KCD2 Boss: Using AI to replace devs is a flawed idea
The hype surrounding generative artificial intelligence in video game development often suggests a revolution—a future where algorithms replace artists and designers overnight. But for many studio leaders, this vision hits a wall of reality. The current trend of using AI to wholesale generate assets is, quite simply, misguided.
Martin Klima, the CEO of Warhorse Studios, the team behind the acclaimed Kingdom Come: Deliverance, argues that this approach is fundamentally wrong-headed. He insists that AI is not a magic wand that eliminates the need for human creativity; rather, it is simply a tool that is being applied in a way that doesn’t align with how development actually works.
“AI is not a get out of jail free card,” Klima states, dispelling the notion that generative tools will replace developers. He points out that the simplified mental model many people use about AI—that it can simply replace creative jobs—is flawed. He believes the technology doesn’t function in that way, and applying it in the current manner is inefficient.
However, the conversation shifts when we look at the potential benefits. If AI is viewed strictly as an efficiency multiplier, the possibilities become much more exciting. Klima suggests that AI could enable developers to streamline administrative tasks, allowing teams to focus on higher-level creative decisions. This efficiency could manifest as the creation of games with more complex branching classes or a greater number of missions, ultimately allowing developers to create bigger, more ambitious worlds for the same budget.
This perspective frames AI not as a replacement for the creative process, but as a powerful assistant. This idea is echoed by industry figures across the board. Creators like Hideo Kojima, the mastermind behind Death Stranding, share this view, seeing the technology as a helpful lever rather than a workforce usurper.
The core debate rests on intent. When AI is used to generate entire assets—images, video, and audio—it bypasses the collaborative, iterative process that defines quality game development. True innovation lies in using these tools to enhance human work, streamlining tedious administrative tasks, and unlocking new structural possibilities, rather than using them to simply substitute the very human ingenuity that makes games great.
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