Larian Studios found itself in the middle of an AI controversy this week after Bloomberg reported the Baldur’s Gate 3 developer is pushing hard on generative AI for its upcoming game Divinity. CEO Swen Vincke quickly responded to clarify the studio’s position, insisting no AI-generated content will appear in the final game and that the studio isn’t replacing artists. However, former employees contradicted his claim that everyone at Larian is okay with the AI implementation, saying it was a major morale hit during their time there.
What Bloomberg Reported
The controversy started with a Bloomberg interview where Vincke explained that Larian has started integrating generative AI into its workflow for Divinity development. According to the report, the studio is using AI tools to flesh out PowerPoint presentations, develop concept art, and write placeholder text. Vincke stated that everyone at the company is more or less okay with the way Larian is using it, and emphasized that no AI-generated content would make it into the finished product.
Bloomberg characterized Larian as pushing hard on generative AI under Vincke’s leadership, though the CEO noted the technology hasn’t led to significant productivity improvements. The article confirmed that everything in Divinity would be created by human actors and writers, with AI serving only as an internal development tool for early ideation and prototyping.
The Backlash Was Immediate
Despite Vincke’s attempts to contextualize how the technology is being used, fans erupted on social media platforms. The announcement came just days after Divinity was revealed at The Game Awards 2025, riding high on goodwill from Baldur’s Gate 3’s massive success. That enthusiasm turned to anger as players who championed Larian as one of the good studios felt betrayed by any AI involvement whatsoever.
The backlash intensified when former Larian employees publicly contradicted Vincke’s assertion that staff members were okay with the AI implementation. One ex-employee tweeted that as someone who worked there for four years, they weren’t surprised and accused Vincke of lying about people being okay with it. Environment artist Selena Tobin, another former Larian employee, wrote on Bluesky that she loved working at Larian until AI, urging the studio to reconsider and change direction immediately.
Vincke Fires Back on Social Media
Facing mounting criticism, Vincke took to X (formerly Twitter) to clarify his comments and push back against the Bloomberg characterization. He wrote that Larian is not pushing hard for or replacing concept artists with AI, contradicting the phrasing used in the Bloomberg report. According to Vincke, AI tools are used to explore references similar to how Google and art books are used during initial ideation stages.
In the early stages of development, Larian uses AI as a rough guide for composition which is then replaced with original concept art created by human artists. Vincke emphasized there’s no comparison between AI-generated placeholder content and the final human-created art. He stated they hired creatives for their talent, not for their ability to do what a machine suggests, but acknowledged that staff can experiment with these tools to make their lives easier.
The Full Statement
Vincke released a comprehensive statement to IGN saying the technology is meant to be additive to a creative team or individual’s workflow, not a replacement for their skill or craft. He doubled down on his assertion that Larian will not include generated assets in Divinity when it launches in a few years. The statement positioned AI as a tool for efficiency rather than a creative replacement, drawing a clear line between internal development aids and final game content.
He also addressed the emotional nature of the debate, acknowledging that AI invokes a lot of emotion and is something Larian constantly discusses internally through the lens of making everyone’s working day better, not worse. Despite this, the statement did little to calm fans or address the contradictions from former employees about internal morale.
What Larian Actually Uses AI For
This controversy isn’t entirely new. Vincke discussed Larian’s AI usage in detail during a GameSpot interview earlier in 2025. The studio primarily uses machine learning and generative AI for three purposes. First is automating tasks that nobody wants to do, like motion capture cleanup, voice editing, and animation retargeting across different character species and body types. These are busywork tasks that eat up animator time without adding creative value.
Second is rapid prototyping for level design. Instead of building entire test levels with finished art just to see if a gameplay idea works, designers can use AI-generated environmental decoration to create a more realistic feel during the whitebox testing phase. This helps the team evaluate whether situations and encounters will work before investing significant art resources. Once a design is approved, everything gets replaced with handcrafted content.
Third is narrative validation, an experimental system that alerts writers when script changes create plot holes or inconsistencies elsewhere in the massive branching narrative. For a game with hundreds of thousands of words and over 1,800 characters like Baldur’s Gate 3, automated consistency checking could save enormous amounts of time hunting down continuity errors. However, Vincke admitted this technology isn’t quite ready yet.
The Employee Contradiction Problem
The most damaging aspect of this controversy is the contradiction between Vincke’s claim that everyone is more or less okay with AI usage and multiple former employees saying the opposite. One former staffer who worked at Larian for four years as QA and producer explicitly stated the CEO is lying about people being fine with it. They expressed disappointment that Larian didn’t learn from the backlash other studios faced over generative AI.
Selena Tobin’s comment about loving her job at Larian until AI suggests the implementation was a turning point that soured the work environment for at least some employees. She urged the studio to show employees some respect, noting they are world-class talent who don’t need AI assistance to come up with amazing ideas. Even some current Larian employees have been publicly denouncing AI use in game development as recently as the day before the Bloomberg report dropped.
Why This Matters Beyond Larian
The Larian controversy arrives amid broader gaming industry debates about AI usage. Arc Raiders recently faced similar backlash over alleged AI-generated art, while Running With Scissors cancelled a Postal spinoff following backlash over AI use. Meanwhile, executives like Nexon’s CEO have defended generative AI adoption, claiming every game company is now using it. Even Baldur’s Gate 3 voice actor Neil Newbon spoke out against AI voice manipulation, calling it illegitimate and noting it robs performers of work and income.
Larian occupies a unique position in these debates. The studio earned massive goodwill by releasing Baldur’s Gate 3 as a complete, polished game without exploitative monetization or live service nonsense. Players hold Larian up as an example of how studios should operate. Any perceived compromise of those values hits harder because fans expect better from this particular developer. The fact that Vincke previously criticized AI-obsessed studios and said they won’t have competitive advantages makes the current situation feel hypocritical to critics.
The Nuance Gets Lost
What makes this controversy frustrating is that Vincke’s actual position seems relatively reasonable if taken at face value. Using AI to automate tedious technical tasks like mocap cleanup or animation retargeting is fundamentally different from using it to generate final game assets. Using AI-decorated test levels for rapid prototyping before replacing everything with handmade art doesn’t threaten artist jobs. These are efficiency tools for boring technical work, not creative replacements.
The problem is the lack of trust. Former employees contradicting the CEO’s claims about internal acceptance undermines his credibility. The Bloomberg phrasing about pushing hard on AI doesn’t match Vincke’s characterization of limited, careful implementation. The emotional reaction from fans reflects broader industry fears about AI being used to cut costs by replacing human creativity. Once that trust is broken, even legitimate use cases get lumped in with the exploitative ones.
FAQs
Is Larian using AI for Divinity?
Yes, Larian is using generative AI internally for tasks like PowerPoint presentations, placeholder text, early concept ideation, and automating technical work like mocap cleanup. However, CEO Swen Vincke states no AI-generated content will appear in the final game.
What did Swen Vincke say about AI?
Vincke clarified that Larian uses AI as an additive tool for workflow efficiency, not as a replacement for creative talent. He emphasized that all final content in Divinity will be created by human artists, writers, and actors.
Are Larian employees okay with using AI?
This is disputed. Vincke claims everyone at the company is more or less okay with how AI is being used. However, multiple former employees have publicly contradicted this, saying AI implementation was a major morale problem during their time at the studio.
Will Divinity have AI-generated content?
No, according to Swen Vincke. He has repeatedly stated that everything in Divinity will be created by human actors, writers, and artists, with AI serving only as an internal development tool.
Why are fans upset about Larian using AI?
Fans hold Larian to higher standards after Baldur’s Gate 3’s success made the studio a model for ethical game development. Any AI involvement feels like a betrayal of those values, especially given broader industry concerns about AI replacing creative workers.
What games has Larian made?
Larian Studios developed the Divinity: Original Sin series and Baldur’s Gate 3, which won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2023. The studio is currently working on a new game called Divinity.
Did Bloomberg mischaracterize Larian’s AI use?
Vincke disputes Bloomberg’s phrasing that Larian is pushing hard on AI, saying it doesn’t accurately represent the studio’s limited, careful implementation of the technology for specific technical tasks.
What other studios are using AI?
Many studios have faced backlash over AI usage, including Arc Raiders developer Embark Studios and Black Ops 7 developer Treyarch. Nexon’s CEO has defended AI adoption, claiming most game companies are now using it in some capacity.
Conclusion
The Larian AI controversy highlights how polarizing this technology has become in gaming. Even when a respected studio tries to use AI responsibly for technical tasks and prototyping rather than final content creation, the backlash is immediate and fierce. Swen Vincke’s explanations make logical sense from a development efficiency perspective, but they run headlong into an industry climate where any AI involvement triggers alarm bells about job losses and creative replacement. The contradictions from former employees complicate matters further, suggesting internal disagreements that undermine Vincke’s claims of company-wide acceptance. Whether you believe Larian is using AI responsibly or crossing an ethical line probably depends on where you stand on the broader debate. For some, any AI involvement in creative industries is unacceptable. For others, using it to automate tedious technical work while keeping humans in charge of all creative decisions represents a reasonable middle ground. What’s clear is that Larian’s reputation as one of gaming’s most player-friendly studios has taken a hit. Trust is fragile, and once players start questioning whether their favorite studio is compromising its values, that goodwill evaporates quickly. Divinity will ultimately be judged on its own merits when it releases in a few years. But this controversy ensures the game launches under extra scrutiny about how it was made, not just what it contains.