Square Enix’s Bold New AI Adventure: QA Roles, Beware!
In a recent proclamation that’s made some raise an eyebrow (or two), Square Enix has firmly decided it’s taking a leap of faith—or a left turn onto the highway of automation. No, it’s not in search of an elusive final boss; it wants generative AI to handle the vast majority of its quality assurance (QA) and debugging tasks within the next two years. Who needs human testers when you have machines ready to do the heavy lifting, right?
Time for a Tech Upgrade?
Following the release of its latest financial results—chances are, there was more than one baffled look in the boardroom—Square Enix rolled out a review of its medium-term business plan, which last year mysteriously adopted the moniker “Square Enix Reboots and Awakens.” Sounds like a high-budget sequel waiting to happen.
As part of this ambitious plan, the company has partnered with the esteemed Matsuo-Iwasawa Laboratory at the University of Tokyo. A partnership aimed at “enhancing the game development processes” with AI technologies. Because, naturally, who wouldn’t want to have robots do all the grunt work?
Let the Robots Take Over!
Dubbed the “Joint Development of Game QA Automation Technology Using Generative AI,” this project is being tackled by a merry band of more than ten members. This team consists of researchers from the university and engineers eager to channel their inner mad scientists. The grand ambition? To automate a whopping 70% of QA and debugging tasks in game development by the end of 2027. Because why bother with skilled humans when you can delegate it all to a few lines of code?
According to the report, this shiny new automation technology will purportedly “improve the efficiency of QA operations.” The side effect? It might also leave a trail of human testers wondering if they should panic or just join a knitting club.
The Great Debate: Humans vs. Machines
The discussion around AI stepping into QA roles isn’t new but has become the hot topic on the playtesting circuit. Supporters of AI argue that QA testing feels a bit like watching paint dry—twice—while skeptics insist that humans have a peculiar knack for spotting the bizarre or inexplicable bugs that machines might overlook. Who knew finding glitches could require the finesse usually reserved for fine dining?
On the flip side, there’s the lingering concern over job security. Yes, the fear that robots might scoff at holiday parties and take away those entry-level QA positions that once held the promise of leading to glam jobs in game development. Talk about a plot twist!
Where Are the Job Offers Going?
In somewhat related news, Electronic Arts staff are reportedly facing the exhilarating challenge of complying with management’s enthusiastic request to embrace AI tools for… well, everything. This includes their beloved QA roles. One former employee from Respawn revealed to Business Insider that the AI approach might have cost him his job. Apparently, AI can summarize feedback better than human brains can process coffee.
If the notion of AI takeover sounds familiar, it’s not far off; back in 2022, Xbox Game Studios’ head honcho, Matt Booty, shared his dream of cultivating an army of AI testers. “I want to unleash 10,000 copies of a game to test overnight,” he mused. It sounds a bit like a sci-fi flick, but who says the gaming world can’t use a little drama?
So, as Square Enix marches ahead with its shimmering vision of automated QA, perhaps it’s time to start a support group for all future ex-QA testers. Or, perhaps, start dusting off those old programming manuals. After all, nothing says “game developer” like a killer resume sizzled with lines of code!
