EA Is Pushing Employees to Use AI for Everything, Even Code That Requires Manual Fixing
Electronic Arts (EA) is increasing its push for artificial intelligence across nearly every aspect of its operations, but the results are reportedly far from ideal. A new Business Insider report reveals that the company has been encouraging its 15,000 employees to use AI for almost every task, from writing game code and creating concept art to advising managers on how to communicate with staff about pay, promotions, and performance.
While EA leadership sees AI as a way to boost efficiency and reduce costs, many developers inside the company describe growing frustration. Employees report that the AI coding tools frequently produce flawed or incomplete results that must be manually corrected, often creating more work instead of saving time. Several developers said the AI-generated code can break existing systems, introduce new bugs, or lack the level of optimization needed for large-scale game projects, forcing them to spend additional hours rewriting or debugging what the system produces.
Artists and designers have also raised concerns about being asked to train AI models with their own work, fearing that the same technology could eventually replace them. The tension is particularly high among concept artists, level designers, and quality assurance staff, who are already seeing the impact of automation on their roles.
A former employee from Respawn Entertainment, one of EA’s major studios, stated that they were part of a layoff of around 100 QA testers earlier this year after EA implemented AI tools capable of reviewing and summarizing player feedback. The job, previously handled by human testers, is now being automated, leaving many to worry that more positions could soon follow.
Despite the controversy surrounding EA’s approach, not all developers view AI as a threat. Renowned Japanese creators Masahiro Sakurai, known for the Super Smash Bros. series, and Hideo Kojima, the mind behind Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding, have expressed support for generative AI. They believe it can improve development efficiency and sustainability, especially in Japan, where the number of available developers is declining. Both see AI as a tool to handle repetitive tasks so that creators can focus on storytelling and design.
For many inside EA, however, the transition has been disruptive rather than empowering. The company’s broad AI mandate has introduced uncertainty and frustration, as tools intended to simplify work often require more oversight and corrections. As the gaming industry continues to explore automation, EA’s internal experiment may become a key case study in whether artificial intelligence truly enhances creative production or simply adds a new layer of complexity to an already demanding process.
Do you think AI can improve game development, or is it slowly taking away the creative heart of the industry?
