Embracer Group, the firm responsible for the closure of dozens of studios and hundreds of staff layoffs over the past few months, says that AI will empower game developers. The gaming giant believes that artificial intelligence for game development is the future and that implementing AI into development will enhance games and increase efficiency.
The information comes out of Embracer Group’s latest annual report where the company has adopted what it calls a “Group AI Policy”. This policy is based on the notion of “empowerment” but also includes a “Risk and Mitigation Overview” section that details its stance on AI development. Embracer claims the company plans to use AI to empower employees rather than replace them.
However, the policy also clearly details the risks associated with the use of AI in game development and the potential redundancies it may create. It reads:
“AI has the capability to massively enhance game development by increasing resource efficiency, adding intelligent behaviors, personalization, and optimization to gameplay experiences. By leveraging AI, we create more engaging and immersive experiences that provide each player with a unique, dynamic, and personalized experience. We also see great opportunities for AI in game development speed, logistics and planning. Embracer Group also understands the potential risks associated with the use of AI. Our aim is to empower our employees with AI applications.”
While this sounds enlightening, employees at Embracer Group have voiced their concerns over the use of AI in game development. Many of them worry that due to the recent layoffs at the company, Embracer might adopt new AI systems to replace some of the workforce which was let go. However, Embacer says that isn’t the case. Instead, the company wants to empower staff.
According to Tomas Hedman, Embracer’s head of privacy and AI governance, it won’t use AI to replace humans:
“We do not want to replace people with AI, we want to empower them. This is the core of our human-centric approach to leveraging the potential with AI.”
Hedman also believes AI can “open up coding to a broader group of developers” by lowering the barrier to making games.
Embracer has stated that in order to stay competitive the company needs to adopt AI. At the moment, it isn’t clear exactly how far this adoption will go and how it will implement these systems into the company. Embracer currently owns over a dozen video game studios with a snail-pace output of games. So the future still remains unclear.
Source: Embracer Group