Manor Lords' creator and mostly solo developer Greg Styczen has shut down random speculation around the game potentially using AI-generated art.
Manor Lords' next patch, coming in the "next few weeks," is bringing crossbows, fishing ponds, and much more to the bonafide hit city-builder. Among the additions are new character portraits that you can choose from (get a glimpse via the new patch notes), which prompted one Redditor to comment that the art "looks kinda AI-generated."
Styczeń was quick to squash any speculation, as the developer confirmed that there "is no way to AI generate this quality yet," while joking that there's "no need to insult [character artist Beata Krzywdzinska] by assuming it was." Krzywdzinska is the artist who created the other beautiful Manor Lords portraits depicting all of the playable Lords and Ladies.
The Manor Lords patch notes were just there to give us a quick preview of what's coming up next, so while some things might change between now and the update's release, it seems like AI is definitely off the table. Whatever AI can vomit out can't yet hold a candle to Krzywdzinska's work.
AI's use and impact in the gaming industry has been a scorching hot topic for months now, and it seems to be reaching a fever pitch as some of the biggest publishers on the planet, including Activision Blizzard, have already quietly embraced the technology. Unionized video game actors represented by SAG-AFTRA also just announced plans to strike against companies such as EA, Disney, and Activision to secure protections against AI.
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