EA just announced a partnership that could change the way games are created. The Redwood City giant joins forces with Stability AI – the company responsible for the popular Stable Diffusion image generator. Objective? Joint development of groundbreaking AI models, tools and processes that will give creators completely new possibilities. Is the gaming industry afraid of Elon Musk’s promises?
The entire industry is betting on AI – including EA
This is not EA’s first affair with machine learning – the company has been using this technology for years. Now, however, she is going all out, focusing on generative artificial intelligence, and she is not alone. Krafton, the publisher of PUBG: Battlegrounds, has just announced plans to become an AI-first company. Microsoft is developing gaming tools based on artificial intelligence. AI is on the lips of every CEO in the industry.
Steve Kestell, head of Technical Art at EA SPORTS, calls it “smarter brushes” for digital artists working in gaming. It sounds proud, but what does it mean in practice? To start with, generating textures and assets in the game. EA boasts of plans to create tools for PBR (Physically Based Rendering) materials that will create 2D textures that maintain precise color and light accuracy in any environment. Stability AI is also intended to help visualize entire three-dimensional environments based on prompts, allowing artists to guide the content creation process.
Will AI increase employment? Take-Two thinks so
Strauss Zelnick from Take-Two Interactive (publisher of Grand Theft Auto) has an even bolder thesis: AI will increase employment, not reduce it. His logic? Technology increases productivity, which increases profit, and profit generates more jobs. According to him, AI can mainly recreate what has already existed – human vision will still be necessary for real innovation. It sounds optimistic, although time will tell whether the labor market shares this enthusiasm.
The real reason? Billions in debt
EA’s motivations, however, may be more down-to-earth. The company is currently undergoing privatization and will soon face billions of USD in debt. Cutting costs with AI? Sounds like the perfect solution in difficult times. The question is: will “smarter brushes” really speed up game development, or will they simply replace humans with cheaper algorithms? We will probably find out the answer sooner than we would like. It is worth adding that Elon Musk is also taking part in the race for a game created with genAI tools.
