Google’s Project Genie is a brand-new AI tool from the company that is aimed at allowing the creation of 3D AI-generated worlds, intended for game development, and reportedly caused an upheaval in the share prices of several gaming companies. Following its reveal at the tail end of last week, the share prices of Nintendo, Unity, CD Projekt, Take-Two, and others fell as investors sold off stock.
AI in game development has been a hot topic for a while now. With the advent of all these AI-generated tools, one common thread in the argument about their existence is the distaste a large portion of the public has for them due to the fear that companies will look to replace real artists with AI for making games.
Some companies have leaned into AI more than others, while some refuse to use their tools, and others still maintain they will only be used for things like helping to conceptualize ideas. Taking all of that into account, one thing has stayed constant. Gamers don’t want AI in their games. Mainly because AI-generated games appear to lack any real passion for the medium. In short, the general consensus is that they just don’t look good. However, Google’s Project Genie seems to have investors “hopeful” that AI games will be the future of the medium.
Project Genie results in gaming stock market disruption as share prices fall
AI tools that are used for any sort of commercial art production drive a very real fear and feelings of discontent among artists in any industry. No one wants to be in a job where AI is capable of replacing human workers. The current AI tools out there for public and commercial use don’t really have the capability to create entire games. Google’s Project Genie, however, seems to be the closest in offering this sort of thing.
So much so that investors in Nintendo and others began selling off large amounts of stock, causing the share prices to plummet. According to Tom’s Hardware, Unity’s share prices took the biggest hit with a 20% decrease in value on Friday. Video Games Chronicle reports that as of the following day, that percentage has increased to 35%. Other companies, like Take-Two, Nintendo, Roblox, and CD Projekt, all saw share prices decline as well.
According to the reports, investors were apparently losing faith in these game companies and their respective franchises. The kicker is that Genie isn’t really capable of creating a full game. Not yet, anyway. The tool, as it was presented last week, really only created short 60-second experiences that allowed you to walk around the world that was created. But there were no actual complex game mechanics, features, or objectives. Hardly the pinnacle of game development and design that would warrant a big sell-off of stock. That makes this whole thing a lot stranger.
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