Subnautica 2 devs won't touch generative AI despite "AI first" pivot at owner Krafton: "It's interesting technology, but it's not something we're using"

Subnautica 2 character with shocked expression.

Developer Unknown Worlds didn't use generative AI for one ounce of Subnautica 2, which is now set to launch in early access on May 14, despite it technically coming from self-described "AI first" company Krafton, who's still on as co-publisher despite vanishing from the publisher slot on Steam and other store pages.

Speaking with Eurogamer, Subnautica 2 creative media producer Scott MacDonald stressed that gen AI hasn't been used "at all" by Unknown Worlds, joining many devs eager to head off accusations of slop.

"It's all traditional person-done," he says, and isn't that term proof of how polarizing AI tools can be. "When we mention AI, it's all traditional: a programmer has physically gone in and done it themselves, like [the] creature AI," he continues, referring to the standard video game application of artificial intelligence: making little dudes move around. Generative AI, archetypally used to generate art and audio assets or code from a prompt using references (often stolen references), is very different.

"We're using Unity Blackboard and things like that. It's basically all hand-done. It's interesting technology, but it's not something we're using at all," MacDonald concludes.

Potential gen AI usage was one of the many questions and concerns raised about Subnautica 2 under Krafton – one of many, given the fraught legal dispute between Unknown Worlds' founders and Krafton leadership.

In November, Krafton dubbed itself an "AI first" company and offered voluntary resignation packages to staff who weren't interested in its AI-led future. It's one of the more aggressive investments we've seen in AI tech among gaming's zealots.

According to MacDonald, this only manifested as an offer to use AI tools from the higher-ups: "We are free to say yes, or no, or whatever. We decided on this particular project that it doesn't suit us, it doesn't suit our pipeline, or what we want to do."

Despite many roadblocks, Subnautica 2 is almost here: the co-op-enabled sequel to one of the best survival games of all time is just weeks away.

Subnautica 2 owner constantly relied on ChatGPT for legal strategy, judge says in scathing order: "Krafton followed most of ChatGPT’s recommendations."