Xbox Announces Its "Using AI To Make Things Better" With Generative AI Model, & Fans Aren't Happy
Off the back of a largely well-received Developer Direct, Xbox has made the controversial announcement of a new generative AI model intended for use in game development. Xbox has faced some notable struggles in the current console generation — despite the success of services like Xbox Game Pass, issues like a lack of true exclusives and difficulties regarding the performance split between the Xbox Series X and S have led to Xbox consoles underperforming compared to competitors. Seemingly as a result, Xbox has been pursuing more multi-platform strategies like Game Pass and cloud gaming.
In a similar vein, Xbox Wire has unveiled a new generative AI model called Muse, which is intended for use in game development. Muse, as Xbox puts it, is an "AI model trained on Ninja Theory's multiplayer battle arena game, Bleeding Edge" and has a "detailed understanding of the 3D game world". The intent for Muse, according to Xbox, is to be used as a tool for game development, with the Xbox Wire article specifically highlighting Muse's potential to preserve older games and "optimize them for any device."
What Is Muse & What Does It Mean For Xbox?
Xbox Unveils Its "Generative AI Model For Gameplay Ideation", Muse
Notably, according to the Xbox Wire article, Muse is not intended as something that can create full games on its own, but instead as an assistive tool for developers, referred to as a model for "Gameplay Ideation." Additionally, the article stresses that the use of AI will not become mandatory for Xbox-owned developers, saying that "we have empowered creative leaders here at Xbox to decide on the use of generative AI."
We are already using Muse to develop a real-time playable AI model trained on other first-party games, and we see potential for this work to one day benefit both players and game creators: from allowing us to revive nostalgic games to faster creative ideation. — Fatima Kardar, Xbox Wire.
One use that Xbox highlights is the preservation of older games that "are no longer playable by most people." Muse, according to Xbox, has the potential to "radically change how we preserve and experience classic games," although exactly how that might work isn't precisely detailed.
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From the perspective of Xbox, Muse's potential use in preserving older games could be the next step in efforts to maintain backward compatibility on newer Xbox consoles. Regardless of "potential", however, the announcement of Muse has immediately drawn a negative response.
Why Are Fans Unhappy With Xbox?
Muse Has Immediately Sparked Backlash From Xbox Fans
Unfortunately for Xbox, generative AI is a very controversial tool, especially where it pertains to creative media, and the announcement of Muse hasn't gone over well with many fans. On X, users like AkiraJkr1 and maxmario9898 have responded negatively to the announcement of Muse, pointing out that either official emulation or the continuation of the backward compatibility program, which last had games added to it in 2021, would be more welcome as steps towards preserving old games than a generative AI model.
Notably, Muse is not the first use of AI in game development. Capcom, for example, has apparently experimented with using AI to generate environmental concepts, as shared in a Google Cloud Japan interview with technical director Kazuki Abe and reported by IGN.
"AI" can mean a lot of different things, depending on context, and generative AI is often conflated with other tools using similar names. While advantageous in terms of speed and quantity, generative AI is controversial in terms of quality and ethics, with critics pointing out its potential to crowd out human creators and the nature of the content that AI models are trained on, often without the consent of the original creators. For now, whether Muse will achieve the things that Xbox says it will, or even whether it's trying to solve the "correct" problems, remains uncertain at best.
Sources: Xbox Wire, @AkiraJkr1/X, @maxmario9898/X, Google Cloud Japan, IGN
- Brand
- Xbox
- Original Release Date
- November 10, 2020
- Hardware Versions
- Xbox Series X/S, Xbox Series S
- Original MSRP (USD)
- Series X priced at US$499 and the Series S priced at US$299
