Keep in mind they are nearing the end of life for one of the most popular MMORPGs to date.
They likely are already working on the next one for next/current gen machines only.
As they are doing that, I’d be amazed if the MMO team isn’t looking at what’s happening with AI and thinking about where it will be in two to three years and how much richer they can make their online world by leveraging it.
The problem with MMOs is that there’s a cycle to them due to labor constraints. There’s not enough of a team to develop content at the same rate your players go through it.
You want players staying subscribed all year long for a decade. But instead they sign up when you release expansions, play until they finish and cap out, and then unsub. And you hope they return for the next expansion.
But if you can hook generative AI into the mix, a subscription fee for each player can cover quite a lot of content generation that extends and personalizes the world your writers create with each major update.
And as long as it’s done well, that means you cut the seasonal churn in between major content updates and keep subscription numbers up.
They aren’t going to be cutting writers so much as they are going to be using the same number of writers to create much more net writing leveraging AI.
Which is smart, as so is everyone else in the industry, and the games that don’t update with the times will be the next generation of Starfield putting bandaids on old tech to middling reception while their competition is delivering truly next gen experiences.
In general, AI is what’s going to define the next generation of games (PS6 era). And it’s going to be nuts. You won’t be able to look at modern games the same way. They’ll feel static and empty by comparison.
They will.
Keep in mind they are nearing the end of life for one of the most popular MMORPGs to date.
They likely are already working on the next one for next/current gen machines only.
As they are doing that, I’d be amazed if the MMO team isn’t looking at what’s happening with AI and thinking about where it will be in two to three years and how much richer they can make their online world by leveraging it.
The problem with MMOs is that there’s a cycle to them due to labor constraints. There’s not enough of a team to develop content at the same rate your players go through it.
You want players staying subscribed all year long for a decade. But instead they sign up when you release expansions, play until they finish and cap out, and then unsub. And you hope they return for the next expansion.
But if you can hook generative AI into the mix, a subscription fee for each player can cover quite a lot of content generation that extends and personalizes the world your writers create with each major update.
And as long as it’s done well, that means you cut the seasonal churn in between major content updates and keep subscription numbers up.
They aren’t going to be cutting writers so much as they are going to be using the same number of writers to create much more net writing leveraging AI.
Which is smart, as so is everyone else in the industry, and the games that don’t update with the times will be the next generation of Starfield putting bandaids on old tech to middling reception while their competition is delivering truly next gen experiences.
In general, AI is what’s going to define the next generation of games (PS6 era). And it’s going to be nuts. You won’t be able to look at modern games the same way. They’ll feel static and empty by comparison.