NetEase has banned its subsidiary studios from using generative AI in game development. UPDATED: This is not the case
The existence of the ban was revealed by Grasshopper Manufacture's CEO Goichi Suda in an interview with Eurogamer. He knows about this firsthand, as his studio is part of NetEase.
Romeo is a Dead Man
During the conversation, Suda mentioned that some time ago, NetEase had a dedicated department that conducted research in the field of generative artificial intelligence. However, later the Chinese company unexpectedly decided to halt its developments—at the same time, it demanded its subsidiary studios completely stop using AI.
Suda is unsure of what exactly motivated NetEase, but he speculated that there could be two reasons. The first is that gamers do not like generative AI. The second is that neural networks potentially could infringe on others’ copyrights and lead to legal issues. Nonetheless, Suda acknowledged that this is just his opinion, and in reality, NetEase might have been driven by something else.
Let us remind you that Grasshopper Manufacture is currently working on the action game Romeo is a Dead Man. The game is set to be released in just a few days—on February 11 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series.
Update: In a comment to the portal Insider Gaming, an official representative of NetEase denied Suda's statements. He claimed that the Chinese company did not make such demands to the developers.