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Just a few days ago, Embracer shut down Pieces Interactive, the studio behind Alone in the Dark. In between then and now, the company has released a new annual report stating that it’s next project will be ’empowering’ its developers with artificial intelligence.
As per Embracer’s annual report published this morning, “AI has the capability to massively enhance game development by increasing resource efficiency” and it sees “great opportunities” in speeding up development time, logistics and planning.
It has said that the aim is to “empower employees with AI applications,” alongside the corporation’s Head of Privacy and AI Governance, Tomas Hedman, stating that the fact they do “not want to replace people with AI” is vital to its “human-centric approach” to artificial intelligence.
Hedman then suggests that this will “open up coding to a broader group of developers” such as individuals with disabilities who, for instance, cannot use a keyboard as easily as others.”
While other companies such as Wizards of the Coast have taken a less reactive stance on its AI policy, Embracer has adopted a much more public and preemptive stance.
This annual report also marks the end of Embracer’s ‘restructuring’ period, which saw divestments in various studios, and the closure of others.
As a game dev tinkerer, I won’t disagree with Hedman’s point that AI will help new creatives find their footing with coding. Yet, as an artist and writer too, it is equally worrying that AI will bring ” tremendous benefits for [Embracer’s] creative teams regarding scriptwriting, image creation, idea generation, quality control, and more,” which is tucked away towards the end of Hedman’s contribution.
In other news, former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden has recently offered his two cents on the games publishing industry’s lack of patience. It will be interesting to see if publishers such as Embracer do heed the industry veteran’s advice, or if it will continue to attack aggressive growth through tools such as AI.
Cover image via Embracer.
