Private EA sale may lead to more generative AI being used to cut game development costs
EA announced today that an investment group acquired the company to take it private. One consequence of the sale is that the publisher will reportedly take on around $20 billion in debt. The Financial Times (paywalled) believes that its new owners may turn to generative AI in EA games as one strategy to ensure profitability.
According to the website, “The deal is a huge bet that artificial intelligence can significantly cut EA’s operating costs”. There are several ways the company could employ the technology to reduce expenses. Microsoft and Sony have encouraged their workers to rely on AI tools to enhance productivity. However, the potential for generative AI to replace developers and artists has become a subject of debate.
Adding to these concerns, the Financial Times notes the trend of AI replacing voice actors. EA already faced criticism for considering having Apex Legends talent train voice generator tools. Then, in the future, it would not need to rehire the same individuals to record new dialogue. More recently, Aspyr Media generated new dubs for Tomb Raider titles without the permission of the French actress.
How AI threatens game artists
The journalist covering the EA sale also mentioned that generative AI can “create backdrops and other assets”. Players have seen artificial intelligence produce objects to populate empty virtual worlds. The practice has become commonplace enough for Steam to add disclosures to affected titles.
While humans are still required for the bulk of design work in games, critics fear that will eventually change. As tools become more sophisticated, publishers like EA may downsize their development teams.
A heavier reliance on AI will likely not be the only consequence of the $55 billion EA buyout. Jason Schreier of Bloomberg warns that the company could be hit with more immediate layoffs to reduce staff. Live-service EA games like Apex Legends may also pursue even more aggressive monetization.
