Larian boss responds to criticism of generative AI use: it's something we are constantly discussing internally

Larian Studios, Divinity and the Generative AI Fallout

Larian Studios is at the center of a controversy after Bloomberg reported the studio used generative AI during development of the upcoming RPG Divinity — notably for ideation, placeholder text, concept art and internal presentation materials. Larian CEO Swen Vincke insists the final game will contain "everything [from] human actors; we're writing everything ourselves."

What Bloomberg reported

The Bloomberg piece (paywalled) claims Larian used generative AI for several production tasks. The article specifically mentions:

• Idea generation and brainstorming.
• Placeholder text during writing and design iterations.
• Concept art used for early visual exploration.
• Materials for PowerPoint and internal presentations (possible use of Microsoft Copilot features).

Immediate reactions: community and dev backlash

The disclosure provoked strong online backlash from players and some developers, sharper because Larian enjoys deep goodwill for titles like Divinity: Original Sin 2. Responses included:

• Mitch Dyer (writer): questioned how "we're writing everything ourselves" reconciles with placeholder text.
• Jeff Talbot (senior concept artist): warned that using AI for concept art or writing replaces people.
• Selena Tobin (former Larian environment artist): urged Larian to "reconsider and change your direction" and to respect employees who don't need AI assistance.

"Any ML tool used well is additive to a creative team or individual's workflow, not a replacement for their skill or craft." — Excerpt from Larian's full statement.

Larian's full statement (verbatim)

"We've been continuously increasing our pool of concept artists, writers and story-tellers, are actively putting together writer rooms, casting and recording performances from actors and hiring translators.

Since concept art is being called out explicitly - we have 23 concept artists and have job openings for more. These artists are creating concept art day in day out for ideation and production use.

Everything we do is incremental and aimed at having people spend more time creating.

Any ML tool used well is additive to a creative team or individual's workflow, not a replacement for their skill or craft.

We are researching and understanding the cutting edge of ML as a toolset for creatives to use and see how it can make their day-to-day lives easier, which will let us make better games.

We are neither releasing a game with any AI components, nor are we looking at trimming down teams to replace them with AI.

While I understand it's a subject that invokes a lot of emotion, it's something we are constantly discussing internally through the lens of making everyone's working day better, not worse."

Why this is messy to report and discuss

Generative AI coverage often blurs distinct tools and use-cases. Key complications include:

• Many genAI tools exist beyond public chatbots; some studios build proprietary ML tools for internal use.
• Older automation/ML systems (e.g., procedural world generation, robot animation rigs) get conflated with new generative models.
• The term "contains AI material" is ambiguous: does using AI during development mean the released game "contains" AI output?

Context and examples from the industry

Other studios use bespoke ML tools: Plunkback uses procedural world-generation tech; Embark developed animation ML for Arc Raiders. These highlight that "AI" covers a wide spectrum from generative imagery to applied machine learning pipelines.

Where this leaves Divinity and Larian

• Larian acknowledges research into ML tools but denies shipping AI-driven game content or replacing staff.
• Community trust remains fragile; transparency and clear boundaries will shape public reaction.
• Reporting will continue; developers and players want specifics about tooling, provenance and final asset authorship.

FAQ

Q: Did Larian say Divinity will contain assets?

A: Larian's CEO Swen Vincke stated the released game will not contain AI components and that final writing and performances are human-made.

Q: What kinds of AI did the report mention?

A: Bloomberg mentioned ideation, placeholder text, concept art and PowerPoint materials. Larian did not specify which ML or genAI tools they used.

Q: Does using AI during development mean a game "contains" AI material?

A: This is contested. Some argue any AI use is baked into the product; others distinguish between internal tooling and final shipped assets. Transparency from studios helps clarify that line.

We will follow up with Larian for further details.