"We’re already seeing instances where generative AI tools are driving costs and time efficiencies"

Image credit: Rockstar Games

Generative AI has played "zero part" in Rockstar Games’ creation of GTA 6, Take-Two CEOman Strauss Zelnick has said at the company’s latest financial numbers get-together, where he also indicated the game’s still on to initially release this November. Well, on consoles at least. Though, back in the AI front, the Z bloke also revealed that Take-Two have "hundreds of pilots and implementations" on the go involving the tech.

"On the topic of AI, I’ve been enthusiastic since the very beginning," Zelnick told RPS’ ironed dress shirt-wearing corporate acquaintances at GamesIndustry.biz in a chat around Take-Two’s latest earnings call. "This company’s products have always been built with machine learning and artificial intelligence. We’ve actually always been a leader in the space, and right now we have hundreds of pilots and implementations across our company, including within our studios. And we’re already seeing instances where generative AI tools are driving costs and time efficiencies."

That said, the exec did make sure to stick to his established line on the controversial tech, emphasising that he sees it as a tool rather than some infernal magic box from which fully-formed creative projects can spew. "Do I think tools by themselves create great entertainment properties? No, there’s no evidence that that’s the case and it won’t be the case in the future," he continued. "Specifically with regards to GTA 6, Generative AI has zero part in what Rockstar Games is building. Their worlds are handcrafted. That’s what differentiates them."

This latest round of questions being pointed at Zelnick about AI follow Google’s deployment of Project Genie, an AI prototype that lets people generate "interactive worlds" which work like playable games. Well, if by playable games you mean utterly shite clones and/or two minute glorified GIFs of a character walking around. Project Genie’s rollout led the share prices of a number of game companies - including Take-Two and Witcher developers CD Projekt - to drop, one would assume because plenty of shareholders and other money men are brainless fools who don’t know what goes into making games.

Hence Zelnick and many of his exec kinspeople adopting positions which hedge their bets when it comes to adopting this sort of tech as a magic bean with the word’ efficiency booster’ written on it in crayon, if not a magic bean that does the whole job. At least GTA 6 appears to be packing none ahead of its initial arrival on November 19th.

Not that the game’s without bubbling controversy. Legal proceedings between Rockstar and the developers they fired last year rumble on. The company have accused the fired staff of leaking info about the game, while the staff and their allies at the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain union have accused Rockstar of union-busting.