Arc Raiders is a "trojan horse" for AI use in game development, Nexon says

South Korean publisher Nexon has said that Embark’s Arc Raiders essentially served as proof that using AI tools during game development can result in a well-received successful project as the company plans to expand its usage internally.

The details:

• In a recent financial report, Nexon CEO Junghun Lee said Arc Raiders acts as a “Trojan Horse” for demonstrating how AI can be applied in game development, arguing that it gives developers and live-service teams more time for creative work and less time on routine tasks.
• Nexon said Embark’s approach centers on identifying what should be done by hand and what can be handled more efficiently by machines, with studio CEO Patrick Söderlund describing the results as two games built with significantly fewer people and at “a fraction of the cost” expected for AAA development.
• The company also said it wants to push this approach more broadly through an internal AI initiative called Mono Lake, which it describes as an end-to-end intelligence platform for development and live-service decisions.
• Arc Raiders has already drawn criticism over AI-generated voice work, and Embark has since shifted to having real actors re-record some lines, with Söderlund saying that “a real professional actor is better than AI.” The same technology was used for its previous title, The Finals, where it drew similar criticism, though the studio defended its use at the time.