Larian CEO Swen Vincke defends generative AI in new Divinity title, sparking fan and dev backlash
Just a few days after the cryptic reveal of Divinity at the Game Awards 2025, Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios has found itself in the midst of a controversy. Larian landed itself in hot water after studio CEO Swen Vincke expressed confidence in and defended Larian’s use of generative AI. This quickly drew sharp criticism from an unexpected quarter: former Larian employees, who said the company’s stance doesn’t align with their prior experiences.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, Vincke explained that Larian has been experimenting with AI tools for tasks such as generating new ideas, curating PowerPoint presentations, writing placeholder text, and developing concept art.
He affirmed that there was some internal pushback but further stated: “I think at this point everyone at the company is more or less OK with the way we’re using it.” He did, however, stress that no AI-generated content will make it into the release version of Divinity, as Larian employees will handle everything from art to writing.
His comments didn’t fare well online, as fans of the studio and developers expressed concerns over the use of AI in creative workflows. A former QA tester, Anne Methot, who worked at Larian for four years, wrote that she wasn’t surprised by the news and accused Vincke of “lying about people being okay with it.”
Another former Larian artist, Selena Tobin, who worked on Baldur’s Gate 3, chimed in, stating:
I loved working at Larian Studios until AI. Reconsider and change your direction, like, yesterday. Show your employees some respect. They are world-class and do not need AI assistance to come up with amazing ideas.
Vincke felt the pushback online and responded to the criticism on X by defending Larian’s practices, stating:
Holy f**k guys, we’re not ‘pushing hard’ for or replacing concept artists for 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.
To address the ongoing tensions in an industry already reeling from AI-related layoffs, Vincke held an AMA after the holidays, featuring representatives from various departments to answer questions about Divinity’s development. He said, “Our processes are always evolving, and where they are not efficient or fail to align with who we are, we will make changes.”
In the context of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s producer confirming the use of AI, any commentary from Larian, the studio behind 2023’s TGA GOTY winner, Baldur’s Gate 3, was always going to be a flashpoint for a variety of players and industry professionals, with AI-generated content being seen as ‘bland’ or ‘soulless’ by certain quarters. Others highlight the risks of stagnation in an industry where AI can only improvise on existing content, limiting both innovation and generational leaps in scale and vision in upcoming titles.
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