Nexon CEO says “it’s important to assume every game company is using AI” following Arc Raiders debate

Following the launch of Arc Raiders – and the ongoing debate regarding the use of generative AI – Nexon CEO Junghun Lee has said “it’s important to assume every game company” is using the technology.

Developed by Embark Studios and published by Nexon, Arc Raiders has been criticised for its use of “procedural and AI-based tools to assist with content creation”, as disclosed on the game’s Steam page.

Speaking to Gamespark (translated by Automaton), Lee said “AI has definitely improved efficiency in both game production and live service operations” when asked about the impact generative AI has during development.

“I think it’s important to assume that every game company is now using AI,” he noted.

“But if everyone is working with the same or similar technologies, the real question becomes: how do you survive? I believe it’s important to choose a strategy that increases your competitiveness.”

Last month, Embark Studios CCO Stefan Strandberg told our sister site Eurogamer that its team uses “AI as tools to assist in some content creation, but always in the context of creativity.”

Arc Raiders uses text-to-speech (TTS) for some of its voice acting, which was also implemented in the studio’s previous title The Finals.

“TTS allows us to increase the scope of the game in some areas where we think it’s needed, or where there’s tedious repetition, in situations where the voice actors may not see it as valuable work,” he explained.

“So it’s a wide umbrella, but the experience of the game doesn’t use any generative AI.”

Strandberg added: “When we started the studio we were saying we should be able to capitalise more on these technologies that come out, but studios that were formed 15 years ago or so, they are just set up differently.

“We started with this in mind, how can we leverage new technologies, how can we push new technologies, while keeping the team small and taking creative risks. Also, it can help you increase the scope of a game and get features to be in a state that they wouldn’t be otherwise with such a small team.”

The latest comments from Nexon’s CEO follow ongoing industry conversations regarding the use of AI in Arc Raiders – particularly after Eurogamer’s 2 out of 5 review of the game heavily criticised the use of AI voice generation.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney also weighed in on the argument, defending the use of AI in this instance.

“This technology increases human productivity in some areas by integer multiples, and views on whether this is a net good and should be rewarded, or bad and should be fought against, are speculative and generally distributed along political lines,” Sweeney wrote in the review’s thread on social media.

“Since the author states the pessimistic case, I’ll put the optimistic one here,” he continued.

“Game developers compete to build the best games in order to attract gamers. When tech increases productivity, competition leads to building better games rather than employing fewer people.”

Earlier this year, SAG-AFTRA members in the United States voted in favour of a new agreement that would see protections against AI for voice actors.

This included “consent and disclosure requirements for AI digital replica use and the ability to suspend consent for the generation of new material during a strike.”