Videogame Companies Push AI NPCs and Writing Despite 2023-2026 Quality Backlash
Updated
Updated · PC Gamer · Aug 15
Videogame Companies Push AI NPCs and Writing Despite 2023-2026 Quality Backlash
3 articles · Updated · PC Gamer · Aug 15
Summary
Studios and AI vendors are still pitching generative NPCs and story tools as a way to build bigger game worlds, even as recent in-game uses have drawn criticism for flat, disconnected dialogue.
Examples cited in the debate include Seed, Inzoi's "smart Zois" and Ubisoft's "neo-NPCs," all sold as more immersive alternatives to repeated background lines and hand-written filler.
Critics argue that so-called filler—combat barks, side quests, ambient chatter and ads—does crucial worldbuilding work that procedural systems cannot match, pointing to games like Cyberpunk 2077 and New Vegas.
Writers and developers have echoed that skepticism since 2023, with figures tied to Dragon Age, Cyberpunk and Larian saying AI story output falls below even weak human drafts.
The broader clash is over cost versus craft: executives see AI as a scalable production shortcut, while opponents say replacing hand-written detail would make large games feel shallower, not richer.