Square Enix’s financial results, well below forecasts, may have boosted the policy of using generative AI in quality control.
In the debate about artificial intelligence applied to video games, one thing is clear: one thing is what prominent personalities say about its use, and one thing is quite another, what companies decide. Among them, Square Enix.
Although the person responsible for the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy is reluctant to use AI, in your company they think very differently; and then they just declared it.
Following the example of giants like Electronic Arts or Take-Two, Square Enix will make a big bet on AI; something that may be related to your latest tax results.
Square Enix will delegate quality control to generative AI
As part of its latest fiscal report, and within the Square Enix Reboots and Awakens plan, the company proposes Let AI handle QA and debugging tasks.
The objective will be “automate 70% of QA and debugging tasks (bug debugging), in game development.”
The deadline is set at the end of 2027in a plan that seeks “improve efficiency in quality control operations and establish a competitive advantage in video game creation”.
To achieve this goal, Square Enix partnered with the Matsuo-Iwasawa Laboratory at the University of Tokyoin the specialty of artificial intelligence technology. The team is made up of more than ten employees.
In fact, the project even has a name: “Joint development of video game quality control (QA) automation technology through generative AI”.
Reactions were quick to arrive, starting with criticism of the the loss of jobs that will result in the adoption of these measures at the company responsible for Final Fantasy.
Also There are doubts about the efficiency of AI in these tasks: While it can speed up repetitive work, errors that these tools (for now) ignore are common; which requires more correction work.
Square Enix follows in the footsteps of companies like Krafton, albeit to a lesser extent. Those responsible for the Calisto Protocol They want to implement AI at every level possible.
Square Enix’s recent financial results for the last quarter show a lower profit than expected, with 169 million compared to the expected 287 million. A fall that could have motivated these new measures.
Although net sales remain stable at 2.8 billion yen, Ordinary income is 410 million, reflecting a margin of 14.6%.
Plans to use AI would reduce significant operating costs and compensate for losses… At the expense of jobs, of course.
The Square Enix case will not be the last. As more companies adopt AI in the creation of games, the sector’s landscape will transform, with consequences that we do not yet know.
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