Baldur’s Gate 3 boss Michael Douse has hit out at Elon Musk’s plan for “great” AI-generated games to be possible by the end of next year.
Over the weekend, Musk confirmed his xAI studio was planning on releasing “great” AI-generated video games by the end of next year while “very good” AI movies would be possible by 2027.
xAI is currently recruiting “video game tutors” and paying them up to $100 a day to train AI on design concepts, mechanics and storytelling. Back in February, xAI was able to generate a basic version of Tetris and 2D game Bubble Trouble but struggled with retro sound effects. Last year, Musk said his xAI studio would “make games great again”.
Too many game studios that are owned by massive corporations. @xAI is going to start an AI game studio to make games great again! https://t.co/UR4nFODyfd
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 27, 2024
AI is currently used in various stages of game development as a tool to streamline programming and help avoid crunch. However, the idea of a fully AI-generated game has been met with criticism from gaming fans and industry experts including Michael Douse, the publishing director of Larian Studios, who released the critically acclaimed Baldur’s Gate 3 in 2023.
Taking to X yesterday, Douse wrote: “AI has its place as a tool, but we have all the tools in the world and they aren’t compensating for the incredible lack of cogent direction. AI isn’t going to solve the big problem of the industry, which is leadership & vision. Genuinely what this industry needs is not more mathematically produced, psychologically trained gameplay loops, rather more expressions of worlds that folks are engaged with, or want to engage with.”
He went on to say that the collapse of physical game shops should have been replaced with publishers “connecting directly with audiences” and building relationships with gamers. “That did not happen. It became a game of headless chickens racing to the profit and loss sheet. AI isn’t going to solve that. Those who will succeed are those who are people building something for people.”
Like all growing markets, cloud, sub etc it will be a matter of time before there are roots. There will be roots. But not necessarily in the direction the industry as it currently stands needs to heal from the rug of retail being pulled beneath its feet. We need more human-human…
— Very AFK (@Cromwelp) October 6, 2025
“We need more human-human expression, not less. So much of tech (VR, cloud, etc) has been a cash grab. We don’t need another cash grab, we need sustainability. That’s what the tools could be good for. Definitely not replacing people.”
Speaking to NME last year, Baldur’s Gate 3 voice actor Samantha Béart said she was “worried” about the future of gaming because of the threat of AI. “Automation has replaced so many things already, and I’m not surprised it’s coming for art. If enough people don’t mind AI, or if it’s allowed to creep in, we’re in trouble. It needs to crash and burn.”
OpenAI recently released a new update for its Sora generative AI platform which saw a number of videos featuring Super Mario, The Legend Of Zelda and Pokémon characters. Shortly afterwards, Nintendo promised to take “necessary action” over copyright infringement and OpenAI CEO offered more “control” for rights holders.
In other news, Call Of Duty’s rivalry with Battlefield is heating up with Black Ops 6 going free-to-play at the same time that Battlefield 6 launches.