It's a sad reality that several major games companies have either tried to use AI in development, or are actively doing so. Pearl Abyss, the studio behind this year's Crimson Desert, can now be counted among them, confirming the technology is being integrated across the business.
The publisher and developer revealed this in a recent Earnings Letter. "We are integrating AI technologies to enhance development productivity and overall quality," Pearl Abyss writes. "AI is being utilized across various stages of development – including the automation of repetitive tasks, content creation support, and test optimization – and we are expanding its implementation throughout our entire development pipeline."
It's worth remembering, Crimson Desert players dragged the game for having apparent generative-AI assets back in March. A subsequent update removed them, and Pearl Abyss issued an apology for allowing the game to ship with those elements still intact.
Apparently that episode hasn't deterred leadership from incorporating the technology into even more facets of the design process. "We view AI not as a substitute for human developers, but as a tool to elevate development efficiency and quality," Pearl Abyss adds. "We will continue to expand our application of AI to deliver higher-fidelity games to the market more expeditiously."
That much is good to hear, but my cynicism remains. The simple fact is AI is a poor substitute for creative iteration, and while it may speed up certain parts of game production, it's far too easy for audio, visual or mechanical elements to be among the corners that wound up cut as a result of the technology.
For the time-being, fanbases are fervently against generative assets in their games. Whether they be Call of Duty, Battlefield 6 or Crimson Desert, once AI is noticed, you can't put the genie back in the bottle. Pearl Abyss confirms that the upcoming Pokemon-like creature-collecting game DokeV is being made using AI to an extent.
"AI serves strictly as a tool to support concept validation and pipeline productivity, while the core gameplay experience and actual content creation remain fully driven by our development team," the letter says. Not the most auspicious update, but we'll see what emerges when the project is on show.
