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Days after shutting its AAA game studio filled with former God of War and Overwatch talent, Netflix announces a 'new initiative' powered by AI
Netflix is shifting its focus from traditional AAA game development to utilizing generative AI for creating 'novel' game experiences, despite recently closing its AAA game studio and laying off several industry veterans.
Just days after reportedly closing its AAA game studio with industry-leading talent, Netflix is planning "truly novel game experiences" powered by generative AI.
The news comes in the form of a LinkedIn post from Mike Verdu, the founder and previous vice president of Netflix Games and now the new VP of "GenAI for Games" at Netflix. "At long last, I am ready to talk about what I'm doing next: I am working on driving a 'once in a generation' inflection point for game development and player experiences using generative AI," reads Verdu's big reveal.
This "transformational technology," as he says, will "accelerate the velocity of development and unlock truly novel game experiences that will surprise, delight, and inspire players." It's admittedly a bit alarming considering the company's recent studio closure and loss of talent like Overwatch executive producer Chacko Sonny and God of War Ragnarok art director Rafael Grassetti - but according to Verdu, it'll run on a "creator-first" system.
"I am focused on a creator-first vision for AI," he writes, "one that puts creative talent at the center, with AI being a catalyst and an accelerant. AI will enable big game teams to move much faster, and will also put an almost unimaginable collection of new capabilities in the hands of developers in smaller game teams." Verdu also assures readers that the AI division at Netflix has been "planned" for some time now.
"Pay no mind to the uninformed speculation in the media about the changes in Netflix Games," states the VP. "What you've seen over the last several months was actually a planned transition." While I can't say I feel better about the entire situation personally, I do wonder what direction "GenAI for Games" at Netflix will take - and how Verdu plans to make his so-called "dent in the universe" with AI as the division's lead.