Larian’s publishing boss does not believe Musk’s idea of developing AI games in no time at all is the solution the industry needs.
Earlier this week, Elon Musk announced that his studio xAI plans to release a completely AI-generated game by the end of 2026. Currently, AI tools are mostly used to support development. However, the idea of having video games created entirely by artificial intelligence has been met with criticism.
One of the critics is Micheal Douse, head of publishing at Larian, the development studio behind Baldur’s Gate 3. In a thread on X, he clearly opposes Musk’s plans.
Disclaimer:
Elon Musk is considered one of the richest people in the world, but also one of the most controversial. Among other things, there have been transphobic comments, accusations of anti-Semitism because his statement that Jewish investor George Soros “hates humanity” further fueled the conspiracy theory circulating around Soros, and discussions about his attitude toward free speech.
Since Musk’s takeover of Twitter (now X), there have been increasing complaints about the platform’s handling of hate speech, fake news, and political influence. Most recently, Musk personally attacked various European heads of state on X and is actively interfering in the German federal election campaign. In American politics, he is considered a Trump advisor and is expected to fill the newly created position of process optimization under the new president. After Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, Musk made a gesture at a public event that was widely interpreted as a Hitler salute.
Genuinely what this industry needs is not more mathematically produced, psychologically trained gameplay loops, rather more expressions of worlds that folks are engaged with, or want to engage with. AI has its place as a tool, but we have all the tools in the world and they… https://t.co/eL98XeLGW8
— Very AFK (@Cromwelp) October 6, 2025
He has also repeatedly interfered in German politics recently. For example, through a heavily criticized guest article in the Welt newspaper in favor of the AfD, or by offering AfD chancellor candidate Alice Weidel a platform for her livestream via X, during which he made several false statements.
(Not) a $500 trillion idea?
Douse thinks it’s absolutely the wrong idea to have games developed by AI. He believes that “the industry doesn’t need more mathematically generated, psychologically trained gameplay loops.” Instead, he says, it’s worlds that people want to interact with.
For Douse, AI definitely has a “place as a tool” in development, but all the tools in the world “don’t compensate for the incredible lack of compelling leadership.”
“Leadership and vision” are, in his opinion, the solution to the industry’s biggest problem, not artificial intelligence. Douse also explains what he believes this problem to be.
A missed opportunity
Douse believes that publishers and studios have missed an opportunity following the growing decline in physical sales of video games:
When they [retail sales] collapsed, it would have been reasonable to rejoice that you could cut out the middleman and engage directly with the audience in a kind of one-to-one relationship. However, that didn’t happen. It turned into a race of headless chickens chasing the profit and loss statement.
AI cannot be the solution for Douse here: he believes that only games in which people develop something for other people will be successful. “We don’t need more money-making, we need sustainability. These [AI] tools could be useful for that. But under no circumstances as a replacement for people,” explains Douse.
A question of respect
To illustrate his point, Douse uses the word resonance, in the sense of an intense and positive connection that people feel when a game and its world touch them emotionally.
However, this resonance does not exist without “mutual respect,” which in turn requires respect for the art or craft of making video games, according to Douse. But it is precisely this art that needs the human factor, explains Larian’s publishing boss, ending his thread with the conclusion: “Turning games into digital, emotionless content means giving up any resonance… but that’s exactly why people play!”
Musk has not yet revealed any concrete plans for his game, but for Douse, the idea of having it developed entirely by AI produces exactly the product that is most harmful to the industry and also to players.
