Todd Howard, executive producer at Bethesda Game Studioshas shared his thoughts on AI usage in game development, calling it a “tool”. The Bethesda leader isn't alone in voicing his opinion, as many developers and publishers have shared their thoughts on the technology and its use in the gaming industry recently.
AI's use in game development has been a divisive topic to say the least. Opinions on the matter vary widely, with some developers fearing losing their jobs and others seeing benefits in using the technology. Outspoken gamers have also shared quite a few objections to its use in games.
Todd Howard talks about AI in game development
The Bethesda boss recently shared his thoughts on the use of AI to create games with Eurogamer, referring to AI as a tool. Howard said that creative intention is “number one,” but added that “I think we look at it as a tool because, is there a way we can use it to help us go through some iterations that we're doing ourselves faster. Not when we're creating things, but we're always working with our toolset for how we're building our worlds or controlling things.” He went on to say that it's important to “protect the artistry” and that what makes Bethesda's games special is the “human intent” that goes into them.
Although not confirmed by Howard or Bethesda, it sounds like AI could play a role in the production of Bethesda's future games. Currently, the studio is working on the development of the long-awaited Elder rolls 6. Fallout 5 is further down the pipeline, as it has reportedly been greenlit, but likely won't enter full-fledged development until The Elder Scrolls 6 is complete. With current estimates, the release of The Elder Scrolls 6 by 2027 at the earliest, and potentially as far away as 2028 or beyond, it stands to reason that AI may be used much more frequently by the gaming industry as a whole by then.
However, there has been a lot of blowback from players due to the use of AI. A Call of Duty the player received a refund from Steam after discovering it Black Ops 7s calling cards appeared to use gen AI, while other Steam users have called for stronger AI branding on the platform. The Amazon Fall-out TV series, for which Todd Howard is an executive producer, also took a big hit in 2023 when an early campaign appeared to have used generative AI, with odd glitches like laugh-out-loud text and three-legged pedestrians.
Even among developers and publishers, there is no clear agreement on the use of AI. EA developers expressed frustration at being told to use an AI GPT in their development work, while a former The God of War the developer defended the use of AI in game development. Epic threw shade at Steam for labeling games with AI, saying it “didn't make sense,” but Steam has stuck to doing so. Many of those who worked on Baldur's Gateincluding the actors and the publishing executive, have given AI nausea for various reasons. Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser recently noted that they could perform some tasks “brilliantly,” but not all, and shared concerns that the technology will break down as it continues to “eat itself” by feeding information onto the internet that the AI itself originally generated. Meanwhile, studios like Capcom have been “experimenting” with AI, games like ARC Raiders has used it, and Hasbro has previously admitted to using AI in the production of Magic: The Gathering card and Dungeons & Dragons.
Currently, it's unclear whether AI is here to stay, or whether its flaws outweigh its long-term benefits. In any case, while it sounds like Bethesda may be tinkering with AI tools behind the scenes, it doesn't sound like its future games will use generative AI in place of human artists.
- Date founded
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June 28, 1986
- Head office
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Rockville, Maryland, USA
- CEO
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Todd Howard
- Subsidiary
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Bethesda Game Studios
