An update to the Call of Duty HQ page on Steam confirms that Activision’s development teams do in fact use “generative AI tools” as a means to “help develop some in-game assets.”
About a year ago, it came to light that Steam would begin to ask developers to disclose if and how AI is used in any given game. The Call of Duty HQ page now discloses this, but it does not get into any specifics regarding the use of generative AI tools in the game.
The Call of Duty HQ app encompasses multiple Call of Duty games, including Black Ops 6, Modern Warfare 3, Modern Warfare 2, and Warzone.
In 2024, it was reported that Activision developed the Yokai’s Wrath DLC bundle for 2023’s Modern Warfare 3 in part using AI-generated content. Later that year, Call of Duty fans noticed that some of Black Ops 6’s holiday-themed content appeared to use generative AI, though this was never confirmed.
An anonymous source within Activision told Wired in 2024 that people didn’t speak out about the use of generative AI for Call of Duty content out of “fear of losing our jobs.” This person went on to claim that “a lot of 2D artists” got laid off in early 2024 as part of Microsoft’s wider job cuts. The source said remaining concept artists were “forced to use AI to aid in their work.”
GameSpot has contacted Activision in an attempt to get specifics on how the company’s development studios use generative AI. Call of Duty’s store pages on Xbox and PlayStation do not contain any disclosures regarding the use of generative AI.
Valve said it’s asking for these AI disclosures for games sold on the Steam platform against the backdrop of “fast-moving and legally murky space of AI technology.” Valve said this issue is made more challenging due to Steam’s global reach.
A number of actors who appeared in Black Ops 6’s Zombies mode have reportedly quit due to a lack of protections pertaining to AI. Video game voice actors have been on strike since July 2024 due to, among other things, “existential” concerns regarding the use of AI.
The Call of Duty series is owned by Microsoft following its blockbuster purchase of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft is one of the biggest players in the entire AI space, with the company investing billions upon billions of dollars to promote, enhance, and expand its efforts in the area. Microsoft’s own president, Brad Smith, has plainly admitted that these investments will lead to job losses.
Microsoft has said AI will be baked into every product it has, including Xbox. That effort recently expanded with Microsoft’s announcement of Muse, an AI technology that developers at Hellblade studio Ninja Theory believe will help the team make games faster and more efficiently. Microsoft touted its new Muse technology as a means to help with game preservation, but experts in the space have warned that Microsoft cannot promise that.