Don't like AI in games? Crimson Desert studio Pearl Abyss ain't care: it's expanding AI use 'throughout our entire development pipeline'

Earlier this year, Pearl Abyss apologized for the presence of AI-generated art in Crimson Desert—not because it had used generative AI, mind, but because players saw it. And it seems like the odds we might see more of it in the future are going up, as the studio said in its Q3 2026 earnings letter (via Eurogamer) that it will be going even deeper on AI-powered development in the future.

The first reference to AI comes midway through the letter: "While we previously validated game systems only after implementing them manually, we now utilize AI to rapidly validate diverse design concepts prior to actual implementation," it states. "This enables a more efficient allocation of development resources and enhances overall production speed."

The studio immediately clarified, though, that AI "serves strictly as a tool to support concept validation and pipeline productivity," and that gameplay and content development "remain fully driven by our development team."

The future will see more of the same, with the same caveats. "We are integrating AI technologies to enhance development productivity and overall quality," Pearl Abyss writes. "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."

That essentially repeats what Pearl Abyss said in February when players discovered the presence of generative AI art in Crimson Desert: It acknowledged that "some 2D visual props" had been created by AI during the early stages of development, but said they were supposed to be replaced "following final work and review by our art and development teams, with work that aligned with our quality standards and creative direction."

The studio also admitted that it had not "clearly disclosed our use of AI" in the development process, and promised to be more transparent about it in the future. This letter certainly could be seen as a step in that direction.

Pearl Abyss also said it aims to release DokeV, the "weird GTA: Babies game" revealed in 2021, sometime in the second half of 2028.