The reveal of Larian Studios next big game Divinity was met with almost immediate wide-scale discussion across gaming spaces. The studio behind Baldur’s Gate 3 were met with praise and anticipation for their next game by some, and immense scepticism by others for CEO Swen Vincke’s comments in a Bloomberg interview that the studio used generative AI to “develop concept art” amongst other business-related tasks such as PowerPoint presentations. In an ‘ask me anything’ (AMA) session on Reddit today however, Vincke made clear that the studio is changing course on that topic.
When asked about his opinion on generative AI in the process of Larian game development, Vincke clarified both “there is not going to be any GenAI art in Divinity“, before going further to specify “we’ve decided to refrain from using genAI tools during concept art development.” Whilst Larian never said they were using AI to create concept art itself – which was widespread as misinformation – the studio was using it to inspire the human-created concept art that would go towards Divinity‘s creation.
Vincke’s comments on Reddit establish Larian’s new promise that generative AI artwork will not have any place in Divinity‘s final presentation, nor in its concept art. It’s an interesting turnaround, and one that comes as both the gaming industry and the entire global technological sector grapples with what role generative AI can take in our lives, and if the humans it’s being created for even want it for themselves.
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