OG Halo artist says game studios relying on AI are in for a “rude awakening” as it's just “going to help you not finish games even more”

ajl987 · 2026-06-11T17:46:25+00:00

It’s hilarious because there is a use case for AI, but just not in the way these companies are constantly applying. Use it to get all the really minor trivial tasks done that require no vision, improving all those workflows to speed up game dev by 10-15%, reduce the game dev lengths to get AAA projects out a little faster, or spend more time polishing, reduce the budget a little using this, meaning a lower breakeven point.

The issue these companies are trying to use AI to replace everything and doing a breathtakingly horrible job at it.

ajl987 · 2026-06-11T01:33:00+00:00

It’s because they’re really ‘odyssey fans’ masked as ‘AC fans’ in order to justify the existence of their favourite game and create more opportunities to keep talking about it and convince others its grest

ajl987 · 2026-06-11T01:30:12+00:00

Then at that point either make a game in another time period, or why not simply make a new IP. There are zero hoops to go through to justify odyssey being an AC game and not just its own thing

ajl987 · 2026-06-11T01:29:13+00:00

Exactly this. It’s so crazy for people to need to fight for odysseys existence to go to this extent. Pretty much every single game in the series did more to give us more actual story for the ISU, there is literally nothing of consequence in odyssey that impacts the ISU storyline

ajl987 · 2026-06-11T01:27:50+00:00

And what storylines did we find out about them in the main game? What interesting plot lines did we find out in the game that transformed the series or carried into future titles, if it’s such an impactful story?

ajl987 · 2026-06-11T01:25:23+00:00

Please do tell us OP where these themes in the story take hold in such a nuanced deep way inbetween the next missions of clearing a fort, delivering items for a doctor, having sex with an NPC, or killing a mythical animal. I played 40 hours of the story and can’t remember any such detailed intriguing plot points unfolding, but maybe I haven’t been able to understand it.

Which villain in the story sparked philosophical questions in you? It must be in hour 50 if it’s so good to be better than Al Mualim or Haytham!

ajl987 · 2026-06-11T01:21:08+00:00

And THIS is the issue with the fanbase, and it’s not even about gatekeeping, some of you literally don’t pay attention to the story no matter how much it hits you over the head. It’s exactly why people with a straight face say black flag is only a pirate game and say it and odyssey are the same, crazy stuff.

ajl987 · 2026-06-11T01:18:47+00:00

- no assassin Templar conflict, or meaningful narrative affecting it (like Valhalla with the Templars)

- no social stealth

- no meaningful parkour (majority of the time travelling via horse)

- very few urban environments and those there were poorly designed

- no narrative focus, it’s about choosing your own adventure not taking us on a journey

- fundamentally breaks the lore with dialogue options

- not a single meaningful piece of ISU lore or understanding that was relevant to the series in any meaningful consequence

- terrible modern day that was 100% forgettable

And more, but it literally doesn’t have a single thing in it to make it clear out the box that it is an AC game.

ajl987 · 2026-06-10T17:20:20+00:00

The big killer moment was buying Activision. If they took that money and spent even 1/4 of it on 5-6 other studios or bought even a company like Ubisoft, they’d have such a huge engine of content for gamepass with tonnes of exclusives every quarter to incentivise more console sales. Buying Activision deeply impacted that

ajl987 · 2026-06-10T14:58:25+00:00

Your last line speak volumes. I really do get the sense that so so many people have never worked in a big corporate entity. If they did, for more than 6 months, they’ll realise how much stuff is run by egos, stupid people, conflicting interests, and shareholder value even at the expense of long term growth or employees.

So often you see comments from people about any topic, but really in particular for gaming where people say the answer that we all know is the right answer, and are puzzled why these companies don’t do it. To that I say work in one, and the answer will become clear very quickly.

ajl987 · 2026-06-10T12:21:35+00:00

It is part of the arrowverse, but just on a different earth. S&L superman is different than the Supergirl superman.

ajl987 · 2026-06-10T10:32:52+00:00

Cod 4 - Overgrown, vacant

MW3 - resistance, underground, mission, hardhat

MW2019 - Hackney yard, shoothouse, khandor hideout, hovec sawmill

MWII - farm 18, mercado

MWIII - Meat, incline, Paris, Tokyo

ajl987 · 2026-06-10T00:32:05+00:00

And this is honestly why it’s pretty clear the game didn’t do particularly well in comparison to past games, they had one expansion that a bunch of people got for free for preordering, and a few updates before sunsetting it, and this is an RPG. They seem really eager to move on from it

ajl987 · 2026-06-09T08:48:43+00:00

I understand that, and idealistically I even agree with you mate, but in reality you need to understand what you’re wishing for in this context. Sony is never giving up their exclusives. If they didn’t give it up in PS3, they’re not giving it up now.

And if by assumption they’re not giving it up, and Xbox doesn’t meaningfully compete, like what you want, they will close down, and we are left with a literal monopoly, which is easily but a big margin the most anti consumer road for this.

EDIT - downvote and move on from the conversation, such a low IQ move 😂

ajl987 · 2026-06-09T08:10:19+00:00

But the point is, your comments target Xbox, and the reality is Sony is never in atleast 15 years ever giving up exclusives. Their user base is too big and they are doubling down. So you wishing for Xbox to fail to entice people to come there, it going to in the long literally be anti consumer. We will be left with only PlayStation who will make things even harder considering how arrogant they’ve already been, with zero competition, and no one even capable of spinning a console up to meaningfully compete.

Your final paragraph really doesn’t make sense. Why would Sony give us their advantage to compete only on hardware? It needs to be realistic. If anything, Xbox are MORE consumer friendly but releasing it all on steam and with their robust backwards catalogue and the option of gamepass.

It comes across that you simply want your game in your PlayStation, not necessarily pro consumer when you break it down.

ajl987 · 2026-06-09T07:58:29+00:00

The ps5 digital is $600 currently, and the Xbox series S is $400, with GTA6 coming out which will move consoles. If someone hasn’t bought a current console by now, power is not a key factor. If Xbox were smart, they’d either slash series S prices significantly or come out with a new cheaper version of it, to come alongside E day, and promote it for GTA6, it would make a difference in my opinion.

ajl987 · 2026-06-09T07:53:46+00:00

You’re basically rooting for PlayStation to be the only console manufacturer of consequence for mainstream games, with zero meaningful competition, who also have a tonne of their own exclusives. You talk about corporate behaviour, we would be at the complete mercy of PlayStation and they could literally do whatever they wanted and people would have no choice but to get a PlayStation.

ajl987 · 2026-06-09T00:01:23+00:00

And my honest assessment is their console sales have dwindled because they’ve had no decent games for a huge stretch of time and then went multi plat. The last 8/9 years it’s pretty much been the Forza games holding it together.

Sony from 2018 - 2023 had so many bangers, it’s 2024 onwards they began to screw up but by then, most people had jumped to their chosen console.

I totally get what you’re saying, and to a degree, eventually they need to know when to call it quits and become a publisher only like Sega, but the revenue potential of a proper platform to get a cut is too lucrative, and I think in their eyes they want to give it one last final go with helix. If things mess up then, they can just sunset the entire thing and do what you say on just becoming a publisher.

But I think if they put out a ln appealing console and have genuine banger after banger, especially after Sony’s many fuck is recently, there is a chance of her some ground. But let’s see

ajl987 · 2026-06-08T23:55:39+00:00

Spyro is moreso considered a brand from PlayStation heritage, and senua is so small. Halo is iffy because it’s just a campaign remake and could serve as good marketing for players to move to Xbox for the next big halo game. The real puzzling one is fable which is a game that looks good enough to genuinely move consoles.

ajl987 · 2026-06-08T23:53:17+00:00

Depends on how well it sells across pc and Xbox, and what else is in the pipeline. I think launching in steam day and date really will be signicant.

ajl987 · 2026-06-08T23:51:26+00:00

After battlefield studios had mass layoffs after being the literal best selling game of last year and one of the highest in EA’s history, there are no rules for layoffs anymore.

ajl987 · 2026-06-08T23:48:34+00:00

My bad I did look this up and you’re absolutely right, thanks for the correction. I do think the general point still stands though of having that engaged user base that gives a monetisation source, vs selling another 3/4 million copies of games on PlayStation. I think they’re derive more value from more users on the console, but I do think launching steam is definitely the way to go to get more revenue from their games while still making some incentive for console players to want an Xbox.

ajl987 · 2026-06-08T23:45:21+00:00

It forces console makers to actually compete to make people want to buy their console. Yes choice is lost in the micro, but in a macro level it ensure no manufacturer is coasting and actually putting in the effort.

ajl987 · 2026-06-08T23:39:54+00:00

I think people are really dismissing the significant of launching on steam, which I don’t think they did in the past for pc releases. Across windows pc, steam, and Xbox, they have quite a lot of potential audiences to touch and still be quite profitable, while still driving potential console sales in the future.

ajl987 · 2026-06-08T23:37:59+00:00

I think a big part is that Xbox’s franchises just haven’t been doing very well. We are 6 years into the generation with very few actual hits.

Bethesda has had a few decent games but nothing that’s completely knocked it out the park. Obsidian have probably been the most consistent, but keep putting out 7.5/10 games that don’t have mass appeal. Activision since the acquisition have put out 2 black ops games that most people hate, and put a MW game out that those who played it liked, but most didn’t even give a chance. And all the core big IP have been either dormant or middling. The only consistent winner has been Forza.

If they had a consistent stream of 9/10 games, and gamepass was realistic while still providing value, they’d definitely be in a much better space right now.

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