Wizards of the Coast says its recent AI job postings are for video games, not Dungeons & Dragons or Magic: The Gathering.
Wizards of the Coast responded after a tabletop gaming enthusiast discovered a job ad for generative AI on the company's webpage over the weekend. Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering AI enthusiasts expressed dismay and outrage at a job ad for a “Principal AI Engineer” posted in early May. The ad sought “proven experience with AI/ML systems in at least one of the following areas: simulation, asset creation, and/or generative content,” and went on to say that the AI engineer would be responsible for designing, building, and deploying systems for “intelligent generation of text dialogue, audio, art assets, NPC behavior, and real-time bot frameworks.”
But while many were quick to speculate that Wizards of the Coast was considering AI development for its flagship tabletop game, Wizards told ComicBook that the job description pertains to future video game projects, a growth area for the Hasbro subsidiary. “Our stance on AI has not changed,” Wizards of the Coast told ComicBook. “This job description is for a role on future video game projects. You can find our AI FAQ here.”Wizards has launched several game studios over the past five years and is developing a number of AAA video games, including the recently announced Exodus.
Both the Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering teams have made it clear that art produced in the generative AI project should not be used by freelance illustrators or writers working on their products. Additionally, Wizards has issued a series of statements saying that the games are built on the “innovation, ingenuity, and hard work of talented people” and are not based on generative AI. However, Wizards has faced multiple AI-related controversies, with one artist admitting to using generative AI in a piece submitted to Magic: The Gathering. Bigby's Presents: Glory of the Giants and Magic: The Gathering The marketing team had used imagery featuring AI-generated backgrounds. Wizards responded swiftly when faced with both controversies: They immediately commissioned new artwork to replace the AI-influenced pieces. Bigby's Presents: Glory of the Giants, The company also removed AI-generated marketing images for Magic: The Gathering and apologized (though the company initially said the images were created by humans).
D&D and magic While the brand team remains determined that games will be made by humans, executives are much more open to the possibility of AI. Hasbro CEO Chris Cox (who was president of Wizards of the Coast before his promotion) has said that the company is looking to develop a 50-year-old Dungeons & Dragons adventure. Magic: The Gathering In a recent interview, he cited his vast catalogue of artworks as a potential source for an AI learning database, saying, “The Wizards [existing D&D and Magic products] “It enables us to build some really interesting and compelling use cases for AI where we can bring characters to life. We can build tools to help create content for our users, and we can create some really interesting gamified scenarios around our users.” Cox said in the same interview that he uses AI-generated artwork in his home games, and ChatGPT to help create adventures.
Wizards' parent company, Hasbro, also uses AI in some of its tabletop products, including AI-generated puzzles for online games. Trivial Pursuit Infinite Equipped with AI Uzziah board.
