Following what you may name a sub-optimal response to its obvious enthusiasm for using AI in recreation growth, Larian boss Swen Vincke promised an AMA in January to make clear the place precisely the studio stands on the matter. A message on X has now nailed that little on-line tête-à-tête down to five am PT/8 am ET/2 pm CET on January 9, on Reddit.
That is fairly early, at the very least in my a part of the world, however keep in mind that Larian isn’t based mostly in my a part of the world however in Ghent, Belgium, the place the entire thing can go down after a pleasant prolonged lunch.
In the event you’re questioning what that is all about, a fast refresher: Larian unveiled Divinity, its subsequent recreation, at The Recreation Awards 2025 with a surprisingly darkish, brutal trailer that reminded us all that Baldur’s Gate 3 obtained rolling the identical means earlier than all of the, y’know, intercourse.
However the studio’s huge second went awry simply days later when Vincke mentioned in a Bloomberg interview that Larian was experimenting with generative AI within the early phases of recreation growth, and that builders on the studio had been pleased about it.
This didn’t go over nicely with a good portion of Larian’s fan base, and all of the sudden Good Man Swen was being portrayed as simply one other over-monied recreation govt seeking to lower headcounts to the bone.
Vincke had beforehand expressed some cautiously optimistic ideas about AI, saying in April 2024 for example that AI “is a instrument that we use to assist us do issues sooner.” He was extra particular on the subject a yr later, when he mentioned builders at Larian used AI for the “automation of duties that no person needs to do. The apparent issues, like movement seize cleansing, or voice modifying.”
However, maybe as a result of they did not come within the wake of a serious recreation reveal, these feedback went comparatively unnoticed and did not trigger practically the stir the post-Recreation Awards interview did. Vincke tried to clean the waters with a strategic F-bomb deployment on X, however reasonably than getting caught up in prolonged beefing he rapidly introduced the AMA, promising to be absolutely clear on how precisely Larian does and doesn’t use AI.
You may’t put an excessive amount of inventory into what anybody says on social media, and notably X, however the responses to the AMA timing announcement are fascinating. Questions on generative AI in Larian’s growth processes are largely absent—as an alternative, persons are asking about Divinity itself: Whether or not it can characteristic turn-based or RTWP fight, the way it will relative to the remainder of the collection, whether or not it can have cinematic cutscenes on the size of Baldur’s Gate 3, and naturally how a lot “romance” there might be.
The percentages of any of these questions being satisfactorily answered are just about nil, however hey, shoot your shot, I assume. To see what Larian really is keen to speak about at this level, head over to the r/Video games subreddit on the appointed hour—that’s, 5 am PT/8 am ET/2 pm CET—tomorrow.