EA Exec Says There Has Been A “Real Rise Of Creativity” After Developers Embraced AI
EA executive Laura Miele, president of enterprise development at the publisher, has shared her thoughts on the impact of AI in game development. In an interview, she noted that there has been a “real rise of creativity” at EA, partly due to developers leveraging AI tools to handle “tedious” tasks, allowing them to focus on more imaginative aspects of game creation.
When asked by The Game Business if AI technologies could help speed up game development, Miele responded, "Perhaps in some parts they will." She emphasized that one of her goals is to help developers "remove friction" from their workflows, and she believes AI is already making that possible.
"I always wanted to be a hero to them and help them create career-defining experiences," she said. "And I think that AI—what I've seen—how AI has enabled removing friction from our pipelines and our tools and our workflows, has been pretty exciting. It's removed some tedium out of their jobs."
Without citing specific examples, Miele mentioned that she has observed faster prototyping as a result of AI adoption by EA’s developers. She also noted a "faster creativity" and quicker implementation of creative ideas.
"So we're seeing it," she said. "I think there is a real rise of creativity that comes from removing some of the tedious tasks out of development."
The idea of using AI for mundane tasks to free up time for more creative work has been a common theme among gaming industry executives. Previously, The Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz stated that generative AI was essential in the early stages of development for The Blood of Dawnwalker. Similarly, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick has expressed optimism about the potential for AI in non-creative areas of game development. Jeff Kaplan, known for his work on Overwatch, has also acknowledged AI’s potential in certain parts of game production.
However, it is important to note that much of the discussion around AI integration into workflows has come from executives and leaders, rather than the developers themselves. A GDC study revealed that more developers than ever believe generative AI is negatively impacting the games industry.
