Fans of tabletop and miniature wargames are no doubt familiar with the fantasy series Warhammer and its sci-fi counterpart Warhammer 40,000. Both properties represent the largest and most popular tabletop wargames in the world, with maker Games Workshop licensing the franchises to various other developers and manufactures to create toys, board games, novels, video games, and more.
With generative AI seemingly taking over the world right now for better or worse — definitely for worse in my opinion, especially if you live near a datacenter — many have wondered if Games Workshop will use it as they develop and license Warhammer, and if so, how.
We've finally gotten an answer in the latest earnings report from the publisher, with CEO Kevin Rountree addressing the matter and explaining that Games Workshop staff are banned from using AI and that "none are that excited about it yet," but noting that a select few senior managers are "remaining inquisitive about the technology."
Rountree began by acknowledging that AI is "a very broad topic and to be honest I’m not an expert on it," before stating the following:
"We do have a few senior managers that are: none are that excited about it yet. We have agreed an internal policy to guide us all, which is currently very cautious e.g. we do not allow AI generated content or AI to be used in our design processes or its unauthorised use outside of GW including in any of our competitions," he explained. "We also have to monitor and protect ourselves from a data compliance, security and governance perspective, the AI or machine learning engines seem to be automatically included on our phones or laptops whether we like it or not."
"We are allowing those few senior managers to continue to be inquisitive about the technology," he continued. "We have also agreed we will be maintaining a strong commitment to protect our intellectual property and respect our human creators. In the period reported, we continued to invest in our Warhammer Studio — hiring more creatives in multiple disciplines from concepting and art to writing and sculpting. Talented and passionate individuals that make Warhammer the rich, evocative IP that our hobbyists and we all love."
So, in short: Games Workshop isn't currently allowing any of its employees to use generative AI and the developer has promised to "protect our human creators," but it's still dipping its toes in the AI waters and evaluating how useful it might be without compromising its commitments to its workers.
Depending on how you feel about AI and its growing prevalence in the entertainment industry, you'll likely either be gladdened or disappointed by this news. Personally, I'm happy to see Games Workshop take a firm stance against AI use, and I hope its policy extends to the game devs it works with that made hits like Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 and Warhammer 40,000: Darktide.
That bit about managers experimenting with it gives me pause, but still, the company's position stands out compared to others in gaming and entertainment. Most recently, Baldur's Gate 3 dev Larian came under fire for using AI to make concept art references for its next RPG Divinity, with the studio eventually stopping but admitting it's still "trying things out across departments" and hinting at the possibility of training its own internal LLM.
Elsewhere, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson stated that AI is "the very core of our business" — Battlefield 6 was recently put on blast for having AI-generated cosmetics in its microtransactions store — during EA's 2024 Investor Day presentation, while Square Enix committed to being "aggressive in applying AI."
Ultimately, AI isn't going anywhere, at least for the foreseeable future. But at the very least, I'm glad there are teams like Games Workshop that aren't allowing its use and are vowing to continue investing in human talent.
How do you feel about the growing prevalence of AI in the entertainment industry? Are you glad to see that Games Workshop is taking a firm stance against the technology's use? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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