A high-ranking veteran in game development is strongly advocating for the integration of artificial intelligence systems within the gaming industry. Meghan Morgan Juinio, former director of product development at Sony Santa Monica, asserts that developers who hesitate to adopt this technology are missing out on significant opportunities.
Juinio emphasizes that AI should be viewed as a valuable ‘tool’ that ‘augments’ human creativity, rather than replacing it. She stresses that AI’s evolution is inevitable, regardless of individual adoption. “It’s going to evolve whether you’re on board with it or not, so I want to be at the forefront of helping to guide how that goes and how we use it,” Juinio stated. She firmly believes that not embracing AI would be a disservice to developers’ potential.
Highlighting its long-standing presence, Juinio pointed out that generative AI has been subtly used in the video game industry for decades. As an example, she cited the SpeedTree tool, which was instrumental in populating foliage in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion back in 2006. She views current generative AI as the natural next step in the evolution of procedurally generated and handcrafted assets.
However, Juinio also provides a crucial caveat: simply because generative AI can be used doesn’t mean it always should be. She believes industry leaders have a responsibility to discern not just the ‘can’ but also the ‘should’ when it comes to AI implementation. This decision-making process, she notes, is highly contextual and changes from one game to the next.
Ultimately, Juinio maintains that human developers remain indispensable, especially for conceptualizing projects. She points to God of War’s narrative as a prime example of a “human story that is based on human experiences,” underscoring the irreplaceable role of human input.
Other notable game developers echo Juinio’s sentiment. Masahiro Sakurai, known for the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series, has voiced concerns about the unsustainability of AAA game development and suggested AI could offer a solution. Similarly, Glen Schofield, co-creator of Dead Space, believes AI has the potential to rescue the “broken, beaten, battered” games industry.
Major studios like Sony have already leveraged AI in game development, crediting machine learning with accelerating the creation of titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. EA Sports also acknowledged that CFB 25 greatly benefited from the use of machine learning and AI tools.
Despite the potential, the rise of AI in gaming isn’t without controversy. Reports indicate that some Candy Crush developers laid off by Activision Blizzard are being replaced by the very AI tools they helped develop. Furthermore, a Financial Times report suggests EA might increase its reliance on AI systems to boost development, especially during its proposed private sale to an investor consortium, a move that has drawn criticism from employees concerned about potential mass layoffs and studio closures.
A recent survey highlighted growing apprehension among gaming professionals, with 30% of developers believing generative AI negatively impacts the industry (a 12% increase from 2023). Their concerns primarily revolve around intellectual property theft, energy consumption, and inherent biases within AI programs.