The AI Gaming Debate: Are We Too Soon to Trust Machines?

What’s the Buzz About AI in Gaming?

Every single day, I hop onto my favorite social media platform and guess what? It’s like a brand new episode of a reality show—everyone’s chatting about AI in video games! Right now, folks are side-eyeing Larian since they’ve confirmed that they’re playing around with AI to examine some references. And oh boy, Expedition 33’s Sandfall is also under the microscope for some alleged AI involvement. Just before that, Black Ops 7 got the spotlight for its supposed use of generative AI art assets. Oh, and let’s not forget Arc Raiders, who is also feeling the heat for using AI to produce additional voice lines. Talk about a wild ride!

AI: Friend or Foe?

In a recent chinwag with Adrian Chmielarz—the brains behind Gears of War and Bulletstorm—I asked him where he stands on the whole AI smorgasbord in gaming. His reply? He feels like he’s perched on a TNT barrel—so, you know, pretty chill. According to Adrian, anyone who thinks AI is going to whip up a fantastic game is dead wrong. He uses AI for visualizing ideas and polishing up his English (shoutout to our Polish pals!), but he believes we’re safe for now.

He threw in a cheeky warning about predicting the future, suggesting it’s a fool’s game. He imagines a future where AI whips up games on the fly—but let’s keep it real, we’re not exactly rolling in supercomputers anytime soon. So for now, creating games with AI is like hoping for a unicorn to show up: not likely to happen overnight.

But don’t get too comfortable! Adrian did mention that AI is getting surprisingly good—almost scary good. He recently checked out what Google’s AI image generator, Nano Banana, can do and felt a chill. Apparently, only a handful of people can identify that it’s AI-generated. Yikes!

He then pivoted to Revolution Software’s new take on the classic point-and-click game Broken Sword. The co-founder shared that they used AI to upscale the game’s original graphics, claiming they simply couldn’t afford to do it otherwise. Adrian thinks that’s a fair use of AI as a creative tool. He’s got his philosophy when it comes to his own game, Witchfire—he’ll use AI to visualize ideas but insists that not a single pixel in the game should be AI-generated. Talk about commitment!

In fact, when discussing a recent update, he humorously pointed out that they outsourced some artwork to a long-time collaborator. The artist produced some stunning pieces—so stunning that Adrian had to double-check! “Did you use AI?” Adrian asked. The artist admitted to using some AI features built into Photoshop, but the main work was all him—back to the good old days of pencil and paper for the finishing touches. Old school is cool in Adrian’s book!

Chmielarz believes in keeping a ‘human connection’ in art, while noting that AI is just a mix of humanity’s collective imagination. Let’s face it; most gamers aren’t too keen on AI-generated content. Just look at the uproar around Fortnite’s alleged AI art in their latest chapter. “Oh my God! I can’t imagine the consequences for our beloved game!” he laughed, hinting that, while some would hate it, not everyone would be on board.

His final musing? AI as a tool might be welcomed sooner, but as a pure creative force? That’s another kettle of fish. He shared a funny tidbit about AI remixing classic Britney Spears songs into Soviet post-punk tunes—saying it’s surprisingly good in a low-quality MP3 sort of way. Who knew AI could serve us quirky tunes!

Wrapping it up, Adrian expects some major developments in AI next year, and with heavy hitters like GTA 6 and Witchfire 1.0 on the horizon, it looks like we’re in for an electrifying ride! Buckle up, gaming world; 2026 is looking pretty wild!