Zero Escape creator Kotaro Uchikoshi thinks the game industry “shouldn’t outright reject” generative AI, says cancelled game could’ve been salvaged if his team had used it

Kotaro Uchikoshi, the director and writer behind the Zero Escape and AI: The Somnium Files series, announced the establishment of his new game studio Crash Keys on October 15. The studio will mainly focus on developing new original projects, drawing on Uchikoshi’s extensive experience in the industry. While creating games under Crash Keys, Uchikoshi will still remain affiliated with Too Kyo Games, where he worked on The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy.

In a recent Game*Spark interview commemorating the studio’s establishment, Uchikoshi talked about the future of game development in the AI era. The topic of using AI for development was brought up in relation to his recent statement on X, where he explained that Crash Keys’ now cancelled project could’ve been salvaged if the developers were given the option to utilize AI.

“This might come as a bombshell statement in the video game industry, but I have a positive stance on generative AI. There are some people who have read my recent post on X and misunderstood that I’m against AI, but that’s not the case. Rather, what I wanted to say is that, if we were able to use AI, things might have turned out differently,” Uchikoshi commented.

Uchikoshi explains that in the current video game industry, there is an overall attitude that AI should be avoided in game development at all costs. However, he argues that “there are situations where it’s appropriate to use it, and many people are already doing so.” The issue, he says, is that people have been framing the AI dilemma as a binary choice, where you either use generative AI to the fullest extent, or don’t use it at all.

“For example, I don’t think there would be anything wrong if humans created the initial design and story, and then used AI in the process of bringing it to life. It would allow us to optimize production efficiency while maintaining originality, and if that were to lead to shorter development periods, it would benefit players as well.”

Of course, Uchikoshi warns that the streamlining of the development process and bringing new titles to fans much faster is only viable if the AI can actually reproduce the world envisioned by the creator, instead of just making up things on its own. “I think we should discuss things more, instead of outright rejecting AI by reflex.”

As one of the reasons behind the game’s cancellation, in a separate interview with Famitsu, Uchikoshi cited a “shift in the publisher’s strategy,” though he avoided going into too much detail on the subject. However, Uchikoshi also told Game*Spark that fans can expect to see a gradual stream of announcements regarding Crash Key’s new project starting spring next year, if not even sooner. While nothing has yet been confirmed, Uchikoshi also expressed the desire to potentially hold a crowdfunding campaign.

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