EA has partnered with Stability AI to co-develop AI models, tools, and workflows it claims will empower its development teams to “reimagine how content is built.”
The company, which has made no secret of its desire to leverage generative AI technology, said the partnership wont replace human authorship and will instead provide its creative teams with more bandwidth to “do what they do best.”
“With humans at the center of storytelling, we’re evolving how we work so that AI becomes a trusted ally: supporting faster iteration, expanding creative possibilities, accelerating workflows, and allowing more time to focus on what matters most—building world-class games and experiences that entertain massive online communities,” said the company in a press release.
“It can draft, generate, and analyze, but it can’t imagine, empathize, or dream. That’s the work of EA’s extraordinary artists, designers, developers, storytellers, and innovators.”
EA said one of its first initiatives under the partnership will be to accelerate the creation of Physically Based Rendering (PBR) materials through the development of new artist-driven workflows. It also intends to explore AI systems that can pre-visualize entire 3D environments from a series of prompts, which it claims will allow artists to “creatively direct the generation of game content.”
“These advancements open exciting new doors for rapid prototyping and visual storytelling, allowing artists and developers to ideate, visualize, and refine gameplay experiences at a faster pace and with greater scale,” added the company. “These are just a few examples of what is to come.”
EA continues touting generative AI tech ahead of Saudi-backed buyout
Ultimately, EA still appears to be singing from the same hymn sheet that saw CEO Andrew Wilson last year tell investors that AI isn’t a “buzzword” but rather a technology that has become the “very core” of its business.
“For years, we have talked about our games delivering experiences that are always new and different. We predict that with generative AI we will truly be able to fulfill this promise for billions of people, for billions and billions of hours,” said Wilson during an investor day presentation in September 2024.
EA, of course, won’t have to whisper sweet nothings into the ears of investors for much longer. Earlier this month, the company agreed to a $55 billion take-private deal that will place it under the direct control of a private consortium that includes Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and an investment firm founded by U.S. president Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
The news raised eyebrows for a myriad of reasons, with many wondering how the publisher will operate under the watchful eye of the Saudi regime—which appears more interested in making inroads into the video game industry than it does with addressing the litany of alleged human rights abuses it is accused of facilitating.
The structure of the deal has also come under scrutiny, with analysts recently telling Game Developer that EA’s decision to take on $20 billion in leveraged debt is a “high risk” strategy that often results in asset sales and cost cutting.
Notably, when the news initially broke, the Financial Times said those close to the deal are betting that AI-based cost reductions will significantly boost EA’s future profits. EA, it seems, is more than willing to take that bet.
