AI has already taken over the stage of creative art, employment and video games are no exception. A recent report from WIRED revealed that leading gaming firms, such as Activision Blizzard and Riot Games, are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate their development processes. According to the report, Activision Blizzard went above and above by directly selling AI-generated material to customers.
COD Modern Warfare 3 Yokai’s Wrath bundle: Activision Sold AI-Generated In-Game Content
The gaming company allegedly began experimenting with AI in early 2023, gaining access to advanced language models such as GPT-3.5 by July of the same year. These tools were subsequently approved for use in developing concept art and marketing materials. A crucial turning point occurred in late 2023 when Activision is said to have offered an AI-generated cosmetic item through Modern Warfare 3‘s in-game store.
The report (spotted by Dexerto) links to Yokai’s Wrath bundle, implying that it was partially created by AI. This package, which debuted in December 2023, includes an Operator skin, a weapon blueprint, a calling card, a weapon sticker, and a loading screen. It was priced at 1,500 CoD Points, or around $15.
While it is unknown which components of Yokai’s Wrath bundle were created using AI, the report indicates that Activision’s developers were given permission to utilize AI tools such as Midjourney and Stable Diffusion to create AI art.
However, the situation took a more contentious turn in early 2024 when Microsoft laid off a significant portion of Activision Blizzard and Xbox staff. According to a company insider, remaining concept artists were subsequently pressured to utilize AI to meet production demands.
The report also cites Riot Games, which experimented with its own generative AI. However, the technology apparently did not garner much momentum inside the organization.
As of yet, Activision Blizzard has not responded to the report. The implications of using AI in game production remain an ongoing topic of debate in the industry.
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