Capcom Reveals Plans to Use Generative AI But It Won’t Be How We Think

Generative AI has been a hot issue in the past few years, especially within the gaming industry. More and more game development companies opt for using generative AI in game development, and Capcom has issued a statement clarifying their stance on the use of generative AI and how they will be using it in the development of their own games.

Generative AI in Game Development

Over the past few years, AI has rapidly integrated into modern society in many forms. AI is used daily by millions of online users worldwide, from our phones and computers to physical AI systems deployed in both professional and casual settings. One of the biggest markets using AI is the gaming industry, particularly generative AI for design or art. Generative AI a type of artificial intelligence that creates new, original content, which is something that would definitely make game development processes easier.

There’s an ongoing debate over whether the gaming industry is better or worse off with generative AI, considering the benefits and disadvantages of its use. On the one hand, generative AI makes game development processes easier, like making game development faster, reducing production costs, and making more interactive and immersive video games in modern gaming.

On the other hand, many people, including some game developers, swear off the use of generative AI because of major risks like legal and copyright issues with AI-generated assets, job displacement in the industry, bugs, and stigma attached to AI-generated content, which makes players believe that it lowers the quality of games that use generative AI. This debate has been a hot topic among game developers and the media, and Capcom has recently clarified its stance on it during a Q&A session from their latest shareholders’ meeting.

Capcom Will Use AI to Make Game Development Processes More Efficient

Last January, Capcom revealed that it built a prototype “idea generation” system using Google Cloud. The system uses generative AI to help brainstorm ideas to flesh out a game’s world, which, according to Capcom’s technical director Kazuki Abe, is labor-intensive and time-consuming in game development because it has to be created from scratch.

Capcom’s idea generation uses generative AI to read various game design documents and output further ideas based on them, which would speed up the conceptualization process. According to Capcom, the idea generation would be the main way in which they would ever use generative AI when developing games. This is an important point as it confirms Capcom’s plans to use generative AI to streamline time-consuming game development tasks.

Capcom also wanted to reiterate that they will not be using generative AI to create game content. Game content will still be made by humans. During the March 23rd informational session for investors and shareholders’ meeting, Capcom was asked about how they would deal with generative AI in game development, and whether or not they will be using it when developing future games. Here is the full statement from the official Capcom website, addressing the use of generative AI:

“We do not implement materials created using generative AI into game content. On the other hand, we plan to actively utilize this technology to contribute to improving efficiency and productivity in the game development process. For this reason, we are currently verifying how it can be used in various workplaces, such as graphics, sound, and programs.”

With the whole debate about the use of generative AI in game development, Capcom wanted to reaffirm its stance on how it will implement generative AI in its operations, and how it would balance its use with traditional methods of game development. It seems Capcom is not against its use; however, it plans to use it in the most effective way possible without disregarding human involvement in game development.