(Image credit: Slavic Magic)

Different game companies approach generative AI in different ways. Some, like Electronic Arts, embrace it; others, like Larian, take a more measured, cautious approach. And then there's Hooded Horse, the publisher of games like Endless Legend 2, Cataclismo, and the breakout hit Manor Lords, whose CEO Tim Bender recently told Kotaku, "I fucking hate gen AI art."

"It has made my life more difficult in many ways…suddenly it infests shit in a way it shouldn't," Bender said. "It is now written into our contracts if we're publishing the game, 'no fucking AI assets'."

Banning AI art is easier said than done, as some studios—Larian and Sandfall Interactive, to name a couple high-profile examples—have taken to using gen AI in pre-production, ostensibly to help speed things along. To help counter that, Bender says he urges developers to not use generative AI anywhere, even just for placeholders.

"Because of that, we're constantly having to watch and deal with it and try to prevent it from slipping in, because it’s cancerous."

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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