Blizzard Entertainment, the developers of Diablo IV, were recently under scrutiny after an article by Game Rant revealed that the company had a patent filed for using AI-generated artwork in their games. Eric Covington, former game designer for Blizzard, expressed his concerns on Twitter, stating his “artist colleagues deserve better.” However, the situation is not as dire as it seems. As Hearthstone design manager Brenden Sewell clarified, the patent was filed in 2020 and Blizzard has been utilizing machine learning for automating minor tasks for years. There are currently no plans for AI to produce art for their games.
In a recent interview with IGN, World of Warcraft game director Ion Hazzikostas stated that Blizzard has already been using machine learning to automate “really arduous, painful tasks” to free up the time of their talented artists. Blizzard Entertainment president Mike Ybarra also clarified that they will always strive for Blizzard quality and that recent advances in AI are completely unrelated.
Although AI-generated art raises concerns about potential compensation issues for human artists, it seems that Blizzard is only looking to have their artists work less on tedious tasks and more on their creative strengths. And this can be a win-win situation for both the employees and the fans of their games. Do you think this is fair or should video game artists be concerned about AI? Share your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter at @Marcdachamp.
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According to https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/diablo-4-developer-clarifies-ai-patent-controversy-blizzard-entertainment/
The material in this article is written on the basis of another article.
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