Joining Valve’s Gabe Newell at the altar of AI, Ubisoft CEO says the controversial tech will be “as big a revolution for our industry as the shift to 3D”

You don’t have to look very hard to find a gaming executive who’s just taken a big hit of generative AI and is ready to preach its benefits to the masses, but not all AI sermons are created equal. Some folks are, at least notionally, cooler on the tech’s role and impact (and, of course, plenty of other people oppose all or many applications of it). Then you have folks like Valve billionaire Gabe Newell, who’s called AI and machine learning systems a “cheat code” technological transition comparable to the pre- and post-internet era. Newell’s comments came to mind as I listened to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, who we can add to the list of AI enthusiasts since he expects gen AI to be “as big a revolution for our industry as the shift to 3D.”

Guillemot discussed gen AI in the company’s latest earnings call, which was abruptly delayed from its usual timing for unclear reasons. Not unrelatedly, Ubisoft says Tencent’s $1.3 billion investment in its new Assassin’s Creed shepherd Vantage Studios is “imminent.”