Valve writer Erik Wolpaw reveals small team testing AI tools for real-time NPC reactions

Half-Life 2 writer Erik Wolpaw says some people at Valve are looking at AI tools, but he's not "worried about AI taking over creative writing" anytime soon

So far, the headline story in 2026 has been AI. Whether it's the furore around the whole DLSS 5 saga or Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss shipping the game with art assets of gen-AI origin, it's impossible to avoid the topic in videogames and beyond. Today, renowned Valve writer Erik Wolpaw has chimed in. The Half-Life 2 and Portal co-scribe was part of 19th March's MinnMax Show episode (hat tip to GamesRadar) where he got the chance to comment on the current usage of AI tools and where Valve, an infamously secretive developer, stands at the moment. Even though Wolpaw departed the company in 2017 to co-write Psychonauts 2's story, he returned to work on the VR-only spinoff Half-Life: Alyx as a contractor. He revealed a "small group of people" have "been looking at some AI stuff," adding it's also "taught him some stuff" before underlining he isn't "worried about AI taking over creative writing" anytime soon. According to him, artificial intelligence is still terrible at coming up with, and delivering, the compelling storytelling that most people connect with: "I'm not just saying that defensively. We've really been messing around with it. And like art, there's a lot of questions about that, but I don't think it's going to - anytime soon - be writing novels that are better than human." He is, however, at least partially interested in how it could potentially help thinner writing for characters that react to players' actions (which reminds me of the gen-AI NPCs talk that's gone nowhere so far): "If you throw enough artists at a game, enough humans can create the art for a game or almost any of the disciplines. The thing with game writing and game writing specifically is that we have always had to simulate... characters in the game reacting to whatever you do in real-time." While he thinks it's those areas that are "worth investigating" over time, he also rushed to make it very clear that Valve isn't adding anything AI-generated to any of their games, at least right now: "This is just some people sitting around, being like, 'This is a crazy technology - it would be kind of silly for us not to look into it at least.'" It's a similar stance to Capcom's, with the key difference being the Japanese giant has made it official already as it looks to boost productivity. Valve is known for its rather "relaxed" approach to creative thinking and development inside the company, whether it applies to its software or hardware side, with many ideas bouncing around before going anywhere or hitting the bin years into prototype development, so this doesn't exactly come as a surprise. Will it lead anywhere significant? Time will tell, but it's looking bad for 'AI slop' right now.

Valve Writer Says Some At The Studio Are Testing Out AI Tools

The Half-Life writer says the tech is not good at being creative, but could be used to provide real-time responses in games Portal and Half-Life writer Erik Wolpaw recently appeared on a podcast and said that he and a small team at Valve have been "poking around" at using AI to generate text, audio, and more. The veteran games writer says he's not worried about AI "taking over creative writing" anytime soon, but is very interested in how the controversial tech could be used in video games. During an episode of the MinnMax podcast last week, Wolpaw joined the crew to talk about game news and of course, Valve. And the topic of generative AI came up, leading to Wolpaw saying quite a lot about how some devs at Valve are using it while also making it clear this isn't a company-wide initiative, nor is it meant to replace anyone. "So, one thing we've been doing -- and when I say we, I don't mean Valve, I mean a small group of people at Valve -- we've been looking at some AI stuff," said Wolpaw on the podcast. "I'm currently not worried about AI taking over creative writing because it is pretty bad at it. And I'm not just saying that defensively. Like, we've really been messing around with it. I don't think it's going to be anytime soon writing novels that are better than human[-written books]." Wolpaw says, however, that generative tools like ChatGPT could prove useful for letting games and the characters in them react in real time to whatever chaos a player is causing. In fact, according to the Half-Life writer, after toying around with the tech at Valve, that's the thing he claims AI is best at doing. "The thing that with game writing and game writing specifically is that we have always had to simulate...characters in the game reacting to whatever you do," explained Wolpaw. "It's the one place where I feel like AI is worth investigating, game writing. And the thing that we've found is that, and this is just early days...It's not good at being especially creative. It's not good at being funny. But it's kind of interesting in an imagined Grand Theft Auto where you're going around creating a lot of physical chaos. There's a certain amount of social chaos where you have the AI play the straight man as much as it can, and it's just reacting to whatever insanity [happens]. It's one thing it's very good at, just going along with whatever insane thing you say and kind of adjusting to the flow of that." "I am very interested in [AI] in this very specific case," admitted the Half-Life writer who left Valve for a few years before returning in a part-time capacity in 2019. "It will allow you to do something that is impossible, no matter how many humans you throw at it." At a few points in the interview Wolpaw, seemingly aware that this might get reported on and his quotes spread online, tried to make it clear that Valve isn't investing heavily in AI or using it on all of their projects. "When I say we, this is not a Valve...well, it's Valve-endorsed in the sense that we are working for Valve, but just kind of poking around at this stuff," he said. The writer also tried to make it clear this isn't being used on any specific video game that hasn't been announced yet, like, oh, I don't know, Half-Life 3. He added later: "Let it be known far and wide that this is not a concerted Valve thing, right? In fact, this may be the first time they're hearing about it!" "This is nothing other than...just some people sitting around being like 'This is a crazy technology.' It would be kind of silly for us not to look into it at least," said the writer. Wolpaw also said that the idea of using AI to replace people or make games cheaper didn't interest him at all. Instead, he just thinks the tech could be used to make "a better experience for people playing the game."

Half-Life 2 writer says Valve devs have "been looking" at gen AI for help with video game writing: "It's the one place where I feel like AI is worth investigating"

He's "not worried about AI taking over creative writing," though Valve writer Erik Wolpaw, who has gems like Half-Life 2, Left 4 Dead, and Portal under his belt, has shared his opinion on AI in video games - and a bit of what the company has done so far with the controversial technology - in a new episode of MinnMax. "A small group of people at Valve," he reveals, has "been looking at some AI stuff," and it's "taught him a bunch of stuff," apparently. He isn't concerned about the tech taking over any time soon, though. "I'm currently not worried about AI taking over creative writing because it is pretty bad at it," he says. "And I'm not just saying that defensively. We've really been messing around with it. And like art, there's a lot of questions about that, but I don't think it's going to - anytime soon - be writing novels that are better than human." He likens generative AI to chess programs, which the "best people in the world" are still capable of beating. Gen AI can still play a useful role in game writing, however, Wolpaw believes. "If you throw enough artists at a game, enough humans can create the art for a game or almost any of the disciplines. The thing with game writing and game writing specifically is that we have always had to simulate... characters in the game reacting to whatever you do in real time." He uses Left 4 Dead as an example: if a specific event occurs, a particular line will play. "It's the one place where I feel like AI is worth investigating, is game writing." Wolpaw does stress that whatever work developers are doing with AI might be "Valve-endorsed in the sense that we are working for Valve," but it's "not attached to any particular game" and is just "poking around" for now. "This is just some people sitting around, being like, 'This is a crazy technology - it would be kind of silly for us not to look into it at least.'" As for how the mentioned Valve devs are employing the use of gen AI right now, it sounds like it's just for help with writing, like NPC or world reactions - the same sort of writing Wolpaw uses games such as Left 4 Dead to describe. "Let it be known far and wide that this is not a concerted Valve thing," though, the writer stresses. "It's just trying to find best practices with the technology that we currently have access to." It's a hot topic, that's for sure. Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu recently described how he's "never used AI and probably never will" himself, as it's not rewarding. Arc Raiders lead Patrick Söderlund also spoke on the matter, stating that games "can't be built by an AI" and "I hope they never can." Motoi Okamoto, Silent Hill series producer, detailed how 2025 Konami title Silent Hill f contains "the kind of bold choices AI would never be able to make" as well. Here's hoping that, should Valve use gen AI to test reactive dialogue, no generated content actually makes its way into any games - because, let's face it... Wolpaw is certainly right about one thing, and that's the fact that the tech can't replace human creativity.

Valve Writer Erik Wolpaw Reveals a Potential AI Use Case He's Been Quietly Exploring

When I say 'we,' I don't mean Valve. I mean, a small group of people at Valve. You're always getting to poke around at new stuff. And so we've been looking at some AI stuff. In fact, this may be the first time they're hearing about it. The thing that game writing specifically always had to simulate is characters in the game reacting to whatever you do in real time. We make these matrices; Left 4 Dead is a good example: if this happens and this happens, we'll play this line. That's the one place where I feel like AI is worth investigating. Imagine Grand Theft Auto where you're going around creating a lot of physical chaos. There's a certain amount of social chaos where you have the AI play the straight man as much as it can, just reacting to whatever insanity. It's very good at just going along with whatever insane thing you say and adjusting to the flow of that. There's something there. I'm not saying I want it only in that case. I'm just saying what we found is that it is the case where it is most successful. What seems to work best, and this is not my full-time job, is where it's kind of human-directed. The stuff that works best is where I've written a scenario, I've written a bunch of lines, it's a real collaboration between me, the writer, and the AI. That's when it works best, and not when the AI is just left to its own devices. We've actually had some stuff that I consider really interesting and really entertaining little scenarios. The Valve writer also clarifies that he does not condone its use for cost-cutting measures, such as reducing human personnel. He also doesn't believe it can help with writing or voicing characters. However, he is interested in leveraging the technology to enable new types of gameplay that could not have been achieved before. Having non-player characters (NPCs) that dynamically react to what the player is doing or even saying would definitely fall under that category. For decades, we've been limited to scripted responses, but generative AI can potentially unlock far more realistic and immersive exchanges with a game world's virtual inhabitants. Inworld has been a pioneer in this sector, even demonstrating that its tech can work on-device. Triple-A games still have to introduce similar technology, with the exception of the rather clumsy implementation in Where Winds Meet, but it's likely only a matter of time.