A Netflix executive revealed that the company’s video game division is investing in generative AI in order to “accelerate the velocity of development and unlock truly novel game experiences that will surprise, delight, and inspire players” just weeks after the company shut down its prestige game studio and laid off game developers.
“At long last, I am ready to talk about what I'm doing next: I am working on driving a ‘once in a generation’ inflection point for game development and player experiences using generative AI,” Mike Verdu, who is now VP, GenAI for Games at Netflix, said in a Linkedin post announcing his new title. “I don't think I've been this excited about an opportunity in this industry since the 90s, when we saw a new game launch every few months that redefined what was possible. It was an incredible time to be making games as talented creators showed all of us what the future looked like. Guess what? We're back to those days of seemingly unlimited potential and the rapid pace of innovation, which resulted in mind-blowing surprises for players every few months.”
As you might have noticed from your Netflix home screen, the company has been making a push into video games in recent years, allowing users to stream games and acquiring video game studios with the aim of developing Netflix exclusive games. One of its more ambitious plans for video games appeared to be its internal big budget video game studio known as Team Blue, which recruited veteran game developers who previously worked on Call of Duty, God of War, and Halo. That studio, as was first reported on Game File, was shuttered last month, resulting in 35 people laid off.
“Pay no mind to the uninformed speculation in the media about the changes in Netflix Games. What you've seen over the last several months was actually a planned transition,” Verdu wrote in his Linkedin post.
What Verdu and Netflix plan to do at the intersection of generative AI and video game development is still unclear. Generative AI can be used to generate 3D models, concept art, voice performances, or in-game dialogue, and some game developers are already doing this. On the more experimental end, we’re increasingly seeing prototypes for entire generative AI game engines that generate real-time 3D environments on the fly, though these seem still far from practical.
As is the case wherever generative AI meets other creative fields, video game developers, artists, and voice actors have a lot of concerns about generative AI tools in game development since the technology is inherently derived from their human labor, and could end up displacing them and diminishing the medium.
“I am focused on a creator-first vision for AI, one that puts creative talent at the center, with AI being a catalyst and an accelerant. AI will enable big game teams to move much faster, and will also put an almost unimaginable collection of new capabilities in the hands of developers in smaller game teams,” Verdu said in his Linkedin post.
