Obsidian Entertainment — the studio behind Avowed, Grounded 2 and The Outer Worlds 2 — has opted to forgo generative AI entirely in its projects. In a recent interview, Josh Sawyer, Kate Dollarhyde and Leonard Boyarsky described their development process and how the team’s approach has evolved over time.
Boyarsky reflected on remarks he made in 2019 about potentially using AI for writing, saying he now wishes he could ” slap his past self” and noting that such ideas rapidly became “unmanageable.” When asked directly about employing generative AI, Sawyer stated, “we didn’t use it,” and Boyarsky added, “We don’t use it at all.”
This stance is notable considering Obsidian — a studio of around 285 employees — released three major titles this year: the fantasy RPG Avowed, the survival game Grounded 2, and the sci-fi RPG The Outer Worlds 2. The team also introduced a turn-based mode to Pillars of Eternity (2015), currently available in beta on PC.
Other publishers, including EA, Square Enix and Krafton, have been rapidly integrating AI into their workflows and confronting related challenges and layoffs, whereas Obsidian is doubling down on creative craftsmanship. That choice is particularly significant given the studio’s place within Microsoft, whose leadership has been actively investing in AI.
Source: iXBT.games