The head of Larian Studios, the developers behind 2023's game of the year "Baldur's Gate 3", has vowed to ban any use of AI art in the outfit's upcoming project "Divinity".
The intervention by Swen Vincke follows repeated episodes of fan outrage over AI art in games in recent months -- with this year's game of the year winner "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" stripped of its Indie Game Awards wins over alleged use of generative AI.
"There is not going to be any GenAI (generative AI) art in 'Divinity'," Vincke said Friday in an "Ask Me Anything" session on discussion site Reddit.
Fans had blasted Larian last month after Vincke told Bloomberg some generative AI was being used during development.
"We already said this doesn't mean the actual concept art is generated by AI, but we understand it created confusion," Vincke posted on Friday.
"To ensure there is no room for doubt, we've decided to refrain from using GenAI tools during concept art development," he added.
Vincke had said in December that the team's use of generative AI was "to explore references, just like we use Google and art books... at the very early ideation stages".
The new "Divinity" -- revealed to great fanfare at the December 11 Game Awards in Los Angeles -- is hotly awaited by gamers enthralled by the sprawling story and engaging characters of "Baldur's Gate 3", which has sold more than 20 million copies.
Despite his commitment on AI art, Vincke said that generative AI "can help" with other aspects of development, as studios "continuously try to improve the speed with which we can try things out".
He insisted that would benefit gamers through "a more focused development cycle, less waste, and ultimately, a higher-quality game".
Some executives believe generative AI's infusion into the industry will lead to a flowering of more ambitious titles that cost less to produce.
But they are running up against artists' fears that they will be pushed out of work and some gamers' concern that AI use will make for blander, less creative work.
French title "Expedition 33" saw its Indie Game Awards titles including "game of the year" withdrawn last year over some AI-generated art assets, which developers Sandfall Interactive insists were placeholders that it replaced in an update to the final game.
