Larian Studios has reversed its approach to generative AI for its upcoming game Divinity following fan backlash. In a Reddit AMA, CEO Swen Vincke announced the studio will avoid AI tools entirely during concept art development to eliminate doubts about art origins. The decision extends to writing, ensuring all creative assets remain fully human-made.
Larian Studios, known for Baldur's Gate 3, faced controversy late last year after CEO Swen Vincke's December interview suggested the use of generative AI in concept art development. Vincke later clarified that AI was only used for exploring references, not generating images. However, to address ongoing concerns, the studio has now decided to forgo AI tools completely in this area for Divinity, a new turn-based RPG announced at The Game Awards 2025 with a cinematic trailer depicting a disastrous festival ritual.
In the January 9, 2026, Reddit AMA, Vincke stated, "to ensure there is no room for doubt, we've decided to refrain from using gen-AI tools during concept art development. That way there can be no discussion about the origin of the art." He emphasized, "there is not going to be any gen-AI art in Divinity."
While banning AI from concept art, Larian continues to experiment with it elsewhere to enhance development efficiency. Vincke explained, "We continuously try to improve the speed with which we can try things out. The more iterations we can do, the better in general the gameplay is. We think gen-AI can help with this and so we're trying things out across departments. Our hope is that it can aid us to refine ideas faster, leading to a more focused development cycle, less waste, and ultimately, a higher-quality game."
Crucially, any future AI-generated in-game assets would be trained solely on data owned by Larian, ensuring transparency on training origins and consent. Lead writer Adam Smith confirmed the policy applies to writing: "The stance applies to writing as well. We don't have any text generation touching our dialogues, journal entries or other writing in Divinity."
Smith added that experiments with AI for placeholder text yielded poor results, rated at best 3/10, making it unsuitable for production. Larian also reaffirmed commitments to actors, avoiding use of voice recordings to train AI models.
This stance distances Divinity from industry debates, such as the backlash against Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, where AI assets led to rescinded awards. No release date has been set for Divinity, which stands apart from the Divinity: Original Sin series.
