Larian Studios Reverses AI Art Policy After Community Backlash

Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian has reversed its position on generative AI following significant backlash from the gaming community late last year.

During a recent Reddit Ask Me Anything, studio founder Swen Vincke stated, "To ensure there is no room for doubt, we've decided to refrain from using gen-AI tools during concept art development." He emphasized that this decision aims to eliminate any confusion regarding the origins of the art.

The controversy stemmed from previous mentions of using gen-AI in relation to concept art during the game's announcement. Vincke had suggested that Larian might use generative AI for developing concept art, which led to significant concerns among fans. Subsequently, he clarified that the studio was only utilizing gen-AI to explore references and not to generate final images.

In the recent statement, Vincke reinforced that there would be no gen-AI-generated art in Divinity, while also revealing that the studio is still exploring the use of generative AI in other areas. He added, "We continuously try to improve the speed with which we can try things out. The more iterations we can do, the better the gameplay will be. We think gen-AI can help with this and we're trying things out across departments. Our hope is that it can refine ideas faster, leading to a more focused development cycle, less waste, and ultimately, a higher-quality game."

Vincke stressed that any in-game assets created through generative AI would only be trained on data owned by the studio, ensuring complete clarity regarding the origins of the materials used.

Additionally, Larian's lead writer Adam Smith confirmed that the studio's commitment to avoiding gen-AI also extends to writing within the game. "The stance applies to writing as well. We don't have any text generation touching our dialogues, journal entries, or other writing in Divinity," he wrote.

Divinity was introduced at The Game Awards 2025, featuring a dark and dramatic cinematic trailer. Although it shares its name with the acclaimed Divinity: Original Sin titles, it is a completely new and separate game, with Larian developing a fresh turn-based RPG system for this upcoming release.