If you’re a gamer, you may have heard of the Embracer Group, a Swedish games publisher that hasn’t had a great time of late. Even if you haven’t, you’ve likely heard of the properties that the group owns. Like Saint’s Row, which is uh… gone.
Well, developer Volition is toast, as are several other outfits. But the massive holding company reckons it has an answer to that, and the 80 or so other cancelled projects. AI.
Embracer embracing AI
The group announced in its annual report that it would adopt artificial intelligence as part of its game development process. Embracer describes the move as essential, providing it with the resources it needs to maintain pace with other developers. Of course, they could have hung onto the numerous staff they’ve let go over the past year. That might have also worked.
What its plans are exactly isn’t explained but the holding company says that “game development speed, logistics and planning” are focus areas for its new AI policy, adding “AI can also be used within areas such as logistics or HR to improve planning, decision-making, support talent acquisition and enhance employee experiences or retention.”
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There are potential problems with using AI in gaming, something Embracer seems to be aware of. However, the group seems very concerned with copyright issues if an AI system is creating assets for games. “Additionally, AI-generated material is not patentable or copyrightable meaning we must understand how material is produced, especially by third parties, since such material may produce serious copyright or intellectual property issues with the final product.”
However, the company claims it’ll keep humans in the equation, saying that “it will also open up coding to a broader group of developers”, namely those with disabilities. Whether adopting AI hurts or hinders its chances of actually shipping a game on time remains to be seen. We’ve got an idea which way the wind will swing for Embracer Group and it’s probably not due money.