‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ and ‘Clair Obscur’ devs criticised for using AI

“Generative AI steals from other artists’ work, it shouldn’t be anywhere near games”

The creators of Baldur’s Gate 3 and the team behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 have been criticised for using AI during game development.

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Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3 was one of the best-reviewed games of 2023 while Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has just been awarded nine trophies at this year’s The Game Awards. However both studios are facing backlash after it was confirmed they use generative AI to create their games.

Speaking to El País, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s producer Francois Meurisse confirmed the studio used “some” AI in the creation of the game but didn’t go into any more detail. Meanwhile Larian’s CEO Swen Vincke announced they were currently using generative AI to “explore ideas, flesh out PowerPoint presentations, develop concept art and write placeholder text,” for their ambitious Baldur’s Gate 3 follow-up Divinity.

The news sparked backlash from fans. “I was so excited for this game, but if you’re willing to undercut concept artists and can’t even think about the foundations of your game without using a slop-machine to make it so you don’t actually have to think or be creative, I’m not paying you a single cent,” wrote one fan on X. “Using ai in the concept/rough stages is even more concerning because that’s where the creativity is supposed to happen,” added another.

Responding to the criticism, Vinke shared an interview he did earlier this year where he claimed AI was good for the tasks that “nobody wants to do”.

“Holy fuck guys we’re not ‘pushing hard’ for or replacing concept artists with AI. We have a team of 72 artists of which 23 are concept artists and we are hiring more. The art they create is original and I’m very proud of what they do,” he added. “We’ve hired creatives for their talent, not for their ability to do what a machine suggests, but they can experiment with these tools to make their lives easier.”

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However, he went on to say they use AI to “explore references, just like we use Google and art books. At the very early ideation stages we use it as a rough outline for composition which we replace with original concept art. There is no comparison.”

Fans still weren’t happy with Vincke’s explanation. “Are you aware that there are no ethical AI image gens and they plagiarise by default?” asked one X user. “I think “the very early ideation stage” is actually one of the worst places to use genAI. People want to buy art because it has human ideas and vision and touch, not art that started out from genAI,” said another.

Earlier this year, Baldur’s Gate 3 boss Michael Douse hit out at Elon Musk’s plan to make a “great” AI video game by the end of 2026. “We need more human-human expression, not less. So much of tech (VR, cloud, etc) has been a cash grab. We don’t need another cash grab, we need sustainability. That’s what the tools could be good for. Definitely not replacing people.”

In other news Terminator: Survivors, an ambitious open-world game set in the aftermath of Judgment Day, has been indefinitely delayed.