With almost every industry finding a way to somehow integrate AI into its products or workflow, it was only a matter of time before gaming studios followed suit. Now, in a (not so) surprising move, Electronic Arts or EA, the studio behind juggernauts like FIFA and Battlefield, has joined forces with the creators of Stable Diffusion to shape AI’s role in the next era of gaming. The two companies aim to “co-develop transformative generative AI models, tools, and workflows that empower EA’s artists, designers, and developers to reimagine how games are made.”
Despite the ongoing pushback and debate surrounding the use of AI, it looks like companies are in no mood to slow down. From Google cramming AI-powered summaries into its search results to AI-powered wearables, companies have been doubling down on putting AI into everyday experiences. The latest to join that wave is EA, teaming up with Stability AI to rethink how games are made. This new partnership between the two will explore how generative tools can help streamline EA’s creative workflows and “open new doors for rapid prototyping and visual storytelling, allowing artists and developers to ideate, visualize, and refine gameplay experiences faster and at greater scale.”
Stability AI, best known for its Stable Diffusion text-to-image model, has already demonstrated how generative technology can help generate vivid, photorealistic art. The company also has an array of 3D models, like the Stable Fast 3D model, which can produce high-quality 3D assets from just one image. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the two companies are joining hands to make game development a bit easier. Stability AI and EA’s early efforts will focus on using AI to create accurate “Physically Based Rendering materials” via tools “that generate 2D textures that maintain exact colour and light accuracy across any environment.” Per the press release, “The partnership will also pursue developing AI systems capable of pre-visualizing entire 3D environments from a series of intentional prompts, allowing artists to creatively direct the generation of game content with unmatched speed and precision.”
While it remains unclear how much time this will truly save or how refined the AI-generated in-game assets will look in production, it is still a major step toward AI-assisted mainstream game development. “Creativity has always been at the heart of everything our teams do,” said Kallol Mitra, EA’s VP of Creative Innovation, during the announcement. “Together with Stability AI, we’re amplifying that creativity. Giving artists, designers, and developers the power to dream bigger and build more.”
