Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, is venturing into the world of gaming. He shared plans to build his own AI game studio. When announcing this move on X, he explained that the purpose is to enhance the quality of games and "make gaming great again". Musk believes it has been harmed by corporate control.
This announcement comes after Billy Markus, the founder of Dogecoin, criticized the current state of gaming. Markus is frustrated that game developers and journalists have become "ideologically captured". Gamers, who oppose the greed and manipulation of developers, now see these issues in the industry.
Elon Musk often speaks out against the DEI approach in modern gaming
Musk, a longtime gamer and top Diablo 4 player, often speaks out against the industry's shift towards identity politics and moral signaling. He has voiced his opposition to the inclusion of pronouns and agenda-driven content in major video games, which he sees as a growing trend.
Modern games have turned this approach into a popular storytelling method, and that has angered players. After the troubled launches of games like Suicide Squad, Justice League, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, gamers increasingly feel encouraged to voice their opposition to what they perceive as a decline in quality.
AI can help reduce the time and costs typically associated with AAA games
By launching an AI studio, Musk's plans could help gamers bring titles to shelves in significantly shorter timeframes compared to traditional AAA studios. These big-budget game companies take five to ten years to release new games. This leads to the potential for faster AI adoption in gaming.
Mark Kern, also known as Grummz, a former team lead at World of Warcraft, praised Musk's announcement.
AA games this year are outperforming AAA games, Kern points out. According to him, the high costs, risks, and large teams with budgets behind AAA games are inefficient and often lead to recycled ideas. Meanwhile, smaller AA studios with budgets around $40 to $70 million are achieving greater profits and leading in sales.
It was also previously revealed that xAI will soon release a standalone consumer application, similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT app. Users will be able to access xAI's Grok chatbot on their devices via the app.
The application, which sources say will launch after xAI's next funding round, is expected to raise $5 billion. This funding will bring the company's valuation to $50 billion. Reports suggest that as a reward for their support, Musk is said to have offered investors 25% of xAI shares. These investors previously supported his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.