Sony announces generative AI partnership with Bandai Namco

Sony is partnering with Bandai Namco on a new generative AI “collaborative initiative” while laying out a broader plan to embed AI across PlayStation development, which it says will amplify, but not replace, the creativity of its studios.

The details:

• The new project with Bandai Namco is described as a “collaborative pilot” focused on how generative AI and other “future technologies” can speed up content creation and improve individual developer productivity, initially centered on video production rather than specific announced games.
• Sony Group CEO Hiroki Totoki called AI an “amplifier of human imagination and a catalyst for new possibilities,” stressing that human creators must remain at the forefront and that AI should support artists, not serve as a substitute for them.
• During the presentation (via Variety), PlayStation boss Hideaki Nishino said every first‑party studio is already using AI tools to automate repetitive work, boost engineering productivity, and accelerate areas like quality assurance, 3D modeling, and animation. Nishino cited internal tools that, for example, convert video of real hairstyles into detailed 3D hair models and experiments with AI-driven NPCs that have their own personalities to help create more “living, dynamic worlds” for players.
• Beyond development, Sony is already using AI and machine learning in the PlayStation business itself, including payment routing systems that it says have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue and ongoing work on personalized game and accessory recommendations.