Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney continued to share his pro-AI sentiments in a tweet, noting that AI could have helped Bungie produce Destiny content faster, potentially avoiding its eventual demise (and subsequent layoffs at the studio).
If only some sort of newfangled technology could come along and make it possible to overcome bullet point #1 and enable games like Destiny to thrive!
Sweeney recently championed AI on a couple of different occasions. First, he claimed that the MCP integration of LLMs into Unreal Engine can be a "real accelerant" for game creators; then, he slapped Valve's Steam for "forcing" AI disclosure on game pages.
However, not everyone thinks AI will be a boon to game developers. Sandfall Interactive founder Guillaume Broche, who rose to fame after the release of the award-winning JRPG-inspired game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. In an interview with YouTuber Konbini, Broche spoke of the fear that generative AI could soon "churn" out a complete game in a matter of seconds, and he hopes they won't be any good.
I think everyone's a little scared, though, of the road ahead, of how things might turn out. Video, for starters, is scary, with everything that's happening, with things that used to just keep getting better and better. With video games, we're still somewhat protected because, technically speaking, it's a different ballgame. But I think the day will come when we'll be able to churn out a game in 5 seconds with a prompt. Will it be a good game? I hope not. But I think everyone's asking themselves that question, and admitting that it's a little scary. And that's why I'm also glad I got here early, because we're a studio that's secure. So even if we're not doing things the best way possible, we don't care.
When asked by the interviewer whether Sandfall Interactive will leverage generative AI, Broche echoed the sentiment expressed by Grove Street's Thomas Williamson in our recent interview: no to creative uses, but he left the door open to administrative and coding use.
Our approach is for the creative side of things, no. I feel like it takes away some of the joy of doing creative things. So why change? We had so much fun making our first game that we're going to do the same thing. The artists at Sandfall love to draw and do 3D work, so we're sticking with that. And then, when it comes to administration, and even the code itself, it depends. It's hard to say how the industry will evolve. In any case, one thing's for sure: the way we love making games is by creating… So we're going to keep doing it this way.
Sweeney's comments underscore a growing split in the industry: for some, AI is a survival tool; for others, it risks stripping away the joy of making games. And as the debate intensifies, that divide may widen still.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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