Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic secures large investment as director Casey Hudson rejects use of gen-AI, saying "I'm just really unimpressed with it"

When I see a new company formed, raising $100M, touting how it’s led by some big name you’ve heard of from some different studio years ago, the odds are against it. This game had only barely started development when we saw a CG announcement trailer. Hudson doesn’t want to spend 5 to 7 years developing it, but I noticed he didn’t rule out 4 years, which is still a long time for a brand new studio.

From experience, don’t get your hopes up for this game. If it doesn’t get cancelled before it’s finished, it’s unlikely to blow your mind. Starting a new studio with a project this big has historically not worked out most of the time.

Regardless of how this game is going to turn out it’s good to see gaming execs have negative views on AI. I can’t find much on his track record with emerging tech but it feels like Hudson would be one of those guys to worship AI. Maybe that’s just because every big name these days is.

I hope this combined with Xbox dropping their AI initiative (which genuinely surprised me) is a good sign for the future.