Overwatch sport director Aaron Keller has said that developer Blizzard has no intention of releasing AI-generated content material within the sport, with the corporate as an alternative aiming for the hero shooter to have a “handcrafted” really feel to it. On the similar time, Blizzard president Johanna Faries outlined the corporate’s general strategy to AI, saying the know-how holds many attainable advantages.
“We do not wish to put AI-generated content material out in entrance of gamers. That is simply not one thing that we’re snug doing. We wish this to really feel like a handcrafted universe, and it’s a handcrafted universe,” Keller instructed GameSpot.
Keller told Eurogamer that Blizzard doesn’t use AI to “create characters or gameplay,” no less than not “proper now,” suggesting that might change sooner or later.
“I feel Blizzard as an entire is thought for handcrafted video games and handcrafted worlds. So, we attempt to pour all of our inventive power and all of our ardour into doing that,” Keller mentioned. “For us, it’s extra necessary to get the small print proper, and to make it possible for the gameplay is as impeccable as it may be and withholds the Blizzard commonplace, somewhat than attempting to make one thing as fast as we presumably can.”
Blizzard’s view on AI general
Faries, the president of Blizzard, mentioned she desires to allow the corporate’s growth groups to “make the most of or discover no matter new know-how is on the market,” together with AI, however solely “to the extent that they are snug doing with it what we imagine is accountable.”
She added that Blizzard has a “centralized governance workforce” targeted solely on AI, with the directive of attempting to find out the position AI “can or ought to play in our growth cycles.”
“What’s nice about that’s it’s extremely cross-functional, so you are going to have voices from across the horn eager about not simply what’s hot-topic now, however the place can we wish to be 5, 10 years from now?” she mentioned. “What is the implication on our groups? What is the implication on our values? How can we make it possible for we do not stymie the chance for devs, artists, whomever, to wish to play with new instruments and play within the sandbox, if it unlocks creativity or removes drudgery or what have you ever? We wish completely satisfied devs, proper?”
She went on to say that AI applied sciences have the aptitude of turning into an “speed up in our inventive course of,” however, once more, provided that the corporate decides that the way it’s utilizing AI is known to be “accountable.” In fact, that phrase has no strict definition. Regardless of the case, Faries mentioned she feels “excellent” in regards to the steps that Blizzard has taken to doubtlessly use AI in a secure and accountable means.
“I need the groups to really feel secure, to discover to the extent that it drives pleasure within the work. And I feel we now have course of, all up, when it comes to ensuring we’re doing it in a accountable method,” she mentioned.
Blizzard is owned by Microsoft, and that firm is adopting a special strategy. Microsoft is spending many billions of dollars to create all method of AI-enabled content material and merchandise sooner or later. It is even building nuclear reactors to power its AI ambitions.
Blizzard additionally makes World of Warcraft, and the developer mentioned in 2024 that it does not use generative AI for the MMORPG. Activision, in the meantime, has readily admitted that it makes use of generative AI to create some Name of Obligation content material.
Blizzard unveiled a sequence of updates for Overwatch 2 as we speak, together with a reputation change. Going ahead, Overwatch 2 will drop the “2” and as an alternative be referred to as merely Overwatch. The unique Overwatch shut down again in 2022, so the identify is freed up.
In different information, Overwatch is including 5 new characters, together with a cat. The addition of 5 new characters goes to disrupt the meta, and Blizzard is conscious of this. You possibly can learn extra in regards to the sweeping adjustments to Overwatch in our hands-on preview.