Grand Theft Auto and Borderlands owner Take-Two has had "success" with using AI for "mundane tasks," but doesn't see it as a replacement for actual creativity: "We are not using this as an excuse to reduce headcount"

Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive, the corporation behind such franchises as WWE 2K, Borderlands and Grand Theft Auto, recently expanded on his position toward using AI in game development. According to him, the technology has proven useful in some capacities, but won’t be replacing any current processes for the time-being.

"As tool sets improve, we can become more efficient, we can become more effective," he says during a quarterly financial conference call. "And give our people freedom to be more creative. So AI, depending on how you define it, and properly deployed, of course, is positive for creativity."

Zelnick gives this answer to a question on whether Take-Two has seen any "success" utilizing AI in "non-creative" aspects of development. The CEO starts by stating LLMs and similar technology use "backward-looking datasets" that don't stand up to "forward-looking genius."

He does reveal, though, that aspects of the business have been helped by some of these tools. "We have seen some efficiencies," he states. "There are plenty of areas of business where the tools that we have rolled out are helping us. We are not either using this as an excuse to, or frankly seeing the opportunity to, reduce headcount."

These mechanisms, he adds, are allowing them to "take our very talented people and release them from more mundane tasks." Doubling back on over-relying on chatbots and other AI constructs, he finishes by stating: "If you said, can you cut your cost profile by 5% tomorrow by using all things AI, the answer is no."

EA has come under fire for allegedly pushing AI on its employees in various ways, while Hideo Kojima and major developers at Square Enix and Larian Studios have spoken out about its limitations. It's a hot-button subject due to increased unemployment and uncertainty across the industry, and right now, it doesn't seem like it'll go away any time soon.

Take-Two CEO says they "take no victory lap" following $55 billion EA buyout news, and the company is "always running scared": "We wish our competitors well"