The Outer Worlds 2 will not use AI, says director.

Obsidian Entertainment veteran Leonard Boyarsky theorized in a 2019 podcast that artificial intelligence could be a game-changer for increasing the depth of conversation trees between player and non-player characters.

“The computer could just run, and the player could literally speak and not even have a list of items to choose from, but actually say what the response is and have the computer respond in real time,” Boyarsky speculated.

In a recent interview with Game File, Boyarsky expressed regret for making those comments. “It was literally just me doing a thought experiment.” He explained that because of his naivety, he was tempted to “reverse” his past self.

Obsidian does not use AI

In a post-AI world, Boyarsky realized that systems like the one he described “…quickly become very unwieldy. So you have to have something very powerful, and I don't even know how to test it.”

In the same interview, Josh Sawyer, a veteran developer at Obsidian, said he had never seen a team use generative AI at Obsidian. Game File followed up Obsidian's PR by confirming that “we haven't used it yet.” [gen AI] any.”

This is encouraging reading, especially considering recent commentary and events in the industry. For example, Nexon CEO Lee Jeong-heon recently said that all companies should assume that they use AI (although many developers disputed this at the time), and Krafton is offering voluntary layoffs for employees who don't want to accept that the company is now “AI-first.”

The use of AI appears to be widespread throughout Korea and Japan, as Director Akihiro Hino of Level 5 also predicted the widespread takeover of AI in Japan's domestic gaming industry.

The Outer Worlds 2 received rave reviews from players and critics. The space travel RPG received an average review score of 83 on OpenCritic and a 'mostly positive' review score on Steam. Although some critics disapprove of Obsidian's core gameplay loop – getting a quest, going to a marker, killing enemies and returning to the quest giver – it is widely considered a significant improvement over the original.

The Outer Worlds 2 is available now on PC and Xbox Series X/S.