I think generative AI is going to get much faster and much better The Fallout creator might be optimistic about the technology's impact on games, but I'm not so sure

Date:
Fri, 17 Apr 2026 14:57:16 +0000

Description:
Fallout creator Tim Cain is bullish about the future of generative AI how do you feel about it?

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member
features. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Tim Cain, the revered creator of Fallout and The Outer Worlds , has posted a
video on his YouTube channel outlining his take on the future of generative AI. He speaks about the impact of the technology on various aspects of life, including games development, and offers up some interesting potential use cases.

He seems quite optimistic about the controversial technology, pointing to its potential to radically alter how various forms of entertainment are created and consumed. Aside from voicing some concerns about regulation and royalty payments, Cain appears to see all this as an improvement. He has some experience in the field, having worked towards a PhD in AI in the late eighties and early nineties. But are his views realistic, and is the picture he paints one wed actually like to see come true? Article continues below You may like 'Video games are cooked': No More Robots founder slams gen AI use in games Capcom to use generative AI to boost productivity, but not for game content Google's Project Genie should be a warning sign of AI's danger to gaming Tims crystal ball (Image credit: Nvidia / Capcom) According to Cain, generative AI will eventually hand a lot of control to the consumer. He envisions a scenario where youll be able to change the content of film and TV as youre watching it. If you dont like certain characters, jokes, or even the story, youll be able to use AI tools to change all that.

With respect to games, Cain thinks people could create their own mods using generative AI tools. He also sees a potential application in VR and AR, although he thinks these are further down the line.

Many of us already know the ways in which generative AI can be used in game development, from creating art and assets to programming entire titles.

Cain does have concerns in this department. He says regulation is needed to ensure contributors to AI datasets are appropriately compensated, including voice actors whose unique tones might be replicated in generative outputs.
Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our
trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

But he still seems quite sure that this issue will work themselves out, comparing it to the initial disruption digital sales caused industry professionals, before contracts were amended to account for them. And those aforementioned AI-generated mods would require a license if players actually wanted to sell them, rather than keep them for personal use. AI dystopia or utopia? (Image credit: Pearl Abyss) Unsurprisingly, many viewers weren't exactly on board with Cain. At the time of writing, the top two comments on the video are New title: Tim describes a horrible artless dystopia with a smile on his face and Art is not supposed to adjust and change to me. Art is supposed to change me.

Being the quixotic type, I largely agree with these sentiments. I like my art authentic, even if that means it's a little messy and rough around the edges; hell, that just makes it even more human. And given the backlash over Nvidias new DLSS 5 technology, its clear to see many gamers feel the same way. What
to read next I think Jia Zhangkes AI short says something interesting about
AI movies BAFTA-winning game music composers don't see AI as a threat How
does AI video slop get made? I think I finally found out

That being said, I certainly see the potential and temptation for studios to use it to speed up development. I cant say that I was particularly on board with the furor surrounding its use to generate certain assets in Crimson Desert and other titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 .

Yes, the publishers in question shouldve been more transparent about using
the technology, but as long as theyre largely insignificant to the games overall aesthetic, Im happy to look the other way, especially if it means saving some poor developer from being crunched to make them manually.

Also, it does seem that generative AI is better deployed in games than other artforms. Unlike music or film, its easier to argue that a game can be objectively good or bad when you only consider its mechanics, and so can be objectively improved upon with the use of AI tools.

Granted, there are those endearingly janky titles that I wouldn't wish to see get even the mildest of remasters, but there are plenty of games that are simply broken and thus ripe for AI to fix. (Image credit: Nvidia / Capcom)
But theres a problem here, too. AI datasets of the future would contain lots of code for game mechanics, including mediocre examples. A models resultant output might be similarly mediocre, and if models end up feeding on their own outputs to further train themselves, well end up in a slop-ridden landscape.

Worse still, we might end up losing idiosyncratic games altogether. Instead, well be left with mechanics that no longer delight or surprise us, turning
the whole medium into a bland, homogenous slop. This problem existed to some degree before AI came along, with modern AAA titles getting the blame in its place, but AI could make the situation even worse.

Besides, there are other issues with using AI to speed up development. Chiefly, the fact that at this point in time such AI tools make too many mistakes to rely on them without supervision and manual verification, which
of course takes time as well. Even tasks that are relatively basic, such as translating in-game text, are hard enough for AI to achieve without erring .

Then, of course, there are those concerns were all too familiar with at this point: the absurd environmental impact of data centers, the thorny issue of copyright, and, of course, the threat to industry jobs.

Its no surprise that big studios are keen on using the technology, from Level-5 and Capcom to Take-Two Interactive and possibly even Remedy . But its perhaps surprising to see Tim Cain, of all people, being so effusive about generative AI. After all, this is the man responsible for games with strong anti-corporate, anti-capitalist themes. Hes right when he says AI cant be bottled up now its been let loose, and I hope hes also right that the technology's main sticking points will be resolved, but Im not so hopeful
itll create the kind of games wed actually like to see. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best PC games The top PC games we've tried

Read our full guide to the best PC games 1. Best overall: Elden Ring 2.
Great for multiplayer: Helldivers 2 3. A brilliant roguelike: Hades 2 4. An old-school shooter: Doom Eternal 5. Best for racing fans: Forza Motorsport



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/i-think-generative-ai-is-going-to-get-much-fa ster-and-much-better-the-fallout-creator-might-be-optimistic-about-the-technol ogys-impact-on-games-but-im-not-so-sure


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)