Video Games

Netflix announces AI division for games with slop image of roads that lead nowhere

Generative AI is here to do your job badly

Kirk McKeand

Netflix

Netflix does video games now. They’re plastered all over the app, playable on most of your devices, and the library is pretty impressive. Proper games like Hades, Into the Breach, and Moonlighter are included in the regular subscription. You’d almost think they understood and cared about the medium. 

You can kiss that fantasy goodbye now because Netflix just announced a new job role within the company: vice president of generative AI for games. 

“I am focused on a creator-first vision for AI, one that puts creative talent at the center, with AI being a catalyst and an accelerant,” said Netflix’s Mike Verdu. “AI will enable big game teams to move much faster, and will also put an almost unimaginable collection of new capabilities in the hands of developers in smaller game teams.

An AI-generated image from Netflix
Netflix?

“Many view this technology with fear, but I am a game-maker at heart and I see its potential to unlock all of us, to create mind-blowing new experiences for players, to lift us to new heights. Yes, we'll have to adapt and change, but when have we failed to meet that challenge as an industry?” 

I can answer that one for you, Mike Verdu – right now. You know, amid an unprecedented number of layoffs – which this technology will actually succeed in expediting if you achieve your goals of automating art. 

Netflix announced this news with an AI-generated image of a utopia at the end of a road that rolls through green hills. Except it’s not at the end of the road because this is an AI-generated image and the roads lead nowhere – drive along them you’d go in circles, get lost along the way, and end up back where you started. Almost too on the nose, isn’t it? 

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Kirk McKeand
KIRK MCKEAND

Kirk McKeand is the Content Director for GLHF.  A games media writer and editor from Lincoln, UK, he won a Games Media Award in 2014 in the Rising Star category. He has also been nominated for two Features Writer awards. He was also recognized in MCV's 30 Under 30 list in 2014. His favorite games are The Witcher 3, The Last of Us Part 2, Dishonored 2, Deus Ex, Bloodborne, Suikoden 2, and Final Fantasy 7.  You can buy Kirk McKeand's book, The History of the Stealth Game, in most bookstores in the US and UK.  With a foreword written by Arkane's Harvey Smith, The History of the Stealth Game dives deep into the shadows of game development, uncovering the surprising stories behind some of the industry's most formative video games.  He has written for IGN, Playboy, Vice, Eurogamer, Edge, Official PlayStation Magazine, Games Master, Official Xbox Magazine, USA Today's ForTheWin, Digital Spy, The Telegraph, International Business Times, and more.  Kirk was previously the Editor-in-Chief at TheGamer and Deputy Editor at VG247. These days he works as the Content Director for GLHF, a content agency specializing in video games coverage, serving media partners across the globe.  You can check out Kirk McKeand's MuckRack profile for more.  Email: kirk.mckeand@glhf.gg

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