Developers behind EA’s latest first-person shooter, Battlefield 6, have offered clarification on the game’s use of generative AI.
The launch of Battlefield 6 is shaping up to be one of the year’s biggest, but beyond the excitement, there’s another talking point surrounding its development i.e. generative AI. With EA investing heavily in new technologies, some fans have expressed concern that AI-generated content may have made its way into its latest first-person shooter. However, during an interview with BBC Newbeat (via Twitter/X user BFBulletin), members of the game’s development team clarified that this isn’t the case.
Rebecka Coutaz, VP general manager of the European studios, stated that while generative AI tools were indeed part of the production process, they were only used in the preparatory stages of development, not in the game itself. Instead, she said that it’s used “to allow more time and more space to be creative.” Her statement implies that the final product, from campaign missions to multiplayer maps, has been handcrafted by the game’s designers and artists. Though, Coutaz is optimistic about the future of the technology as a tool that will help development teams in being more innovative and creative.
Fasahat “Fas” Salim, Criterion’s design director, echoed this sentiment, calling generative AI “not anything to be scared of” and clarifying that the team sees it as a workflow enhancement tool, not a replacement for human creativity. “It’s just a matter of how we can incorporate that productively into our workflows, how can we leverage that to take our games to the next level,” he said.
Salim highlighted the hard work and time that went into the development of Battlefield 6. “But when it goes into the players’ hands and you see them having a great time, people shouting, people excited, that’s something that we worked years for,” he said. “This is what most of us game developers look forward to. We just want to see people play the thing and then get excited about it.”
