Activision is using AI to create skins in Call of Duty — media

The company has begun forcing artists to use generative artificial intelligence to speed up work and “cut corners”.

WIRED conducted an investigation revealing that Activision has been using generative artificial intelligence for quite some time to create operator skins in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

One of the publication’s sources stated that Activision Chief Technology Officer Michael Vance sent an email to employees in the fall of 2023 actively praising AI and noting its “tremendous potential”. Later, the company approved the use of Midjourney and Stable Diffusion for creating promotional materials and concepts.

Employees were promised that no one intended to replace them with artificial intelligence, but some time later, the “Yokai’s Wrath” bundle created using AI appeared in the Call of Duty store.

Artists were among the 1,900 employees laid off from Microsoft’s gaming division. To help the remaining staff somehow cope with the overwhelming workload, they began being forced to use AI.

Activision executives are not at all afraid that AI might violate copyright laws during the process, as laws clearly regulating the use of AI simply do not exist yet.

WIRED also noted that Blizzard is adamantly against tools like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, prohibiting its employees from using AI, while actively developing its own generative tools.

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Image author: Activision. Image source: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3