Elon Musk has announced plans for his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, to establish an AI-driven game studio. The announcement came via a cryptic post on X, previously known as Twitter, where Musk expressed his dissatisfaction with the increasing prevalence of game studios owned by large corporations. This is not the first time Musk has engaged with the gaming community; he recently streamed gameplay of Diablo 4 and has voiced his appreciation for video games on multiple occasions. In the post, Musk confirmed that xAI will head the new game studio.
Elon Musk Hints at Starting AI Game Studio
The billionaire’s remarks were made in response to a post by software engineer Billy Markus, who is a co-founder of the Dogecoin cryptocurrency. Markus criticized the gaming industry for being “ideologically captured” and noted that gamers have consistently rebuffed “dumb” tactics from developers and gaming journalists.
He also pointed out that his favorite games from the past ten years have predominantly come from independent studios. In reply, Musk stated, “Too many game studios that are owned by massive corporations,” and mentioned that xAI would soon embark on creating an AI game studio with the goal of “making games great again.”
The potential of AI in gaming has attracted widespread interest among various companies in the sector. Notably, Google DeepMind recently introduced Genie, an AI model capable of generating an infinite number of 2D platformer video games through predictive analysis. Furthermore, DeepMind unveiled the Scalable Instructable Multiworld Agent (SIMA), an AI system designed to navigate multiple gaming environments and perform various tasks within 3D games.
Musk’s remarks regarding corporate ownership in gaming come shortly after a report suggested that Sony is looking to acquire Kadokawa, the Japanese technology company behind the developer of Elden Ring, FromSoftware. Similarly, Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard last year, the parent company of popular franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Diablo.
Additionally, Musk’s reference to xAI signifies his aspirations for the company to expand its reach and increase revenue. Reports indicate that the firm plans to introduce a standalone AI application, akin to ChatGPT, potentially as soon as next month.
