Key Takeaways
1. Larian Studios has decided to stop using generative AI in the concept art phase for Divinity after receiving backlash from gamers.
2. CEO Swen Vincke emphasized that the studio’s talented team of artists will create all final artwork, with no AI-generated content included.
3. While discontinuing AI use in concept art, Larian is still exploring how AI can improve other development processes for faster iterations and enhanced gameplay.
4. The studio ensures that any use of generative AI for in-game assets will only be based on data they own and after obtaining consent from creators.
5. Writing director Adam Smith confirmed that no generative AI has been used for text creation in Divinity, with prior tests scoring poorly.
After significant pushback, Larian Studios, the team behind Baldur’s Gate 3 and the upcoming game Divinity, has changed its position on the use of generative AI in Divinity. However, the studio continues to believe that AI could assist in improving different parts of the development process to create a top-notch experience.
Controversy Unfolds
The issue began when Larian announced Divinity at The Game Awards 2025 after a mysterious teaser. To mark this event, Swen Vincke, the CEO of Larian, had a chat with Bloomberg, stating that the studio was experimenting with generative AI for tasks like concept art, presentations, and placeholder text. He emphasized that no AI-generated content would appear in the final product.
Online Reactions
Gamers expressed strong discontent with Vincke’s remarks, leading to a heated response from him. He stated:
“Holy fk, guys, we’re not trying to replace concept artists with AI. We have a talented team of 72 artists, including 23 concept artists, and we’re looking to hire more. Their art is original, and I’m truly proud of their work.”
To address the growing backlash, Vincke engaged in a Reddit AMA where he confronted gamers’ concerns directly. In his initial remarks, he clarified:
“First off, there won’t be any GenAI art in Divinity. There’s been a lot of chatter about our use of AI tools for concept art exploration. We’ve already said that AI is not producing the actual concept art, but we see how this caused some confusion.”
Clarifying Future Use of AI
To eliminate any uncertainties, the studio has decided to stop using GenAI tools in the concept art phase. This way, there will be no debate over the artwork’s source.
While Vincke confirmed the studio’s decision to discontinue GenAI in concept art, he highlighted that Larian is not abandoning AI altogether. He explained:
“Even so, we are constantly looking for ways to improve how quickly we can experiment. More iterations can lead to a better overall gameplay experience. We believe GenAI can assist with this, so we’re testing it in various departments. Our hope is that it will help us refine concepts faster, resulting in a more streamlined development cycle, less waste, and ultimately a better game.”
The important takeaway is that Larian will not create ‘creative assets’ for the game without being completely certain about the origins of the training data and obtaining consent from the creators. If a GenAI model is used for in-game assets, it will be based on data that we own.
Director’s Insights
In the same AMA thread, writing director Adam Smith elaborated on Larian’s attempts to use GenAI for text creation. He assured that Larian “hasn’t used any text generation for our dialogues, journal entries, or other writing in Divinity.” He mentioned that a small test was conducted, which resulted in a score of “3/10” at best.
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