Battlefield 6 launched on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X on October 10.
Battlefield 6 held its open beta in August
Photo Credit: EA
Battlefield 6, the newest entry in Electronic Arts' long-running shooter franchise, is now available across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X. Ahead of the launch, EA has said that players won't see anything created by generative AI in the game. The comment comes days after the company announced a $50 billion leveraged buyout deal to go private, with investors reportedly betting on increased AI usage for cost cutting.
EA executive Rebecka Coutaz, who serves as VP general manager at Criterion and Dice, two of the four studios involved in the development of Battlefield 6, told BBC Newsbeat that there was no GenAI-created content within the final game.
Coutaz said that generative AI had been utilised in preparatory stages to allow developers “more time and more space to be creative”.
The executive, however, sees generative AI as a positive for the games medium. She said the technology was “very seducing”, but there wasn't a way to incorporate it into game development workflows yet.
“If we can break the magic with AI it will help us be more innovative and more creative,” Coutaz said.
EA in the past has taken a positive view on AI and has shown willingness to explore the technology and its potential in the medium. The games industry in general has found resistance from creatives and consumers alike on the generative AI front, even as the technology has appealed to investors due to its potential cost-cutting benefits.
Towards the end of September, EA announced it was going private though a $55 billion leveraged buyout deal involving a consortium of investors consisting of private equity firm Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners.
According to an FT report (paywalled) on the buyout, investors are betting that AI can help EA cut operating costs significantly and allow the group to manage the $20 billion debt committed by JPMorgan. People involved in the deal told FT that AI-based cost cuts would boost EA's profits significantly in the coming years.
Use of generative AI, however, has been a point of contention between creatives and large studios. Earlier this year, video game voice actors, represented by the actors' union SAG-AFTRA, reached a deal with video game studios with a focus on AI protections.
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