The Divinity Developer Clarifies Its Use of AI Tools for New Project

The team behind popular RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin has recently teased its next major project, creating significant excitement within the player base. However, recent comments from the company's figurehead have brought a new dimension to the discussion, touching on the team's philosophy toward generative artificial intelligence.

Augmenting Workflows, Not Cutting Jobs

In a new statement, the studio's founder explained that the company is utilizing AI technology for certain preliminary tasks. These include enhancing PowerPoint slides, producing early-stage visual ideas, and creating placeholder text.

Crucially, Vincke emphasized that the shipping assets in the game will be crafted exclusively by actual writers. "Larian is developing everything ourselves," he said.

We are actively expanding our pool of storytellers and are actively forming writing teams.

Since this area is being particularly mentioned — we currently have twenty-three concept artists and have positions available for more artists.

Each initiative we do is supplementary and aimed at letting our team spend additional energy on actual creation.

Any AI system applied correctly is additive to a creative team workflow, never a stand-in for their craft.

Addressing Concerns and Clarifying the Vision

The news of employing this technology at first generated backlash among some the community. In reaction, Vincke issued more clarification on online platforms.

"Our team utilizes machine learning to gather inspiration, similar to we use search engines and reference books," he explained. "During the very early ideation stages we use it as a simple sketch for layout which we then replace with hand-crafted illustrations."

He noted, "Larian brings on artists for their unique talent, not for their willingness to follow what a machine suggests."

Key Areas of AI Integration

Vincke had previously detailed the studio's practical strategy to this technology, grouping its use into key areas:

• Handling Monotonous Jobs: This includes polishing mocap data, voice editing, and technical processes like retargeting animations.
• Rapid Prototyping ('White Boxing'): Using tools to speedily create rough versions of gameplay ideas to experiment with concepts prior to full production.
• Long-Term Aspirations: Investigating how machine learning could one day enhance emergent player agency, specifically in simulating player-driven narratives in a vast role-playing world.

He explicitly affirmed that key artistic domains — like music composition — are are in no way fields where the company is reducing artistic talent. On the contrary, Larian is expanding its staff in these precise roles.

"Larian is neither releasing a game with machine-made assets, and we are certainly not looking at reducing staff to replace them with artificial intelligence," Vincke concluded.