After Firing More Than 300 People, EA CEO Says That AI Is the Future of the Company
Some major gaming companies have been under fire in recent years due to their in-house policies, which, of course, had an influence on the quality of the content they are releasing.
We know that Ubisoft has been under fire by fans, but Electronic Arts is no exception, as the company has been facing a lot of backlash due to subpar releases, prices, and other decisions that have been influencing the gaming market.
Now, the company’s CEO has made a statement that could, ultimately, lead to even bigger backlash in the future.
As you probably know, there have been recent reports that EA fired between 300 and 400 of its developers, which was a shock. And while the volatility of the market might explain such a move, it seems that this decision has little to do with the market.
In a recent talk to the press, EA CEO Andrew Wilson might have revealed the real reason behind this decision and we can confirm that a small number of people (and our readers) will actually be satisfied with this.
Wilson said that he was optimistic about the future of the company despite the recent backlash, mostly because of how much the company has invested in artificial intelligence. The gaming community’s stance related to AI is, as of the time of writing, mostly negative, as players do not want artificially created content; on top of that, there are the frequent issues with AI that players want to avoid.
EA was initially very hesitant to use AI, but in recent years, they have been more open, claiming that AI would become the core of their business in the future. Wilson’s remarks are in line with the latter stance.
“Across our teams,” Wilson said, “we’re investing in new workflows and capabilities to integrate AI to enhance how we build, scale, and personalize experiences, from dynamic in-game worlds to delivering authentic athlete and team likenesses at incredible scale.”
And while no one would object to using AI to make some things like face rendering go faster, because it is easier, and it will speed up the development process, it doesn’t seem like AI will stop at that. As it seems, AI plans to use AI as much as possible in the development process, which is sure to anger many gamers.
“Our developers are using AI to push the boundaries of what’s possible in design, animation, and storytelling, helping us deliver deeper, more immersive gameplay,” he added. “This is about amplifying the power of this technology to unlock new possibilities for the future of interactive entertainment.”
Wilson sees AI as a “powerful accelerator of creativity, innovation, and player connection,” but it remains to be seen how the gaming community will react to this.
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