Larian Studios Explains Its Use of Generative AI for Upcoming Divinity
The studio behind popular role-playing games like Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin has recently unveiled its next major project, sparking immense anticipation within the industry. However, follow-up comments from the studio's figurehead have brought nuance to the conversation, touching on the team's philosophy toward generative artificial intelligence.
Augmenting Workflows, Not Cutting Jobs
In a latest message, the studio's founder explained that the company is employing AI technology for certain preliminary tasks. These encompass enhancing presentation materials, generating rough artistic references, and drafting placeholder text.
Crucially, Vincke stressed that the final material in the game will be authored solely by human writers. "Larian is developing every line in-house," he said.
Our studio is constantly increasing our roster of concept artists and are actively putting together dedicated writer rooms.
Since visual development is being particularly referenced — we currently have 23 concept artists and have job openings for further creatives.
All our efforts we do is incremental and focused on letting our team spend additional energy on making content.
Any ML tool used well is supplementary to a developer's process, never a stand-in for their skill.
Addressing Concerns and Clarifying the Vision
The news of using AI originally provoked concern among a segment of the fanbase. In reaction, Vincke provided more clarification on social media.
"At Larian, we employ machine learning to gather inspiration, in the same way we use Google and reference books," he explained. "In the very early planning process we use it as a rough outline for composition which we then swap out with original concept art."
He added, "Our studio recruits talent for their inherent skill, not for their ability to replicate what a machine suggests."
Three Pillars of Practical Application
Vincke had previously detailed the studio's targeted approach to this technology, defining its use into key functions:
- Automation of Tedious Tasks: This encompasses motion capture cleaning, audio processing, and pipeline-specific tasks like retargeting animations.
- Rapid Prototyping ('White Boxing'): Using systems to quickly build rough mock-ups of mechanics to test concepts ahead of complete implementation.
- Experimental Frontiers: Researching how machine learning could eventually create emergent reactivity, specifically in simulating player-driven narratives in a detailed game universe.
He explicitly affirmed that core creative domains — such as visual art — are are in no way areas where the company is reducing human input. On the contrary, Larian is expanding its staff in these precise roles.
"Our studio is not releasing a game with AI-generated content, and we are certainly not planning on cutting staff to swap them out with artificial intelligence," Vincke concluded.