Embracer Group has announced a new strategy for incorporating AI into its business, claiming the technology has the power to "massively enhance game development".
In its annual report for the 2023-24 fiscal year, Embracer says AI will help with its production processes by "increasing resource efficiency", as well as "adding intelligent behaviors, personalization, and optimization" opportunities to games.
Despite this enthusiasm, the company says it's aware of some of the potential risks of AI, saying that it doesn't want to "replace people" with AI, but to "empower" them to create games instead.
Embracer privacy and AI governance head Tomas Hedman says that not using AI would represent a "competitive disadvantage", likely referencing some of the other studios that have already decided to embrace AI.
He says that Embracer wants to take a "human-centric approach" to the technology, and that it could have useful applications when it comes to diversity and inclusion, as well as its "tremendous benefits" for creative teams in terms of "scriptwriting, image creation, idea generation, quality control, and more".
In the risk assessment area of its report, Embracer points to AI governance as a potential risk for its business, citing the possibility for AI to produce "unethical, biased, discriminatory or completely wrong results" without proper training.
The company also points to the fact that AI-generated material can't be patented or copyrighted, meaning Embracer might run into "serious copyright or intellectual property issues" without doing its due diligence where AI is concerned.
Significantly, there's no mention of the significant impact AI has on the environment, nor of the ways in which AI has been accused of plagiarism on behalf of artists whose work has been used to train large language model systems.
This is a particularly concerning absence given that a significant part of Embracer's report is given over to its intent to be "part of the movement for a climate-neutral industry" and the initiatives it's engaging in to achieve that goal.
Embracer's latest report comes after a year of layoffs and studio closures for the company as part of a "restructuring" effort which has now concluded.
That effort saw studios like Volition (and, more recently, Alone in the Dark developer Pieces Interactive) being closed down, as well as Space Marine 2 publisher Saber Interactive being sold and many employees across Embracer's studios being laid off.
If we compare today's report to last year's, we can see that Embracer claims to have "106 internal game development studios" and "more than 11,000" employees, as compared to last year's "16,600 employees" across 138 studios, so more than 5,000 employees have been let go.
The drop in employees includes a "cumulative headcount reduction" of 1,583 during Embracer's restructuring program, as well as "around 3,000 employees" leaving as part of Saber's sale. It does not include the shutdown of Pieces Interactive, which was announced after this report's cutoff point.
Stay tuned for more on all things Embracer, although hopefully, that "more" won't include any further layoffs. In the meantime, you can read Embracer's full annual report here if you feel like getting seriously in-depth.
