led to the popularity of tools like a browser extension that makes Steam's AI disclosures more visible and grassroots efforts by developers to implement labels certifying their games as AI-free. The most controversial uses of AI come from generating assets that appear in the final game. Sometimes they are intentionally included, like The Finals' use of AI-generated voices. More commonly, developers claim that art assets found in finished games were meant to be used as placeholders and removed later, as was the case recently with Crimson Desert. Many players and developers alike justify the use of AI in generating code, even if they are opposed to it in other areas. It is clear that AI is changing the way many games are made, but what those changes actually look like are still to be seen.

Earlier coverage: Microsoft Forms Xbox Labs to Explore AI-Powered Game Ports

Sources: Engadget