Let it Die: Inferno Reveals Extensive AI Use in Gaming Production

Made with AI - Let it Die sequel Inferno discloses substantial generative AI use

The Let it Die sequel - Let it Die: Inferno - which is coming out next week (4th December), seems to have been built using a considerable amount of generative AI. Let it Die: Inferno is the somewhat surprising sequel to Suda51 studio Grasshopper's quirky 2016 action game Let it Die, which mixed action and base infiltration and asymmetric multiplayer to novel effect. There was also a purely multiplayer follow-up called Deathverse, which flopped. The Let it Die: Inferno Steam page now discloses: "AI-generated content has been used and then edited by our team for certain parts of the in-game voices, music, and graphics." This content apparently includes background signboard textures, records illustrations, infocast videos and voices and music. To what degree each of those parts of the game uses AI, we don't know, but the areas outlined - art, video, voice and music - are large areas, so the game's AI use could be substantial. Inferno was only announced to the world a couple of months ago, during a September PlayStation State of Play, so it hasn't had much of a marketing campaign. Perhaps that suggests a project sped to release, which is, of course, something AI could help achieve. Grasshopper isn't involved with the sequel, which is entirely developed by Supertrick Games, co-developer of the original game. And the core of the game has shifted slightly to PvEvP, meaning real-time multiplayer will be a thing here. Were it not for Steam's AI disclosure policy, we likely wouldn't have known about AI use in Inferno until people bought and played it, and noticed it, and reports spread around. In that regard, it's a helpful tool for shoppers, should they care. But there are people who think AI disclosures aren't necessary, such as Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney, who believes AI use will be so commonplace there's "no sense" in making every game disclose how it's been used. Does it affect your buying decision?

The AI slop-hose comes to Let It Die as its surprise sequel reveals 'voices, music, and graphics' shaped by the tech

"AI-generated content has been used and then edited by our team." Well, that's a shame. Let It Die: Inferno -- the surprise sequel to weirdo 2016 roguelike Let It Die -- has a little announcement to make: "AI-generated content has been used and then edited by our team for certain parts of the in-game voices, music, and graphics." That's per the game's AI-generated content disclosure that recently popped up on Steam (via Eurogamer). The disclosure indicates that AI has seeped into a fair chunk of the game, touching "Background signboard textures, records illustrations, InfoCast videos," as well as "Voices and music." Which is a real bummer, if you ask me. The original Let It Die isn't exactly a beloved classic, but it's a strange and unique thing, like so much that comes out of Goichi Suda's Grasshopper Manufacture studio. A very human game, then -- a testament to the powers of what voice actor Jennifer English so recently called our "beautiful, creative, human brains." Let It Die: Inferno isn't a Grasshopper Manufacture product, mind you. Its sole development studio is Supertrick Games, which (stay with me) is a kind of rump state of the original Grasshopper Manufacture. Simply put: once upon a time, the Grasshopper Manufacture that was owned by GungHo split into two companies -- the current Grasshopper, which took the name along with Suda himself and operated independently of GungHo; and Supertrick, which retained a bunch of the original Grasshopper's staff and stuck with its original parent company. Got that? Great. Not sure I do. Anyway, to be excruciatingly fair, the notice doesn't say how much AI-generated material has wormed its way into those aspects of the game, but it certainly seems pretty pervasive based on the areas named. We'll find out for certain when the game releases on December 4, but either way I'm sad to see a game (now series) with a distinctive style fall under the sway of AI's regurgitated content slurry.