Luke Dicken, the head of the team responsible for developing AI-based solutions, has lost his job. Along with him, some of the staff involved in this area have left the company. This is curious, considering that we are talking about a corporation that manages Rockstar Games, 2K, and Zynga.
Dicken confirmed the end of the collaboration with a post on LinkedIn. He emphasized that "this is a very disappointing moment" and noted that his team had been developing modern technologies for years to support game creation. A significant part of the AI division was formed from the applied AI department of Zynga, which Take-Two acquired in 2022 for $12.7 billion.
The situation looks strange, because recently the management of Take-Two actively signaled its readiness to introduce generative AI. Strauss Zelnick, in a conversation with investors, stated that the company is "actively using generative AI" with "hundreds of pilot projects and implementations across the corporation, including studios." Zelnick argued that AI can increase efficiency, reduce costs, and free creators from routine tasks.
The personnel changes raise questions about the real behind-the-scenes strategy.