Electronic Arts (EA), one of the largest video game companies in the world, just sold for $55 billion, a record for a leveraged buyout.
The sale is sending shockwaves through Seattle’s video game industry. Not just because a lot of people in Seattle worked on EA games, but because the company is banking its future on generative AI.
Generative AI has created a cultural conflict so deep, it’s sliced the video game industry in two — like a battle axe through a rotten zombie.
On one side: indie game developers and their fans who believe video games are an art form that should be made by humans. On the other: big companies pushing generative AI that could replace workers, making games cheaper and faster to produce.
Today: can generative AI make better games than humans can? Do we want it to?
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Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.
