PUBG Creator Applauds AI Revolt — But Says His Studio Will Use the Tech the Right Way

Everyone in games is arguing about generative AI right now, and the guy who kick-started battle royale, PUBG creator Brendan Greene, just weighed in. Short version: he is fine with AI as a tool, not as a replacement for humans, and he very much expects to keep artists in the driver seat.

What Greene is actually using AI for

In a new chat with Eurogamer, Greene said his studio PlayerUnknown Productions is not leaning on large language models. He put it pretty plainly: they do not use LLMs, and he is not sweating any backlash about that. He even points out that chatbots have been around since the 60s and 70s and, in his view, did a lot of the same tricks in spirit.

So what are they doing? The studio is building systems to help artists shape massive game worlds faster. Greene likens it to running an orchestra: sometimes you are the violinist doing the detailed work, sometimes you are the conductor pulling a few levers to get the whole thing moving, and the world comes together quickly. The intent is assistive, not replacement.

'The right way to use AI is the way that helps you build worlds faster without taking jobs away from artists.'

On players pushing back against AI

Greene says he is genuinely encouraged by how vocal players have been about AI-generated stuff. He likes that the community has drawn a line: if it is not made by artists, they do not want it. He repeats that he is not worried about his studio’s approach specifically because he believes they are using AI to augment people, not erase them.

The awkward corporate wrinkle

Here is the part that might raise an eyebrow: Krafton, the publisher behind PUBG and an investor in Greene’s studio, recently rebranded itself as an 'AI first' company. That sounds like a clash of philosophies, but Greene is clear about the separation. PlayerUnknown Productions is fully independent, Krafton only holds a minority stake, and the two operate separately. He says Krafton’s internal strategy does not dictate what his team does, and they have been operating that way since 2021.

He is not alone on this

• Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu says he has never used AI and probably never will because it is not creatively rewarding.
• Patrick Soderlund, who is leading Arc Raiders, says games cannot be built by an AI and adds: 'I hope they never can.'
• Silent Hill series producer Motoi Okamoto says Silent Hill f makes bold choices he does not believe AI could ever make.

Where this shows up next

We will see how Greene’s philosophy plays out in PlayerUnknown Productions’ own projects, starting with the studio’s survival game Prologue: Go Wayback. That one is set to launch on November 20.