The Divinity Developer Clarifies Its Use of Machine Learning for New Divinity Game

The team behind hit titles like Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin just shown its next major project, sparking immense hype within the industry. However, recent remarks from the studio's figurehead have brought clarity to the discussion, addressing the studio's stance toward AI tools.

A Tool for Ideation, Not Replacement

In a new statement, Larian's director explained that the team is utilizing machine learning for certain ancillary purposes. These include developing presentation materials, creating early-stage concept art, and writing draft copy.

Importantly, Vincke made clear that the shipping content in the game will be created solely by human creatives. "Our team is creating everything ourselves," he stated.

Our studio is continuously expanding our team of storytellers and are actively forming dedicated writer rooms.

As concept art is being explicitly called out — we right now have 23 artistic staff and have roles to fill for more talent.

All our efforts we do is incremental and designed to having people spend additional energy on actual creation.

Every AI system implemented properly is additive to a artist's workflow, never a stand-in for their skill.

Tempering Reactions with Clear Intent

The admission of AI usage initially generated backlash among portions of the player base. In reaction, Vincke provided further elaboration on online platforms.

"Our team utilizes AI tools to explore references, in the same way we use search engines and art books," he stated. "During the conceptual ideation stages we use it as a basic framework for layout which we then replace with hand-crafted illustrations."

He added, "Larian brings on talent for their inherent skill, not for their capacity to execute what a algorithm proposes."

Three Pillars of Practical Application

Vincke had earlier outlined the company's focused strategy to AI and ML, categorizing its use into three main functions:

• Streamlining Repetitive Work: This includes refining animations, dialogue cleanup, and Larian-specific work like retargeting animations.
• Accelerated Iteration: Using tools to quickly build simple models of gameplay ideas to experiment with concepts before full development.
• Long-Term Aspirations: Investigating how AI could in the future facilitate new forms of gameplay, especially in managing dynamic reactions in a detailed game universe.

He specifically noted that central narrative disciplines — including writing — are are absolutely not departments where the company is cutting creative involvement. Conversely, Larian is expanding its staff in these very fields.

"Our studio is not shipping a game with any AI components, and we are certainly not considering trimming down teams to substitute them with AI," Vincke summarized.