So gaming companies are developing their own AI tools now rather than using the existing ones.
HoYoverse committing up to $14.6 billion to AI. The figure is insane by any measure, roughly 100 billion yuan, a sum that comfortably exceeds what it costs to make even the largest games. Co-founder Liu Wei outlined the plan at a private recruitment session in Beijing on May 15, pitching master's and doctoral students on a long-term vision where AI delivers a more personalized, real-time game experience for individual players. The ambition is clear and China being a games hub combines with the investment, it allows different earnings potentials. Of course, there will be some criticism.
Every industry is shaken by but this one is different. HoYoverse is going foundational rather than off-the-shelf. Most publishers, Krafton included, are licensing or fine-tuning existing models and attaching them to their development pipelines. HoYoverse is building it, building its own large-scale models with approaches like multi-module small-model collaborations. In plain terms, the company isn't renting AI, it's trying to become an AI developer that also makes games. That's a riskier commitment than treating AI as a cost-saving tool, and Liu Wei acknowledged the downside directly, noting that if the effort fails it would be like "setting off a massive firework."
The Fanbase Has Already Pushed Back on AI
The timing is interesting to say the least, because HoYoverse's own players have been vocal about generative AI in games they care about. The recent backlash around Neverness to Everness showed a community uneasy with the technology, with concerns centered on originality, artistic integrity, and the worry that AI is being positioned to replace the human artists who built HoYoverse's reputation. The first showcase for this strategy is Petit Planet, an upcoming life simulation title designed around AI-powered NPCs, which puts AI front and center in a genre whose appeal rests heavily on warm, human-feeling character writing. There's also an open question about the existing catalogue, since any suggestion of AI touching Honkai: Star Rail, Genshin Impact, or Zenless Zone Zero has drawn strong reactions, and a commitment this large will be difficult to keep away from the flagship franchises indefinitely.
Why the Scale Is the Real Signal
The size of the number is insane as I said before. Earlier company stated building a "self-evolving autonomous AI" suggest this is framed less as a feature set and more as a bet on a future form of games. If it succeeds, HoYoverse ends up owning infrastructure few others in gaming have and can white label it. If it doesn't, well I guess we do not need to ask that at this scale. HoYoverse has the resources from its live-service titles to take a swing this large, and the conviction to follow through. Whether players embrace the result is the part that remains genuinely uncertain and it will be a controversial topic.
There is one thing for sure though, if it works HoYoverse will be shipping out games faster than anyone in China, and that says something.
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