Electronic Arts has signed a deal with Stability AI, the company behind the Stable Diffusion generative AI image maker, to—deep breath—”co-develop transformative AI models, tools, and workflows that empower our artists, designers, and developers to reimagine how content is built.”
“For more than 40 years, EA has led through technological shifts across interactive entertainment, redefining what is possible for our global community of players,” the announcement states. “At the core of that progress is the belief that technology powers creativity—amplifying imagination, accelerating expression, and enabling our teams to deliver bold, new experiences that inspire the world to play.
“Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have long been cornerstones of innovation at EA—powering everything from intelligent gameplay and real-time animation to physics simulation, pathfinding solutions, and more efficient development pipelines.”
There’s no arguing that point. The technology used to build games today has evolved more than a little bit beyond what was at hand when EA first put the words “we are an association of electronic artists” to paper, and the general concept of AI has been around at least since the first NPC. But contemporary generative AI is something vastly different: It’s seen by many not as a tool, but as a substitute—which is no doubt why EA tries so hard in its announcement to emphasize the human element of the whole thing.
“With humans at the center of storytelling, we’re evolving how we work so that AI becomes a trusted ally: supporting faster iteration, expanding creative possibilities, accelerating workflows, and allowing more time to focus on what matters most—building world-class games and experiences that entertain massive online communities,” it goes on. “It can draft, generate, and analyze, but it can’t imagine, empathize, or dream. That’s the work of EA’s extraordinary artists, designers, developers, storytellers, and innovators.”
Kallol Mitra, EA’s vice president of creative innovation, which is apparently a real executive role, said the company is “amplifying” the creativity of EA developers by “giving artists, designers, and developers the power to dream bigger and build more,” while EA Sports technical art head Steve Kestell said AI “will allow creativity to get directly from people’s minds, and into our experiences.”
“Partnerships like this are how we evolve the craft of game-making and give our teams the tools to tell deeper, more meaningful stories,” added Rick Stringfellow, head of visual content for EA Entertainment.
EA said one of the first things to come out of the deal will be the development of “artist-driven workflows” that will help speed up the development of in-game assets. It will also explore “AI systems that can pre-visualize entire 3D environments from a series of intentional prompts, allowing artists to creatively direct the generation of game content.”
The emphasis on the importance of the human element in an increasingly AI-driven environment comes amid worry that EA’s recent acquisition by Saudi Arabia’s PIF and some private equity firms could lead to major layoffs. The deal is a leveraged buyout that puts $20 billion in debt on EA’s books, and if you want to know how that’s even legal, PC Gamer’s Lincoln Carpenter has it all broken down in detail; but the relevant point is that EA has to cover that debt, and that’s almost certainly going to require deep cost-cutting, something it’s reportedly looking to AI to make possible. That could mean using AI tools to more efficiently manage projects, but it could just as easily mean a serious uptick in generative AI usage, which would presumably EA to slash its payroll, potentially significantly.
Stability AI, you may recall, was sued in 2023 by Getty Images over allegations that it “unlawfully copied and processed millions of images protected by copyright,” in order to train its own image generation systems. Around the same time, Stability AI was one of three AI image generation outfits named in a class action lawsuit filed by artists who likewise claim that generative AI systems are training on their work without permission. The Getty lawsuit was modified earlier this year, but both actions remain in progress.
