The age of AI has barely begun, but there are some in the industry who see it as an absolute necessity for the future. Electronic Arts, for example, has reportedly instructed its employees to treat AI as “thought partners” in every aspect of game creation. However, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick isn’t buying into the hype, and he doesn’t believe AI will ever be able to compete with Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto games.
“Let’s say there were no constraints [on AI],” said Zelnick during an appearance on CNBC. “Could we push a button tomorrow and create an equivalent to the Grand Theft Auto marketing plan? The answer is no. A, you can’t do that yet, and B, I am of the view that you wouldn’t end up with anything very good. You end up with something pretty derivative.”
Zelnick went on to explain that AI can’t innovate, because it’s “backward-looking” by design and its predictive models are built on things that have already been created, rather than anything new.
This isn’t the first time Zelnick has shared his feelings about AI, and he’s been fairly consistent over the years. Earlier this month, Zelnick made a point of saying that people overstate what AI can do.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer recently disclosed that his company primarily uses AI for security purposes, but he didn’t rule out its role in game creation. Meanwhile, Microsoft is attempting to fully integrate AI and voice commands into Windows 11 machines. Video game developers Hideo Kojima and Glen Schofield have both stated that AI tools should be embraced in game creation. A recent survey also found that over 50% of Japanese game publishers utilize AI in some way.
