Silent Hill and Metal Gear publisher Konami doesn't believe the market will change significantly due to AI

The company insists in a new financial report that developers' ideation process is "not easily replaceable."

AI Castlevania Konami Metal Gear Solid Silent Hill

The issue of the impact of artificial intelligence on their development practices and the external use of this technology by people who infringe copyrighted material have become major concerns for many game studios. With the release of Konami's financial statements today, the company took the opportunity to offer its thoughts on the matter.

It's possible that investor excitement for the technology has left the company feeling obligated to address the seismic shifts the industry is facing due to artificial intelligence, as well as the potential uses it may have for Konami itself in its latest financial report. Notably, this statement focuses on the idea that regardless of AI advances or capabilities, some essentials in game development cannot be replaced by technology.

Hideki Hayakawa, representative director and president of Konami Digital Entertainment, said: "In general, AI is thought to allow anyone to make games easily, thus lowering the barrier to entry. However, I do not believe that the market will change significantly. Barriers to entry have already fallen with the growth of general-purpose game engines and the growth of user-generated content in games. Also, even if the use of artificial intelligence leads to greater efficiency, I believe that the most important factor in the development of interesting and innovative games is the people, especially the creators. Not only that, developers form "teams" to develop games, and within that, people from different backgrounds exchange ideas and come up with ideas to create new, never-before-seen games that expand gaming's potential. "This kind of interaction cannot be easily replaced."

While this doesn't completely rule out the company's use of artificial intelligence, as the report notes that the technology presents a "significant opportunity" and could support developers in some ways, Konami is cautious about researching it, gently instructing its teams on guardrails and protocols for using it. This statement also echoes that of other studios such as Sega, although Konami emphasizes the idea of players and developers coming together to get the most out of a gaming experience, one that a creator-only AI experience cannot provide, regardless of quality.

This emphasis on user-generated content may be due to the fact that the studio is currently developing its own alternative to Roblox with Wai Wai World Craft. Either way, it's remarkable to see the studio moving away from fully embracing technology.

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