Krafton is investing about $69.7 million on hardware for AI, and then $21 million annually on AI tools for its employees. They claim that the time and resources saved from AI use will allow them to do more gamedev.
My excitement for Subnautica 2 was already dampened by the ongoing conflict between Krafton and the original Subnautica studio co-founders. Hearing about "AI-first" development has just about killed my interest in it entirely. "AI HR" sounds like a nightmare too.
Oh well, I'm still enjoying the original Subnautica anyway.
Trolling around in the original Subnautica submarine is an all-time favourite gaming experience. I install it and pop back in now and again just to sail around the map. It feels much smaller than...
Trolling around in the original Subnautica submarine is an all-time favourite gaming experience. I install it and pop back in now and again just to sail around the map. It feels much smaller than it did when I was first exploring the game!
Hadn't realized it was the same company, but Krafton also publishes inZOI which uses generative AI. I do think AI has some potential in certain games and certain parts of development, but...
Hadn't realized it was the same company, but Krafton also publishes inZOI which uses generative AI. I do think AI has some potential in certain games and certain parts of development, but implementing it to this extent just seems crazy. Especially the HR. Seriously, what does "AI HR" even mean??
Related: here's an April 2024 blog post from Krafton about their use of AI. So at least they've already been heavily researching and developing it before making the announcement. Definitely not a fan of the bit about how voice generation can save them money compared to physically recording voice actors... With a company that big, they can definitely afford voice actors.
Don't threaten me with a good time! HR where I work manages to find bold new ways to plumb bold new depths with impressive regularity. The very best interactions I have with them are on days where...
Don't threaten me with a good time! HR where I work manages to find bold new ways to plumb bold new depths with impressive regularity. The very best interactions I have with them are on days where I don't have to contact them at all.
So HR sounds so close to AI judge. Which is such a cyberpunk cliche that readers would roll their eyes at this point seeing a new work with this premise. But here we are trying to outsource...
So HR sounds so close to AI judge. Which is such a cyberpunk cliche that readers would roll their eyes at this point seeing a new work with this premise.
But here we are trying to outsource humanity itself to the whim of a black box.
Krafton purchased Eleventh Hour Games which makes Last Epoch, easily the best ARPG currently on the market (in my opinion). It's weird to see them go from a dude on Reddit, to a really good game...
Krafton purchased Eleventh Hour Games which makes Last Epoch, easily the best ARPG currently on the market (in my opinion). It's weird to see them go from a dude on Reddit, to a really good game that I have sunk 100s of hours into, to being purchased by Krafton only for them to admit they are a garbage publisher with this focus on AI.
While I realize this doesn't mean EHG will immediately start using AI for their games, it does really change the dynamic. I had no problem supporting a small team making a cool game I enjoy. I don't know if I will be able to bring myself to purchase their future DLC.
Krafton bought Eleventh Hour Games a few months ago. Last Epoch was on the death row and needed cash (as seasonal ARPGs cost a lot of money to develop), but I wish they had a deal with another...
Krafton bought Eleventh Hour Games a few months ago. Last Epoch was on the death row and needed cash (as seasonal ARPGs cost a lot of money to develop), but I wish they had a deal with another publisher...
I totally understand the benefit of using AI to assist in daily work -- it can be an amazing boost. But who are they talking to here? Dumb investors? This seems to me a bit like if companies in...
I totally understand the benefit of using AI to assist in daily work -- it can be an amazing boost. But who are they talking to here? Dumb investors?
This seems to me a bit like if companies in early 2000s said "we're gonna be a search engine-first company now".
That said, I'm looking forward to the first game that uses AI for dynamic story creation in a way that doesn't suck. That could be pretty interesting.
Dynamic story creation seems like a high bar. I'd love an Elder Scrolls type of game where you can openly chat with NPCs and they'll respond in character and take actions where appropriate (insult...
Dynamic story creation seems like a high bar. I'd love an Elder Scrolls type of game where you can openly chat with NPCs and they'll respond in character and take actions where appropriate (insult their mother and they draw their sword).
The original press release linked in the title is in Korean. Here are a few articles discussing this announcement in English:
https://www.escapistmagazine.com/news-krafton-shifting-to-ai-first-company/
https://gamerant.com/subnautica-2-publisher-ai-first-company-change/
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/krafton-is-now-an-ai-first-company-will-spend-usd70-million-on-a-gpu-cluster-to-serve-as-the-foundation-for-accelerating-the-implementation-of-agentic-ai/
Krafton is investing about $69.7 million on hardware for AI, and then $21 million annually on AI tools for its employees. They claim that the time and resources saved from AI use will allow them to do more gamedev.
My excitement for Subnautica 2 was already dampened by the ongoing conflict between Krafton and the original Subnautica studio co-founders. Hearing about "AI-first" development has just about killed my interest in it entirely. "AI HR" sounds like a nightmare too.
Oh well, I'm still enjoying the original Subnautica anyway.
Edit: Still nice to know that Subnautica 2 development apparently isn't using generative AI
Trolling around in the original Subnautica submarine is an all-time favourite gaming experience. I install it and pop back in now and again just to sail around the map. It feels much smaller than it did when I was first exploring the game!
Hadn't realized it was the same company, but Krafton also publishes inZOI which uses generative AI. I do think AI has some potential in certain games and certain parts of development, but implementing it to this extent just seems crazy. Especially the HR. Seriously, what does "AI HR" even mean??
Related: here's an April 2024 blog post from Krafton about their use of AI. So at least they've already been heavily researching and developing it before making the announcement. Definitely not a fan of the bit about how voice generation can save them money compared to physically recording voice actors... With a company that big, they can definitely afford voice actors.
In fairness HR could possibly be replaced with an AI with a prompt of "you are to waste as many people's time as humanly possible"
Don't threaten me with a good time! HR where I work manages to find bold new ways to plumb bold new depths with impressive regularity. The very best interactions I have with them are on days where I don't have to contact them at all.
So HR sounds so close to AI judge. Which is such a cyberpunk cliche that readers would roll their eyes at this point seeing a new work with this premise.
But here we are trying to outsource humanity itself to the whim of a black box.
Krafton purchased Eleventh Hour Games which makes Last Epoch, easily the best ARPG currently on the market (in my opinion). It's weird to see them go from a dude on Reddit, to a really good game that I have sunk 100s of hours into, to being purchased by Krafton only for them to admit they are a garbage publisher with this focus on AI.
While I realize this doesn't mean EHG will immediately start using AI for their games, it does really change the dynamic. I had no problem supporting a small team making a cool game I enjoy. I don't know if I will be able to bring myself to purchase their future DLC.
Aw man both Last Epoch and Subnautica owned by these goons? That's disappointing
Krafton bought Eleventh Hour Games a few months ago. Last Epoch was on the death row and needed cash (as seasonal ARPGs cost a lot of money to develop), but I wish they had a deal with another publisher...
I totally understand the benefit of using AI to assist in daily work -- it can be an amazing boost. But who are they talking to here? Dumb investors?
This seems to me a bit like if companies in early 2000s said "we're gonna be a search engine-first company now".
That said, I'm looking forward to the first game that uses AI for dynamic story creation in a way that doesn't suck. That could be pretty interesting.
Dynamic story creation seems like a high bar. I'd love an Elder Scrolls type of game where you can openly chat with NPCs and they'll respond in character and take actions where appropriate (insult their mother and they draw their sword).
Buying puts on Krafton