Xbox announces what sounds like a generative AI-focused game-making department, Xbox Labs, while avoiding mentioning AI
Xbox has launched Xbox Labs, a small initiative to explore new ways games can be made, adapted and experienced. The announcement points to recent game modifications and ports as inspiration, but does not say whether Labs will work on generative AI tools.
The team will bring together game makers, engineers and scientists, and is led by Xbox chief technology officer Scott Van Vliet. CEO Asha Sharma said Xbox players spend more than 72 billion hours a year playing, around five times the estimated global time spent writing code. The launch follows similar game-making platform announcements from Google and Unity, though Xbox has not explained whether its work will take a similar direction.
- Xbox has formed a team to explore new game-making ideas.
- Its announcement does not mention generative AI.
- The initiative is led by CTO Scott Van Vliet.
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Xbox is Microsoft’s video-game business, making the Xbox console and publishing games. Its players can also use modifications, often called mods, which change or add to a game, and ports, which adapt a game for another platform.
Xbox Labs is a team bringing together game makers, engineers and scientists, led by technology chief Scott Van Vliet. Its stated aim is to explore new ways to make, adapt and experience games; the announcement does not specify whether it will develop generative AI tools.
The initiative comes as other companies, including Google and Unity, announce platforms for making games. How Xbox Labs develops could matter to game makers and players, as new tools may affect how games are built and changed.
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The case for
Xbox Labs could help make games easier to adapt, modify and experience, building on the creativity already seen in community modifications and ports. Bringing game makers together with engineers and scientists may support useful experimentation, while the announcement itself does not establish that the work will rely on generative AI.
The case against
The announcement leaves the initiative’s methods and aims unclear, while its emphasis on vast amounts of player engagement invites questions about whether players’ activity could be used to develop automated game-making tools. If generative AI is involved, advocates may reasonably want transparency about its role and effects on creative work, even as those possibilities remain unconfirmed.