Obsidian Entertainment, known for Avowed, Grounded 2, and The Outer Worlds 2, has completely abandoned generative AI in its projects. In an interview, Josh Sawyer, Kate Dollarhyde, and Leonard Boyarsky talked about the game creation process and how the team's experience has changed over time.
Boyarsky recalled his 2019 comments about the possible use of AI in writing scripts, noting that he would now like to "slap" his past self, and any such idea quickly became "unmanageable." When asked about the use of generative AI, Sawyer stated that "we haven't used it," and Boyarsky added, "We don't use it at all."
This is remarkable, given that Obsidian has released three major games this year in a studio with 285 employees. These are the fantasy role-playing game Avowed, the survival game Grounded 2, and the science fiction role-playing game The Outer Worlds 2. The team also added a turn-based mode to Pillars of Eternity (2015), which is available on PC in beta.
Other publishers, such as EA, Square Enix, and Krafton, are actively integrating AI, facing challenges and cuts, while Obsidian is betting on artistic craftsmanship. This is important, given that the studio is under Microsoft, where management is actively investing in AI.
