Crimson Desert and DokeV developer Pearl Abyss is planning to further integrate generative AI into its workflow.
The South Korean studio said as much in its latest quarterly Earnings Letter, explaining that it had previously “validated game systems only after implementing them manually.” Now, Pearl Abyss is using AI “to rapidly validate diverse design concepts prior to actual implementation,” and argues the move “enables a more efficient allocation of development resources and enhances overall production speed.”
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“However, AI serves strictly as a tool to support concept validation and pipeline productivity, while the core gameplay experience and actual content creation remain fully driven by our development team,” the developer said.
When Crimson Desert first launched, players spotted a crop of suspicious in-game images that looked like they were prompted into existence. Pearl Abyss soon explained that some “2D visual props” were generated with AI tools, but were always intended to be replaced with human-made art, before quickly patching them out of the hit open-world game.
It seems Pearl Abyss is now even more keen on the controversial tech, however: “We are integrating AI technologies to enhance development productivity and overall quality. AI is being utilized across various stages of development – including the automation of repetitive tasks, content creation support, and test optimization – and we are expanding its implementation throughout our entire development pipeline. We view AI not as a substitute for human developers, but as a tool to elevate development efficiency and quality. We will continue to expand our application of AI to deliver higher-fidelity games to the market more expeditiously.”
Elsewhere in the letter, the studio said its previously announced creature-collector DokeV is “targeting a launch in the second half of 2028” and we should hear more about it within the year. DokeV was initially targeting a 2023 launch a few years ago. Meanwhile, Crimson Desert is being prepped for a Nintendo Switch 2 launch “in the first half of next year.”
The use of generative AI in game development has been a hot topic for years, though it’s only become more prevalent in recent months as ‘AI slop’ floods Steam and big companies like Epic Games proudly adopt the tech. A recent report even estimated that around 40 percent of active developers use AI tools in their work.
