Take Two CEO Says Future Game Characters Should Be AI Trained on Human Written Scripts for More Natural Player Interaction
Take Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has outlined a vision for the future of game development in which AI trained characters engage players with more natural and responsive dialogue. Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box during a recent interview, Zelnick on CNBC, he explained that characters will eventually be trained on human written scripts rather than relying solely on predefined interactions, enabling more flexible and immersive conversations within games.
Zelnick noted that historically every action taken by a character required explicit scripting, which created massive development workloads due to the interactive nature of games. He emphasized that talented writers would always remain essential but suggested that AI could be trained directly off those human written scripts to generate naturalistic responses beyond fixed dialog trees. According to him, this evolution is inevitable and will help characters interact in ways that feel significantly more organic to players.
His comments arrive during a period of heightened debate over how AI should be used in the game industry. Only days ago, new rumors suggested that Rockstar Games has prepared extraordinarily ambitious features for Grand Theft Auto VI, which is officially one year away unless further delays occur. Whether AI driven conversation systems are among those features remains unknown, but such technology is already commercially available. NVIDIA ACE and Inworld AI are capable of generating natural language interactions that adapt to character knowledge and contextual awareness, demonstrating what is now technically achievable.
At the same time, Zelnick’s remarks land in an environment where certain uses of AI have sparked strong criticism. Call of Duty Black Ops 7 drew negative attention for low quality AI generated calling card artwork, while ARC Raiders attracted scrutiny for its use of generative AI to voice NPCs. Developers behind the successful episodic adventure game Dispatch recently commented in an interview with GamesIndustry that AI driven creative work often feels derivative, stating: “You’re not going to be surprised…”, arguing that AI functions more as a production solution than a creative one unless used with clear artistic intent.
Beyond character behavior and dialogue, Zelnick emphasized that AI is also being used within Take Two to create operational efficiencies. He clarified that these efficiencies are not aimed at reducing staff numbers but rather at removing mundane tasks, allowing developers, artists, and writers to focus on higher value creative work. He described this as part of a broader industry shift where AI supports production pipelines and marketing workflows without replacing human roles.
Zelnick’s perspective reinforces a growing divide in the industry. On one hand, AI is seen as a tool that can expand immersion, accelerate development, and unlock new forms of storytelling. On the other, its misuse or overreliance risks diminishing artistic quality or generating controversy among enthusiast communities. As publishers and developers navigate these tensions, the coming years may define how deeply AI is woven into the creative and technical foundations of game development.
What do you think about AI trained game characters? Do they enhance immersion, or do they risk compromising creative authenticity? Let us know your thoughts.
