The Creators of Baldur's Gate 3 Details Its Use of Generative AI for Upcoming Project

The team behind hit RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin just teased its next major project, creating a wave of hype within the gaming community. However, follow-up comments from the studio's co-founder have introduced a new dimension to the narrative, focusing on the developer's stance toward generative artificial intelligence.

Augmenting Workflows, Not Cutting Jobs

In a new clarification, the studio's founder outlined that the company is employing AI technology for certain ancillary functions. These encompass developing PowerPoint slides, creating early-stage artistic references, and drafting placeholder copy.

Crucially, Vincke stressed that the final content in the game will be authored exclusively by human writers. "Larian is writing all the content in-house," he stated.

We are constantly growing our team of writers and are busily forming writing teams.

Given that this area is being explicitly called out — we right now have 23 concept artists and have positions available for further creatives.

All our efforts we do is incremental and focused on letting our team spend more time on making content.

Every AI system used well is a boost to a creative team process, never a stand-in for their skill.

Tempering Reactions with Clear Intent

The news of employing this technology initially sparked backlash among some the player base. In reply, Vincke issued further detail on online platforms.

"At Larian, we employ these tools to gather inspiration, just like we use Google and physical media," he stated. "During the very early ideation stages we use it as a basic framework for layout which we then substitute with hand-crafted artwork."

He continued, "We've hired creatives for their inherent skill, not for their capacity to execute what a algorithm proposes."

Three Pillars of Practical Application

Vincke had previously broken down the company's practical method to AI and ML, grouping its use into three main pillars:

• Handling Monotonous Jobs: This includes polishing mocap data, voice editing, and technical processes like adapting animations for different models.
• Rapid Prototyping ('White Boxing'): Using tools to speedily create rough models of scenarios to experiment with concepts before full production.
• Long-Term Aspirations: Investigating how AI could in the future enhance innovative reactivity, especially in managing unforeseen permutations in a vast role-playing world.

He clearly stated that key artistic areas — including visual art — are are absolutely not fields where the team is reducing creative involvement. In fact, Larian is expanding its staff in these very roles.

"Our studio is neither launching a game with any AI components, and we are certainly not planning on reducing creatives to replace them with artificial intelligence," Vincke concluded.