Warhammer Maker Games Workshop Bans Its Staff From Using AI in Its Content or Designs, Says None of Its Senior Managers Are Currently Excited About the Tech

Warhammer shaper Games Workshop has banned the usage of AI successful its contented accumulation and its plan process, insisting that nary of its elder managers are presently excited astir the technology.

Delivering the UK company’s awesome fiscal results, CEO Kevin Rountree addressed the contented of AI and however Games Workshop is handling it. He said GW unit are barred from utilizing it to really nutrient anything, but admitted a “few” elder managers are experimenting with it.

Rountree said AI was “a precise wide taxable and to beryllium honorable I’m not an adept connected it,” past went connected to laic down the institution line:

"We bash person a fewer elder managers that are [experts connected AI]: nary are that excited astir it yet. We person agreed an interior argumentation to usher america all, which is presently precise cautious e.g. we bash not let AI generated contented oregon AI to beryllium utilized successful our plan processes oregon its unauthorised usage extracurricular of GW including successful immoderate of our competitions. We besides person to show and support ourselves from a information compliance, information and governance perspective, the AI oregon instrumentality learning engines look to beryllium automatically included connected our phones oregon laptops whether we similar it oregon not.

“We are allowing those fewer elder managers to proceed to beryllium inquisitive astir the technology. We person besides agreed we volition beryllium maintaining a beardown committedness to support our intelligence spot and respect our quality creators. In the play reported, we continued to put successful our Warhammer Studio — hiring much creatives successful aggregate disciplines from concepting and creation to penning and sculpting. Talented and passionate individuals that marque Warhammer the rich, evocative IP that our hobbyists and we each love.”

Games Workshop owns and operates a fig of hugely fashionable tabletop warfare games, including Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar. Its halfway concern is selling miniatures and container sets that are utilized by fans to play these games, but determination are a fig of different originative aspects of the hobby that Games Workshop invests in, specified arsenic publication selling, creation sales, and animation production.

Last month, Displate was forced to contradict that 1 of its pieces of authoritative Warhammer 40,000 artwork was the merchandise of generative AI, insisting “red flags” spotted by fans were the effect of quality error.

The Warhammer 40,000 mounting is successful galore ways built upon the evocative and enduring creation drawn by the likes of John Blanche, who shaped its "grimdark" aesthetic alongside different cardinal Games Workshop staff. This official, human-made Warhammer 40,000 artwork is beloved by fans, astir of whom instrumentality a dim presumption of the specified whiff of generative AI “art” sold oregon released successful immoderate authoritative capableness by either Games Workshop itself, oregon its partners.

Indeed, Games Workshop sells costly Warhammer 40,000 ‘codex’ rulebooks that are packed with stunning authoritative creation arsenic good arsenic lore. Any proposition that this creation was created either successful portion oregon wholly by generative AI tools would apt origin a assemblage uproar.

The God-Emperor, by John Blanche. Image credit: Games Workshop.

Games Workshop’s prohibition connected AI is successful opposition to immoderate amusement companies, immoderate of whom person gone all-in connected the tech contempt assorted backlashes to their use. The CEO of Genvid — the institution down choose-your-own-adventure interactive bid similar Silent Hill Ascension — has claimed "consumers mostly bash not care" astir generative AI, and stated that: "Gen Z loves AI slop."

EA CEO Andrew Wilson has said AI is "the precise halfway of our business," and Square Enix precocious implemented wide layoffs and reorganized, saying it needed to beryllium "aggressive successful applying AI." Dead Space creator Glen Schofield besides precocious elaborate his plans to “fix” the manufacture successful portion via the usage of generative AI successful crippled development, and erstwhile God of War dev Meghan Morgan Juinio said: "... if we don’t clasp [AI], I deliberation we’re selling ourselves short.”

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].