The head of Larian previously stated that the studio relies on AI for research purposes, but the internet twisted his words.
In a new interview, Larian head Swen Vincke stated that his studio does use AI, but as a tool—like Google for searching for information or art books for inspiration. At the same time, Larian employs a team of 72 artists, 23 of whom are involved in concept art. Larian is not going to replace real people with AI.
However, this did not prevent bloggers and some journalists from twisting Vincke's words and presenting everything as if Larian uses AI for "presentations, creating concept art, and writing texts".
Swen Vincke had to go to X and try to explain his own words.
Just ***, guys. We are not trying to replace artists with AI.
We have a team of 72 artists, 23 of whom are concept artists, and we are hiring more. They have original works, and I am very proud of what they do.
I was directly asked about concept art and our use of AI. I replied that we use it for research. I didn't say we use it to develop concept art. Artists do that. And they are truly world-class artists.
We use AI tools to find references, just like we use Google and art books. In the earliest stages of idea development, we use them as rough sketches, which we then replace with original concept art.
Despite all the efforts, the internet does not want to listen to Vincke. Many people are calling not to buy Larian games.
Asking your concept artists to use AI is worse than not having concept artists at all. You might as well ask them to dig graves for their profession. Shame on you and your company, I will no longer touch your nonsense.
I am very disappointed in Larian for using AI at all. I don't care that it's "just a little bit" because it's very harmful to the environment and the industry as a whole. Glad you're not replacing people directly with AI, but you're creating an environment where that happens.
Stop using generative AI or we will boycott your games. It's simple.
