Grand Theft Autoa gravity well in the world of video games, is the most anticipated release of this generation. In just a few weeks, it has reshaped the world around it, all despite being a console-first single-player experience. Talk with Rock Paper ShotgunFormer Rockstar developer Obbe Vermeij has commented on the company’s unique release priorities when it comes to PC versions, but speculates that could change with AI imitators breathing down its neck.
“I’d be worried if I were Rockstar,” Vermeij says, “someone would just take the PS5 version and have the AI change it to PC, which wouldn’t be as effective as their efforts, but it could still hurt their sales.”
Although he hasn’t worked at the studio since 2009, Vermeij acted as technical director on Grand Theft Auto III. He said that when the company ported the first game to PlayStation in 1997, there were frustrations about the extent of the compromises needed to build the PC. On the way to the PlayStation 2, they chose to build to the console’s specifications first instead of being forced to cut back. A bit unconventional for a game that initially took hold on computers, but it proved to be the right approach, giving the series a massive player base and launching it into worldwide infamy.
AI could change this philosophy, according to Vermeij. While AI has struggled to create games, films, original works of art as well as the human and living counterparts it steals, it has proven prolific at decompiling games. Capable of disassembling and reassembling parts of a game, it has accelerated mods and ports for existing games in recent months. The latest models of popular AI clients have proven to be a Pandora’s box. It has flooded Steam with ambiance-coded shovels, frustrated vulnerable indie developers, disenfranchised existing modding communities, but has also become a thorn in the side of major publishers, whose catalogs are just as susceptible to this form of DIY.
“A big company like Take-Two would be able to hire lawyers for the case,” says Vermeij. “It’s a new world. What used to be the case is that there’s so much effort put into developing the game that you can’t rip it off, and that’s completely changed now.”
While pre-LLM machine learning-assisted ports were already a pain point for Grand Theft AutoVermeij doesn’t think this is an unofficial PC port created by the upcoming AI VI would meet the standards that Rockstar boasts about. Vermeij is also not a holdout from AI, using the technology for his own ongoing projects, such as environmental simulation. Hearty. Either way, the prospect of an ersatz overnight threatens to stung Rockstar’s internal release schedule, having already been deflated by high-profile leaks.
Gn tech
