PlayStation’s Plan To Use AI To Speed Up Development Started With Spider-Man 2

Sony’s plans to augment its game-development process with AI and machine learning is already underway, the company revealed in its 2024 Company Report. In one example cited in the report, Sony used machine learning to augment the subtitling process for certain languages in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.

Sony has revealed it used voice-recognition software to automatically synchronize subtitles with their corresponding voice lines in certain languages, dramatically reducing the speed of the subtitling process. Spider-Man 2 launched with text support for 27 languages, with 12 of those also available in fully dubbed audio.

The company said that this use of machine learning, a subset of AI computing, was part of a broader plan to “[deliver] our IP rapidly and at low cost to a broader range of fans.” The segment of the report focuses on technologies that have the potential to improve efficiency in development processes, including AI and machine learning as well as real-time 3D processing, and sensing and capturing technology.

Sony isn’t the first to include AI in its development workflow, and it definitely won’t be the last. EA has spoken on using AI in the development of this year’s College Football 25 to automatically create models for the thousands of players who were included in the game. Microsoft is also all-in on AI, as is Amazon Games. Nintendo is one of the few major players in the industry to speak out against the use of AI in game development at this point.

While so many companies are excited about the potential for AI in game development, few have touched on the potential impact it may have on the industry’s human workforce, even as sweeping layoffs continue to impact developers and support staff across the industry. Video-game voice actors and mo-cap performers are currently on strike, with the use of AI a key concern for union SAG-AFTRA.