A new report claims that Amazon Games canceled a project in the works under the name Project Trident, which was a third-person comedic action game taking place in a nordic setting.
The game, according to Eurogamer, would have involved a fictional parody company known as Valhalla Ventures, with the company hiring the player who would then go off on an adventure.
The report said one of the game’s twists was that it would use generative AI to support communication between the player and NPCs. The generative AI communication was said to be a “key tool for combat and puzzle-solving.” As an example, the report said the Norse god Thor was planned to be in the game, and that players could say the name of a special attack out loud (or type it into a text box) and have Thor perform the action. The report said Project Trident would have also allowed players to recruit other characters to join them, again using words spoken out loud. The popular RPG Skyrim allowed players to do this on Xbox with Kinect back on Xbox 360 more than a decade ago.
According to the report, Project Trident’s art, music, story, and core gameplay elements were hand-made by developers. The generative AI was limited to interactions between the player and NPCs, as well as to improve animation quality by touching up lip-syncing, for example.
The report went on to say that when work on Project Trident began years prior, it was a different kind of game–a four-player co-op action game with a more serious tone. This version was still set in a Nordic setting. Players would fight huge monsters not unlike the gameplay loop in Shadow of the Colossus.
In mid-2024, however, Amazon Games reportedly introduced an “AI mandate” that pushed developers to incorporate more AI features in Project Trident. Most of the staff were “uneasy, unhappy, and concerned” about this development, the report said.
One source said that although they didn’t love the idea of incorporating generative AI elements, they thought they could show how a game could offer a “sensible” and “ethical” way to go about it. In the end, though, this person said the higher-ups pushed something more “cheap and disposable.”
A spokesperson for Amazon Games told Eurogamer that “AI was not the reason” for the layoffs at the company. “Those changes were the result of a strategic shift in our business and a refocus on the areas where Amazon can deliver the most value to players,” the spokesperson said. “Great games are made by talented people and we think AI should expand what’s possible.”
“We remain focused on using these technologies thoughtfully and responsibly, always guided by the creativity and judgment of our teams. We’re proud of what our teams are creating, and we look forward to sharing more of what they’ve been building soon.”
One of those upcoming projects is expected to be a new The Lord of the Rings game.
