The tech billionaire Elon Musk wants to generate an entire video game using AI. The initiative has faced some criticism, including from Dead Space creator Glen Schofield, who reportedly called it “nonsense.”
What does Elon Musk have in mind? In November 2024, Elon Musk seemed fed up with current video games. He announced that his startup xAI would have its own AI game studio to make video games good again, indirectly criticizing gaming studios.
As Dexerto reported on X, Elon Musk plans to release a fully AI-generated game within a year, by the end of 2026. This plan has already faced criticism in the past, and now game developer Glen Schofield is expressing concerns.
Elon Musk’s Cybertruck has at least made it into the game Fortnite:
Glen Schofield advocates for the use of AI, sees problems elsewhere
What does Glen Schofield say about it? Glen Schofield, the creator of Dead Space, also has something to say about Elon Musk’s plan. As PC Gamer reports, Glen Schofield discussed not only the general use of AI in video games in his presentation “Ten Ways I Come Up with Ideas” but also specifically Elon Musk’s idea.
One year? In one year they will be able to develop a game? No, he is talking nonsense. (…) Develop a game in a year? I mean, sure, someone will manage it. But I don’t think it will be great. He’s just talking nonsense. That’s my opinion. I’d like to tell him that too.
– Glen Schofield via PC Gamer
Glen Schofield mentioned that essential foundations are still missing to enable a fully AI-generated game. The problem is that AI developers have not received input from game developers, and thus the AI is not properly tuned to video games. Therefore, AI tools specifically designed for game development need to be developed first, Schofield said.
What else did Glen Schofield say? Generally, Glen Schofield is an advocate for the use of AI, even in the video game industry. He reportedly demonstrated in his presentation how he already uses AIs like Midjourney to generate ideas for game development.
For example, he would use image generation to create images that he could then provide to his Creative Director. He would also have his own drawings further developed through the AI.
Glen Schofield is not the first to criticize Elon Musk’s plan to use AI for the video games of his gaming studio. One of the publishers of Baldur’s Gate 3 also had a negative opinion about the tech billionaire’s plan: Elon Musk’s gaming studio is heavily criticized by a publisher of Baldur’s Gate 3; AI is not the solution.
