A former lead developer on World of Warcraft and League of Legends believes replacing humans with AI is "a little premature" – "AI will accelerate game creation someday, but not today"
Greg Street, former Lead Systems Designer for World of Warcraft (2008–2013) and then Executive Producer of MMO League of Legends at Riot Games until 2023, commented on the possibilities of AI in the gaming industry.
"AI will be able to accelerate game development someday. But it's not happening today. All these layoffs are just a way to reduce operating costs and boost stock prices. In the coming years, this will lead to empty portfolios."
He appeared to be responding to mass layoffs at Amazon and the closure of part of Amazon Games studio, as well as the cessation of development of the MMO New World.
"I feel sorry for my friends at Amazon who were trying to keep the MMO dream alive."
Reflecting on the cuts in the industry, Street noted:
"Layoffs happen for a variety of reasons. But if a company claims that workers are not needed because AI will make games, movies, or books today - it's a little premature. (Music is getting better)."
In response to comments, he acknowledged that AI will soon be able to "create landscapes or billions of weapon variations," but is still a long way from holistic storytelling.
