PUBG Battlegrounds Boss Taeseok Jang has made his stance on AI clear, stating that he doesn’t mind the use of AI in game development, so long as it doesn’t come at the cost of good gameplay. AI has been a hot-button topic for a while now, as game developers steadily adopt the technology, so it makes sense that the PUBG Battlegrounds developer is commenting on it now.
Most recently, Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss has made headlines for its use of AI, which the developer stated was not meant to end up in the final project. While it has begun the process of stripping AI-generated assets from the game, it’s just one of many studios that have been found to use AI in the development process. While AI has largely been met with hostility by gamers, adoption seems unlikely to change in the near future, as publishers move to cut costs in a tumultuous economy.
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How PUBG Studios Views AI
In an interview with IGN, Jang gave his opinion on the matter, stating that he’s currently “monitoring the situation. In addition, he said, “As a fan, it doesn’t matter to me. Because if they make good gameplay, then it doesn’t matter to me if they use AI for artwork.” He went on to state that his opinion could be different from the perspective of a developer or a publisher, and that he didn’t have an “exact opinion” yet because he was still “learning and studying the case.” As far as using AI in PUBG Battlegrounds goes, Jang stated that the studio’s goal is to “bring new and fun gameplay experiences” to players by using AI. The studio thinks of AI like any other productivity tool, using it to automate repetitive tasks rather than for gameplay development — at least for now.
The situation is different at PUBG: Battlegrounds publisher Krafton, as pointed out by interviewer Simon Cardy. Krafton has taken a stance as an “AI-first” company, going so far as to buy out employee contracts to reduce its overall workforce. The publisher, which has seen a slew of legal trouble due to a dispute with Subnautica 2 leadership, faces an uphill battle as it wrangles with the fallout from said legal dispute and opposition from gamers opposed to AI.
AI is a player trust issue, and it makes sense that some gamers would be so apprehensive about its use — few gamers would bother to play something no one bothered to make. After all, AI is far from perfect, with many AI assets boasting bizarre inconsistencies, like botched fingers on hands and skewed perspectives of buildings. For those who focus on the details, AI-generated art can lessen the experience. In something of a rebuke of the trend, studios like Warframe developer Digital Extremes have taken an anti-AI stance.
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However, AI isn’t likely to go anywhere anytime soon. The technology has become ingrained in countless industries, the games industry being just one of them. And while one could blame “corporate suits” for rapid AI adoption in game studios, there’s a share of developers who are in favor of using AI to develop games, like Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Director Daniel Vávra. Increasingly, it seems like dividing lines are forming around AI’s use as a whole.
As player and publisher expectations surrounding the scale of video games continue to grow, so will AI use. For what it’s worth, Jang’s stance — using AI for productivity tasks rather than game development — feels particularly measured given the current state of things. However, gamers will have to wait and see which way the wind blows for AI’s use at PUBG Studios in the long run.
- Released
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March 23, 2017
- ESRB
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T for Teen: Blood, Violence
