My Thoughts on AI in Video Games

A few weeks ago Capcom announced a remake of Resident Evil: Code Veronica had finally been put into development. Considered by many to be a fan favorite, and one of the last mainline entries outside of the remakes to feature Claire Redfield as a protagonist. At least to my own knowledge. Capcom has been on a winning streak lately. Whether it be with Monster Hunter: World & Wilds, the cult classic Dragon’s Dogma finally getting a sequel, Pragmata being a surprising success, and of course the many modern Resident Evil releases. With the ninth entry becoming the highest rated game of 2026 so far. Capcom is a beloved and well respected company….. And they also announced that they’ll be using generative AI going forward. Not in the creation of assets or art, but to improve efficiency among their developers. Everyone including me wants to hope this is all Capcom will use generative AI for, but things tend to change quickly behind closed doors. We do not know if Capcom is secretly using AI to generate art, 3D models, or write dialogue. We do not know if Capcom plans to cut down staff and replace them with AI. All we can do is hope and suspect they won’t. AI is being incorporated into video games, and we just have to accept it.

I am not the first person to talk about AI in video games. There’s many posts & videos that do a better job explaining this. However, the more generative AI gets utilized for games and art, the more I feel conflicted about how we move forward as people. The gaming industry is already on fire right now. With overfunded projects crashing at launch, studio shutdowns, and numerous layoffs. Part of it is to blame on the economy, especially right now in the United States. The cost of production has become increasingly high, video games needing more time to make now, and big companies like Microsoft and Sony wanting games to be a hit immediately. Placing expectations that are so unrealistic that you’re better off going indie. One half of the problem, but I would argue part of it is also to blame on increasing inclusion and usage of generative AI. Replacing the devs who work on these games to cut down how many people you’d have to pay. Speed up the means of production even if the quality of your product may riskily go down. Churn more video games out within a shorter period of time, because we live in a world where profit matters more than sustainability, ethics, and fair treatment of your workers. Said workers being the key reason why you even have video games, art, and ideas in the first place. An AI can create. It is trained off of past data and told to replicate features. Yet, it lacks the soul that is found within art, and its drive for perfection is what leads to sloppiness. The messes that we have to clean up.

Today I want to talk about the increased usage of generative AI in video games. Why it leads to art being worse, what it stands for for developers, and why we should cut down our abuse of it. I had plans to write about other things. Indie games that came in 2026, and catching up on titles from previous years. AI has been a massive conversation recently though, and I need to get these thoughts before it becomes too much.

AI is not going away anytime soon, and that’s sad.

Creating an Excuse

One of my favorite releases of 2025 was Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. If you’ve kept up with the gaming world then you don’t need an explanation for what Expedition 33 is. It’s a JRPG heavily inspired by JPRGs of the past. Paying tribute while also formulating an identity of its own. The game is incredibly well designed with a world and story that’ll emotionally grip you. The team who made the game, Sanderfall Interactive, are indie by definition and have set a benchmark for what indie developers can achieve. Proving that individuals with passion and love for games are what lead to works of art at the end of day. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a modern masterpiece, and continues to be talked about more than a year after its release. The game is monumental. The game also got exposed for using generative AI last year. The opening lets you walk around the home city of our protagonists, Lumiere. A beautiful yet slightly ruined version of France that struggles to stay together due to the fantastical elements of this universe and expiration dates of its inhabitants. Exploring this city shows you who these people are, how they live, and what they celebrate before a selection of people pass on. ‘Gommage’ is what the game refers to it as. One player explored the streets well enough that they noticed something strange with one of the many posters on the wall. Jumbled unreadable text, detailing that felt off, and a fuzzy look.

The poster they had found in Lumiere was AI generated, and brought up to the developers. The folks at Sanderfall then stated at the time Clair Obscur began early development that generative AI was starting to pop off. A few team members messed around with it, and decided to use AI to create placeholder objects. Slowly replacing them as development went on and when major tasks were completed. One of these generative AI placeholders was left in by accident, so then the team quickly patched this and replaced it with a poster their artists drew. This happened weeks after they had won multiple awards at The Game Awards. One such award is Best Art Direction. Now I know a lot of people don’t take The Game Awards seriously, including my friends. I don’t let awards determine a developer or game’s worth. I just see them as a way for folks to meet up and celebrate what games are. After the AI exposure happened though I had somewhat mixed opinions. One that didn’t correctly formulate until now. Clair Obscur was a game made with good intentions. The team loved JRPGs, loved the art they grew up with, and paid their respects. At some point they used AI during development, but they didn’t let it be the driving aspect of their work. They initially used it as a tool rather than work replacement, and that matters.

They f*cked up, apologized for what they did, and fixed their mistakes. Maintaining a majority of the respect they had built since the launch of their game. Yet, I cannot ignore the fact that at some point they used AI during development. They used AI to create a piece of background art, and if AI was used once then there’s suspicion that they used it multiple times. It’s a belief I and multiple people have when developers get exposed using AI and try to cover it up. This isn’t the first time a game I loved got exposed for using generative AI. Midway last year one of my other favorite games of 2025 got exposed for AI generated assets, The Alters. A survival game about managing a base using alternate universe clones of the protagonist, Jan Dolski. An emotional tale I deeply connected to as it explored the topic of regret and self reflection. The Alters is beautiful. It’s the most unique game I played in 2025, and its recently announced expansion is one of few things I’m excited for this summer. It’s a culmination of everything 11 Bit have learned over the years, but it’s also their most controversial game more so than This War of Mine. They used AI, but not in the sense you expect. They didn’t use it for artwork, to write the script, program and design the game, etc. They used it for placeholder text in the research lab, and subtitles for third world languages. They had a deadline, rushed, f*cked up, saw the consequences of this chosen action. They patched the AI stuff out, forgave people, and we moved on quickly.

Why am I re-explaining two controversies there’s articles for? Well to get to my main point. Both of these studios didn’t have bad intentions. They didn’t use AI to replace their staff, and no one lost their jobs. They had their defense claims, and we understood. They handled their problems responsibly and maintained respect their playbases have. The problem is not that we as people moved on too quickly. No, one of my friends explained this best in a private conversation. The problem is and I quote, “People took and are going to take the wrong lessons from this.” To be specific they are referring to large companies and directors. If one person makes this claim it means another person can. Slowly twisting an apology into an excuse. Clair Obscur is an award winning RPG that used AI at one point. If a game can achieve such success then other companies will think that is what we need to do to create ‘good games’. We’re already starting to see this in action. As more studios are adapting AI in development. Such as Larian who made 2023’s award winning Baldur’s Gate 3. They want to adapt AI in the production of concept art, which is really disappointing for a team known for creating cool characters and worlds to explore. Sanderfall had created an excuse for companies to use. It has led people to accept and embrace AI.

Is It Really ‘Efficient’?

One of many content creators I respect and listen to is Bricky. If you love Warhammer 40,000, or game reviews that keep your attention with personality and comedy then I recommend following him. Bricky made a review about Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and early segments chose to focus on the people who made the game versus the game itself. One such section discussed Microsoft and their prioritization of workplace proficiency. Something I was aware of before watching the vid, because at the time I was taking a professionalism class. It was a requirement for my career path, and is for anyone working in a public field. During one lecture they showed us a slideshow discussing their support of Microsoft’s proficiency statement. How a business should strive for a that is productive, agile, and most importantly ‘proficient’. That a place cannot succeed unless all three are kept. What I have come to realize is that Microsoft does not know what they have stated, or what they are trying to say. They also enjoy shooting themselves in the foot, but a lot of people have made this joke already so I’m not original for saying this. Anyways, they mixed up proficiency with efficiency.  Proficiency centers around skill and the quality of the work you do. If a team of workers farm 200 hundred apples within an hour because they enjoy their jobs then it’s proficiency. Efficiency is when you focus on the speed and rate for which you do work. The quality of said work does not matter. Instead it’s about the end goal and rapid success. Looking at the forest, but barely managing to appreciate the trees.

I bring this up, because during the same time Microsoft made presentations and articles arguing for efficiency in the workplace they also started heavily advertising AI tools. Copilot for example being a subscription to an AI assistant. They want to speed up the means of production no matter what it takes. Maybe it means inducing crunchtime, or in this case using AI in the workplace. So this is how you end up with let’s say…..a very large chunk of Black Ops 7 being AI generated. A problem that was heavily highlighted during the game’s release. With tons of artwork and player banners in the multiplayer looking really funky. Unfortunately that was not the only part touched by AI. In that review I was just describing Bricky analyzed the story and quality of content found within the story campaign. You’ve probably seen memes like the boss where a giant man rains a bunch of giant knives from the sky while zombies attack you. A moment that feels so left field even by Call of Duty standards. Bricky suspected that he wouldn’t be surprised if AI was used to write the script of Black Ops 7. None of the dialogue or actions within the campaign made sense. It didn’t align with any of the lore that happened in prior games. He also noticed that none of the advertisements on the Steam page matched what occurred in the actual video game. 

I don’t care about Call of Duty. The only one I played was World at War, and it was okay at best. I could not give a half ounces sh*t for this series, but what I do care about is the thought the higher ups at Microsoft put into this one. Seeing how they now own Activision, who makes and publishes these games. They argued for workplace efficiency, shoved a bunch of AI into this, and the end result was the worst Call of Duty known to man. One that even the hardcore fans hate. I don’t get why they thought using AI would lead to a better, quicker product. I get there’s a new Call of Duty each year and they can’t take more than nine months to think about the next release properly, but this is a new low. This is a low they should’ve thought about midway through. They already lost a ton of respect over the years, so why decide to go out in an even more embarrassing way? 

Let’s go back to discussing what is ‘efficient’ here. Speed up production, or cut down the amount of work put in. If a problem pops up then find an instantaneous solution. Take the lazy way out then force people to struggle, but what if I told you the imperfections within the development of art is what makes it special. Hades 2, okay you can tell I’m still addicted to it, was a game that spent one and half years in early access. Much like the first game they had a majority of what the team wanted to do planned out. They finished the Underworld route and still needed to work on the Olympus route. Hades is a game known for its characters and writing, and when Hades 2 was in early access some of these characters weren’t fully finished. Their writing was there, but their models and character portraits weren’t. The main and only artist Jen Zee was still working on them.

So what do they do? Did they ask AI to finish the drawings? Nope, they just put in the rough drafts she had at the time as a placeholder. If not then a simple cloaked shade they drew. When I saw this I thought this is a fantastic way of handling unfinished work. Give a hint to the player what this character may look like, and later on plug in the final draft. It’s fun seeing this, because you can imagine the thought process put into drawing these characters. That’s why I said imperfection has its value. A sketch has as much value as the finishing touches, because it’s the outline for what the character, scenery, or whatever will become. There is more magic to a sketch rather than letting AI do the work. Take this as someone whose older sibling is an artist. Who has years of experience drawing and understanding what makes an artist who they are. I would rather take proficiency over efficiency, because much like I said earlier with Clair Obscur inventing an excuse for people to use this is Microsoft’s and other people’s excuse to utilize AI more.

Who Does This Affect?

Arc Raiders openly used generative AI for voice acting. Dialogue your characters shout during gameplay was trained off of a hand selection of voices they found. I’m not accusing the team for stealing voices, because they did contract people. Asked if they could train the AI off them, and they agreed. They didn’t do anything unethical or illegal, but I still feel iffy about this and a lot of other people did too. Eurogamer brought this up in their review, and players dogpiled them for their response. Well maybe sometimes journalists are right, because they stood up for the large number of workers who do not agree with this. Yes, the voice actors allowed this to happen but think about the people who don’t want this to happen. When someone says yes then it means a studio will expect more people to say yes, or find them. They chose money they were being paid for lending their voice to train AI over everyone else. It’s upsetting, because I follow a bunch of voice actors and they are some of the happiest, most enjoyable folks I’ve seen. Loving the works they contribute to and interacting with fans in fun and exciting ways. I remember going to a con to meet Sarah Wiedenheft, VA of Casitti in Octopath Traveler 2. She also voices Power in the english dub of Chainsaw Man, and even though it was thirty second interaction it was a very nice and enjoyable one. This person loves what they do, and we should support them doing it.

Letting your voice be used to train AI hurts people, and this is the last thing I want to touch on. The people who AI affects. It takes job opportunities from people. Whether it be removing them from a position, or making finding work difficult. You know this already. There’s a funny music video where a guy who studied graphic design now works in a warehouse, because AI took his job. He makes a funny jab about the workplace slowly replacing people with AI lifter bots, and then he loses his job again. It’s upsetting to know trying to stand up to the right thing will make things worse. In the same way AI is making things worse. It’s not just job opportunities that AI is affecting. You notice how the price on consoles and PC tech keeps going up? Specifically RAM, because every computer needs it? Some of it’s due to tariffs and the orange bollock who leads us. The other reason is because of data centers that run AI and their servers. Data centers need a ton of ram in order for AI to work. RAM is short term memory. It takes in info, stores it for a bit so it can analyze it, find a solution, and remove it to store new info. AI needs RAM, because it is always helping people with new problems. Adapting to situations and learning. So all these data centers use stacks of RAM, and it’s what led to RAM becoming more costly. Harder to find and afford, so that’s why a ton of PC gamers are having a hard time making their PCs.

It’s why consoles have gone up as well, because they too need RAM to function. It’s not just the RAM, but also the mass amounts of water and electricity these data centers take to run. They’re often built in townships that are spacious and have running water supplies, and half the time one gets built I hear horror stories a few weeks later. Constant power outages, not enough electricity for the whole city, or citizens not having anything to shower or drink. Water, the thing that every person needs to survive. A friend talked to me recently saying data centers will soon be required to have coolants or coolers at some point. Considering the amount of water being overconsumed, I doubt any laws will be put into effect. Data centers are run by big corporations, and most of our world leaders right now are billionaires and those in business. I know they’re secretly discussing how to make max profit. They don’t care about other people. They care only for themselves & what enters their pockets.

AI is Not Leaving, so What Now?

AI is not leaving. This is the reality we have come to accept and it’s a dark one. I feel mixed for it especially, because I’m studying computer science right now. Having made the change to go from engineering to this, because I enjoy coding and making programs. I was told to invest in a specific field, because just computer science leads to you becoming a jack of all trades. A vast majority of companies right now don’t want jacks of all trade. They want specialists like data scientists or cybersecurity, and right now they especially want AI. People who can develop or put it into the workplace. I don’t feel comfortable contributing to something like AI. Knowing what it will do and has done to people. I don’t want to be the dipsh*t who benefits off of the suffering of others. I love art. I grew up making it, being surrounded by it, and appreciating it. I do not want to spit in the face of all those who made the things I love. A majority of people do not want to, but this is the future. This is the reality we live in now, and we’re expected to gobble it down like a bunch of little piggies eating out of a slop bin. A world of AI slop. All we can do is try to fight against it. Limit it down before it becomes worse, because if we don’t then what? Lower out standards & say "f*ck it"?

Earlier I mentioned that Clair Obscur won the award for best art direction despite using AI. This then got me to reflect back on all the games that came out last year. Realizing a good majority of what I’ve played were stylized or contained hand drawn images/animation. Hades 2, Silksong, Absolum Ender Magnolia, Citizen Sleeper 2, Rift of The NecroDancer, Dispatch, Unbeatable, and so on. I know people like to clown on Triple A, but occasionally once in a while you do get a game not made by evil people. Games made of good will like Ghost of Yotei, Death Stranding 2, Octopath Traveler 0, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, etc. Then you got games from the previous year like Metaphor ReFanatazio, Nine Sols, and Neva. If there are thousands of games made without the developers or artists not having to touch generative AI once then you can do it too. If at some the thought of, “How much can we limit AI on this?”, glosses your mind during work then most likely you also thought of not using AI at all. Maybe you shouldn’t, because you know better.

I know video games to a lot of people take too long to make now. Inflation has made games crazy expensive now, and we’re seeing Rockstart Games getting ready to charge eighty dollars for just a digital code in a plastic box. Hollow Knight: Silksong took six years to make, and I got a few friends who were a bit displeased with the game. However, part of the reason it took a long time to make was because Team Cherry were having a fun time creating the most refined vision they can think of. I respect that hell of a lot more than someone churning AI slop every 3 weeks. Such as the mass amounts of hentai novels on Steam, which are disgusting. You are allowed to express yourself sexually in a way that makes you happy, but most knowingly these games are being made to make quick cash and appease to porn addicts. It is possible to make video games without using AI. It is possible to make art if you’re willing to dedicate the time to learn.

These have been my thoughts about AI in games & art. A reflection on everything.