Baldur’s Gate 3 developer responds to Elon Musk’s AI video game announcement for 2026

Michael Douse, director of publishing at Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios, has publicly responded to Elon Musk’s recent promise that his AI company will create a fully AI-generated video game by 2026.

Musk made the claim while promoting his AI venture, XAI, which he says will produce a “great” game powered by its Grok technology.

The announcement was shared alongside AI-rendered footage of a military shooter, though Musk provided no additional details about the project’s development or creative direction.

The tech entrepreneur’s statement follows his continued investment in artificial intelligence through XAI, which aims to rival other major AI platforms.

Douse responded to Musk’s post on social media, arguing that while artificial intelligence can be a useful development tool, it cannot replace human creativity and leadership in game design.

“Genuinely, what this industry needs is not more mathematically produced, psychologically trained gameplay loops, rather more expressions of worlds that folks are engaged with, or want to engage with,” Douse wrote.

He continued: “AI has its place as a tool, but we have all the tools in the world, and they aren’t compensating for the incredible lack of cogent direction. AI isn’t going to solve the big problem of the industry, which is leadership and vision.”

Larian Studios has earned widespread critical acclaim for Baldur’s Gate 3, which released across PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Mac, and Linux. The game is known for its complex storytelling and player-driven design, qualities Douse’s comments suggest could be difficult for AI-generated projects to achieve.

Musk has not directly responded to Douse’s remarks. His AI gaming project remains without an official title, confirmed partners, or release timeline beyond the target year of 2026.