Square Enix has announced plans to ‘automate 70% of QA and debugging tasks’ by 2027, removing human developers from the equation. The plan was shared in a shareholder-facing progress report outlining the company’s moves towards ‘rebooting and reawakening’ after a difficult few years.
Square Enix announces plans for GenAI – quick links
Square Enix outlines AI plans
As reported by VGC, Square Enix is working alongside the Matsuo-Iwasawa Laboratory at the University of Tokyo to implement its plans, with both working towards ‘improving the efficiency of game development processes through AI technologies.’
By automating its QA processes, the studio aims to improve the efficiency of its QA operations, while also establishing a ‘competitive advantage in game development.’ What goes unsaid in Square Enix’s progress report is what will happen to workers currently in the QA field.
Currently, QA and debugging is a distinctly human job, with talented workers utilising diverse skills to play and test games in development, and provide accurate, layered feedback, to ensure a higher quality release.
There are plenty of doubts about the role of generative AI in these processes, and how it could meaningfully replace humans, given the complexity of the work involved.
Larian Studios’ Michael Douse speaks out against Square Enix’s plans
Already, Square Enix’s declaration has inspired backlash from game developers and players alike, with many pushing back on the perceived usefulness of generative AI in the QA space, and for how implementation will impact the quality of game development.
Larian Studios’ head publisher Michael Douse is one of the first major names to speak out against Square Enix’s future plans, outlining an array of reasons why a plan to replace QA and debugging teams is flawed.
As Douse explained on X, QA workers play an essential role in any good game development studio: ‘So QA are some of the most video games engaged people in any company. They are integral to your community teams. To publishing. They give you the real feedback. They know what is good and what is bad before the audience does, and they are the most resilient department.’
‘AI and automation is clearly integral to QA for any large scale game but the idea that QA people can be replaced at a large scale is stupid because it supposes that the conversations with them can be replaced and they can’t. They are a massively advantageous vibe check.’
Douse also pointed out another flaw, in that QA is often a gateway for entry-level game developers to learn more about game development, and hone their skills. By significantly reducing or replacing jobs in QA, Square Enix will lose future staff, who could be trained up to contribute to other corners of the business.
‘You want to be able to offer people beneficial positions that allow them to grow and help to grow you!’
Generative AI has reportedly been demonstrated to disrupt development processes, so far
That’s not to mention that recent efforts by fellow studio EA, to aggressively introduce AI into the game development process, has reportedly been met with staff outcry, dissatisfaction, and worse working conditions.
As reported by Business Insider, staff are reportedly dealing with ‘flawed code’ and ‘hallucinations that they need to correct’ amongst other challenges which are making their work more difficult.
So far, it appears AI is simply not capable of many of the tasks it claims to aid. Even with ample training, there are many processes, particularly in game development, that simply need a human on board, with the imagination, creativity, and talent, to problem solve.
We’ll have to see tuned to see whether Square Enix’s plans resolve successfully, and how they will reshape the studio workforce as they continue to work on big, highly-anticipated projects – including the long-gestating Kingdom Hearts 4, and the finale of the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy.
