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Fortnite developer and publisher Epic Games has been in the limelight for its creators' stance on generative AI – and it seems it'll continue to be, as CEO Tim Sweeney speaks on the topic once more, specifically in relation to what he calls Valve's "irresponsible" AI disclosures on Steam.
It comes up in a recent interview with PC Gamer, in which Sweeney explains how AI could be a valuable tool for smaller devs.
"If you have a game with a really unique look and feel, you need unique content, and AI is a path to getting that with a degree of economy that makes it competitive with Fab or scanning or other things, but works for a larger category of objects," states the Epic lead.
He refers to an example of making a flower pot model for a game. "The value is not in creating a perfect flower pot. It will be an absolute folly to spend a million dollars creating a flower pot, because the real value is in building the scene and building the game and building the narrative, and the gameplay, and making it awesome, and giving it a unique feel, and making something that appeals to gamers."
Apparently, this process – "giving it a unique feel" – can rely on AI use. And that, according to Sweeney, makes the attitude folks have toward AI "unfortunate" – as well as Valve's insistence that devs disclose whether they've used any AI in games released via Steam.
"If you want to launch a game, and get it as widely publicized as possible, you've got to put it on Steam so people can wish list it, and if you want to play it on Steam, then you have to get this Scarlet Letter of AI attached to your product."
Sweeney says that results in "a hater community trying to kill the game," going on to criticize the AI disclosures on Steam.
"I think it's really irresponsible of Valve. They shouldn't do it because it makes it much, much, much harder for a game developer to have a chance of success. You have to choose from either not using tools that can make you way more productive, and probably failing due to competition that does."
It's important to note that this isn't the first time Sweeney has shared this take. Last year, he said digital storefronts (like Steam) should drop "the AI tag" because "it makes no sense" when "AI will be involved in nearly all future production." He doubled down on this later, saying, "I hate to see Valve confiscate ever more opportunity from small developers." It's not an unpopular opinion among other Epic staff, either.
Stephanie Arnette, who serves as senior external development manager on Fortnite, stated that the goal of AI "is to make us more efficient" and not to "take all our jobs."
Suffice to say, that's not how many other devs (and consumers) feel… hence the so-called "hater community" Sweeney claims is out to get games with an AI disclosure on Steam. It's a hot topic right now, to say the least.
I doubt it'll stop being one, either, as generative AI penetrates more and more aspects of development – and, well, everything. I, for one, am very happy with Valve's system, though. Here's hoping it doesn't change.
