Owlcat, the developer behind The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, known for creating Pathfinder: Kingmaker, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, and Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader, has admitted to using generative AI while developing the sci-fi game.
“We will not be using this to create any assets included in the game,” PR manager Katharina Popp said in response to my question at a press conference ahead of today’s release and beta announcement of The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. “I often use it for prototyping, trials, placeholders, etc. All of which will eventually be replaced.
“We’re basically using it to try things out on a technical level,” Popp added. “For example, seeing what a 2D image looks like in 3D, or changing the colors to something that looks nicer. It’s basically just to be able to iterate faster. But we don’t write with it, and we don’t use AI voice actors. So everything that’s in the final version will definitely be 100 percent human-authored.”
This isn’t the first time the Cyprus-based studio has faced questions regarding its use of Gen-AI. Back in 2024, the company posted a job ad for a concept artist, listing “concept generation using AI and other modern tools” as one of the tasks. A screenshot of the vacancy was shared on X by someone interested in the role, prompting a response from Owlcat to “clarify” the issue.
“We are using AI as a working tool for future projects, which are currently in the early stages of production,” Owlcat said, possibly referring to The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, which was kept secret at the time. “AI is only used for additional work on concepts and to speed up some internal processes, such as creative search, inspiration, or vision alignment before the conceptualization itself begins.
“The final version of the game will not include any art generated by neural networks, nor will the final concept. Everything will be original and drawn by professional artists. Our current projects, Rogue Trader and Pathfinder, do not use AI at all.”
Owlcat expanded on that answer to later try to defuse the intense backlash. “Under no circumstances will we replace our artists with neural networks,” the company said. “All the art in the game, including concepts, portraits, etc. [are] Exclusively illustrated by the artist. We are using neural networks to find direction and inspiration before developing concepts for our next projects, which are currently in early development stages and unpublished. ” Expanse: Osiris Reborn was finally announced last summer, more than a year after the X-Exchange occurred.
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn looks a lot like Mass Effect at first glance, with a similar presentation and similar type of gameplay. This is in part because Owlcat is heavily inspired by BioWare’s famous science fiction series. The studio made no secret of this inspiration. In fact, it was repeated at the press conference. Cover-based combat, squad command, romance, dialogue, RPG upgrades and customization: there’s a lot to compare here.
The big difference is the tone of The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, which aims for a more grounded and believable kind of technology rather than characters with magical, biological abilities. It is also based on the famous book series that was brilliantly adapted into Syfy’s acclaimed TV show, The Expanse.
Owlcat announced today that The Expanse: Osiris Reborn will be released on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox Series S/X in Spring 2027, and that there will be a closed beta demo released next month for those who pre-purchased the game. It will also be available on Game Pass Ultimate from day one.
