Capcom confirms it isn't using gen AI in its games. Hopefully it sees sense with DLSS 5, too

We’ve all seen the yaasified, DLSS 5 Leon Kennedy and Grace Ashcroft. In fact, I think I see them every night, stalking the darkened corridors of my nightmares like one of the horror game’s monsters. It’s not the prettiest sight in the world, and one that Capcom has come under fire for. Nvidia’s new AI-driven technology has quickly become a laughing stock, and while its CEO is a staunch defender of AI usage, Capcom’s kept relatively quiet on gen AI – it’s interested in “experimenting” with it for ideation, but that’s all we’ve heard so far. As part of a new investor Q+A however, the Resident Evil developer has confirmed that it’s not using generative AI for asset creation, but it will consider using it to “improve efficiency.”

The briefing, which took place on Monday, February 16, was targeted at individual investors, and focused on Capcom’s brand, business activities, and internal strategies. As part of the Q&A, the developer has confirmed that it “will not implement the materials generated by our AI into game content,” but confirms that it will “utilize this technology to improve efficiency and productivity.”

The response in full (which has been machine translated) reads: “Our company will not implement the materials generated by our AI into game content. However, we plan to actively utilize this technology to improve efficiency and productivity in the game development process. Therefore, we are currently exploring ways to use it in various areas, such as graphics, sound, and programming.” The latter section may quietly address Capcom’s involvement with Nvidia’s DLSS 5, albeit somewhat at odds with the general ‘no gen AI’ sentiment.

Resident Evil Requiem is one of the flagship titles displayed on Nvidia’s DLSS5 dev blog, with a statement from Capcom’s executive producer and executive corporate officer, Jun Takeuchi, reading “DLSS 5 represents another important step in pushing visual fidelity forward, helping players become even more immersed in the world of Resident Evil.” Capcom is also listed as one of the primary brands that supports the tech, alongside the likes of Bethesda, NetEase, Tencent, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, Ubisoft.

However, in response to the question about achieving consistent ten percent growth, Capcom says that it’s focus is on “strengthening our development system is crucial, so we consider investing in human resources, such as increasing the number of development personnel and improving the training system for young employees.” This again compounds the focus on human-made games, albeit with AI being used as a potential tool.

We’ve seen a lot of Japanese companies embrace AI as an efficiency enhancer; per The Nikkei, 51% of the country’s developers are using the tech both to streamline workflows and create in-game assets. Over the weekend, Korean-made Crimson Desert also got caught out for its inclusion of AI-generated, which was not signposted via Steam disclosure. Pearl Abyss has subsequently apologized, stating that the artwork’s inclusion was “unintentional.”

Capcom is, at least, not putting weird, four-fingered, blurry people in its videogames: unless their some kind of mutated monster, of course. Hopefully it sees sense with DLSS 5, too.