Larian Studios walks back AI for concept art after Divinity backlash, sets ethical boundaries
12 Sources
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Baldur's Gate 3 studio says it won't use AI for concept art or writing
Following some controversy, the developers at Baldur's Gate 3 creator Larian Studios have further clarified their use of generative AI. CEO Swen Vincke and other Larian developers held an AMA on Reddit where they answered users' questions about the team's next title, Divinity. They also fielded
[2]
'There is not going to be any GenAI art in Divinity': BG3 studio Larian draws line in the sand
Larian Studios has taken the chance of a Reddit AMA to answer some of the most pressing questions from its fans concerning its upcoming game, Divinity, presented with a shocking trailer at The Games Awards 2025. After the overwhelming acclaim earned through Baldur's Gate 3, a fantasy role-playing
[3]
'Baldur's Gate 3' Game Studio Says 'Divinity' Won't Include AI-Generated Art - Decrypt
The developer said it may test AI tools internally, but will avoid generative AI for concept art and final assets. Larian Studios, the developer behind 2023's award-winning role-playing game Baldur's Gate 3, said Friday that its upcoming game Divinity will not include any AI-generated art --
[4]
Larian swears off gen AI concept art tools and says 'There is not going to be any GenAI art in Divinity,' but it's still 'trying [AI] things out across departments'
Larian landed in hot water last month when -- in a chat with Bloomberg -- bossman Swen Vincke mentioned that the Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity studio had using generative AI at the studio and that devs "often use AI tools to explore ideas, flesh out PowerPoint presentations, develop concept art and
[5]
Divinity Maker Revises AI Stance After RPG Fan Blowback
The Divinity maker elaborated on controversial comments about gen AI from last year Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke has now shared more details about how the acclaimed RPG studio will be approaching the use of generative AI tools for developing its next game, Divinity. Speaking to fans in an AMA on
[6]
Divinity Won't Have Any GenAI Art, Says Larian Studios
The studio said that GenAI could help it in other departments Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian Studios has clarified its stance on generative AI use weeks after CEO Swen Vincke admitted to the company utilising the new technology in game development. The Larian boss confirmed that there would be
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Larian says Divinity won't have AI-generated penises: "I can guarantee that all the genitals in the game be manually crafted with love"
AI may very well be an existential threat to humanity, but at least we no longer have to worry about its most harrowing implication: Larian has confirmed Divinity won't have any AI-generated genitals. Before I reveal the deeply silly tweet at the heart of this story, it's worth noting that Larian
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One Game Publisher Is Pushing Back Against AI Art With Contracts That Ban It: 'It's Cancerous' - Kotaku
Companies pumping hundreds of billions in investment into new generative AI tools and LLM models promote it as a sea change technology that will be as revolutionary as the introduction of the desktop computer. Even some game industry figures believe it will usher in a new era in which games are
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Larian Studios Will "Refrain From Using GenAI Tools" to Develop Concept Art, But Will Still Try Apply GenAI Tools Elsewhere
When Larian Studios announced Divinity at The Game Awards 2025, it likely did not think what would follow would be swarms of backlash targeted at the studio and its chief executive officer, Swen Vincke. Not because it had announced a new Divinity game, but because Vincke had made it clear that
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Larian states that upcoming Divinity won't feature AI generated art but might use AI elsewhere
The Baldur's Gate III studio has clarified its stance on the controversial technology. Despite making arguably one of the greatest video games of all-time in Baldur's Gate III, developer Larian has found itself in all kinds of hot water as of recently as the studio's stance on artificial
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"Trained on Data We Own", Divinity Dev Explains How AI Will Be Used Without Replacing Humans
They assured that Larian Studios is explicitly committed to their actor agreements of not using the voice recording to train AI voice modelers. Larian Studios has been one of the most loved game developers in the community for years now. Their success with Baldur's Gate 3 only made them incredibly
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"If we're publishing the game, 'no f***ing AI assets'": CEO of Manor Lords publisher Hooded Horse bans gen AI art and calls it "cancerous"
Firmly countering the full-throated endorsements of generative AI made by large companies like EA and Ubisoft, the CEO of markedly smaller publisher Hooded Horse, a strategy and simulation specialist known by many for city builder hit Manor Lords, says it's begun explicitly banning gen AI art in
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Larian Studios reversed its position on using generative AI for concept art following intense fan criticism. CEO Swen Vincke announced no AI-generated art will appear in Divinity, but the studio will continue experimenting with AI tools trained exclusively on proprietary data. The move addresses concerns about training data origins and consent while maintaining focus on workflow efficiency.
Larian Studios Abandons Gen AI Concept Art Tools After Fan Backlash
Larian Studios has significantly revised its AI stance following fierce criticism from fans, developers, and former employees. CEO Swen Vincke announced during a Reddit AMA that the studio will no longer use generative AI for concept art development in its upcoming game Divinity
1
. "There is not going to be any GenAI art in Divinity," Vincke stated, drawing a clear line after weeks of controversy2
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Source: Beebom
The reversal comes after Vincke's December interview with Bloomberg, where he mentioned the Baldur's Gate 3 studio was using AI tools to "explore ideas, flesh out PowerPoint presentations, develop concept art and write placeholder text"
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. Those comments triggered immediate backlash from the gaming community, forcing Larian Studios to clarify its position multiple times5
.Setting Boundaries on AI-Generated Art and Training Data
While Larian Studios has eliminated gen AI concept art tools from its workflow, Vincke left room for future AI use under strict conditions. "We will not generate 'creative assets' that end up in a game without being 100% sure about the origins of the training data and the consent of those who created the data," he wrote
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. If generative AI models are used to create in-game assets, they will be trained exclusively on data Larian owns4
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Source: PC Gamer
This approach directly addresses two primary concerns about AI in game development: the replacement of creative teams and the use of stolen artwork in training data. Machine Learning Director Gabriel Bosque emphasized that over 100,000 voice lines are scheduled for Divinity, recorded by hundreds of actors, and the studio has committed in actor agreements not to use recordings to train AI voice modelers
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.Writing Teams Reject AI Text Generation for Quality Concerns
Beyond visual assets, Larian Studios also clarified its position on using generative AI for writing. Writing Director Adam Smith stated that "we don't have any text generation touching our dialogues, journal entries or other writing in Divinity"
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. A limited group experimented with text generation tools, but Smith rated the results at "3/10 at best," noting that even his worst first drafts achieve at least "4/10" and that the iteration required to reach Larian's quality standards proved enormous1
.Related Stories
Continued AI Experimentation Across Departments Raises Questions
Despite the restrictions on concept art and writing, Vincke confirmed that Larian Studios continues experimenting with AI tools across departments to improve workflow speed. "We continuously try to improve the speed with which we can try things out. The more iterations we can do, the better in general the gameplay is," he explained
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. The studio hopes AI can enable faster idea refinement, leading to more focused development cycles, less waste, and higher-quality games2
.Bosque added that machine learning technology helps reduce "mechanical legwork" and frees creative teams to focus on rewarding work, though specific applications remain vague
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. This ambiguity leaves some fans concerned about how extensively AI tools will influence the final product, even with proprietary training data safeguards in place4
.As major publishers like Square Enix and Microsoft have slashed jobs in favor of automation, Larian's commitment to using AI only for prototyping and with ethical boundaries offers a different model for AI in game development
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. Whether this satisfies players who expect human creativity to drive their favorite RPG experiences remains to be seen as Divinity's development progresses.
Source: GameReactor
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