Larian Studios the team that gave us the phenomenal Baldur’s Gate 3 is facing some serious heat from fans right now over their use of generative AI in game development.
It all started with a Bloomberg report that painted a picture of the studio “pushing hard” on AI tools for their next big project, a new entry in the Divinity series. The ai tools are apparently helping with early brainstorming, polishing presentations, generating concept art ideas, and drafting placeholder text. But so far, the efficiency boosts have been pretty modest.
Studio founder and CEO Swen Vincke didn’t waste time addressing the uproar. He made it crystal clear: no generative AI will end up in the shipped game. “Everything is human actors; we’re writing everything ourselves,” he said.
That didn’t completely calm the storm, though. Fans flooded social media with concerns, and even some former employees weighed in, worried about what AI might mean for creative jobs in gaming. Many remembered Larian’s earlier skepticism toward heavy AI reliance and felt this shift was a betrayal.
Vincke pushed back with a thoughtful, detailed response. He stressed that AI is purely an “additive” tool meant to make the team’s daily work easier not a replacement for people. “We are neither releasing a game with any AI components, nor are we looking at trimming down teams to replace them with AI.”
To prove the point, he highlighted how the studio is actually growing: they’ve got 23 concept artists now (and plan to hire more), brand-new writer rooms, active voice actor recordings, and a full translation team. After some initial hesitation inside the company, he says the approach has won over most of the staff.
All of this is happening against the backdrop of massive excitement for Larian’s next chapter. After Baldur’s Gate 3 sold more than 20 million copies, the studio is finally returning to its own IP with a new Divinity game that promises to elevate turn-based RPGs even further bolder storytelling, wilder experimentation, and a completely new engine.
Vincke isn’t shy about the ambition: he says it will be “way better” than Baldur’s Gate 3 and should land in three to four years.
In an industry still figuring out where AI fits, Larian’s line in the sand experiment behind the scenes, but keep the final product 100% human-made feels like a pragmatic middle path that could influence others navigating the same tricky waters.