Artificial intelligence has been a hot topic in the entertainment industry as of late. Many companies have begun to make labor cuts and AI only continues to improve. The gaming industry has seen a ton of layoffs as of late and it has many people concerned with the future of work as AI continues to improve and simplify work. Many people are concerned that more simplified processes will mean less opportunities and roles for humans. However, CEO of Take-Two Interactive, Strauss Zelnick, doesn’t think that AI will be able to outshine the creativity needed in game development. In Squawk Box interview on CNBC, Zelnick stated:
I would love to say that it’s going to make things cheaper, quicker, better, or easier to make hits. I don’t think that’s the case.
The interactive entertainment business has been in AI forever. Let me just remind you that AI stands for artificial intelligence. Which is an oxymoron. There is no such thing. It’s just a description of a digital toolset.
He would go on to discuss how he believes AI is just an advancement in the tools used to develop and create:
All of our tools do help us become more efficient…that said, it’s going to become commoditized. Everyone is going to have access to the same tools. That is the history of toolsets. What it means, though, is our creative people will be able to do fewer mundane tasks and turn their attention to the really creative tasks. The machines can’t make the creative decisions for you.
The team at Take-Two Interactive are gearing up for their heavily anticipated game, Grand Theft Auto VI, which is set to release in Fall of 2025. Zelnick didn’t divulge any information on whether or not the dev team will be using AI tools to help create the project.