Chinese gaming giant NetEase, the company behind Marvel Rivals, Where Winds Meet, and many more, has not banned the use of generative AI across its large number of projects.
Generative AI has been a major pain point for the games industry this past year with games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 being lambasted for its use of low-quality, machine-generated art.
Since then, numerous companies have barred the use of AI generated assets in their games. Larian Studios has banned the use of AI for the development of Divinity after fan backlash, RuneScape developer Jagex has restricted the technology’s use, and even Warhammer company Games Workshop has blocked the use of GenAI to “protect our human workers”.
Speaking to Eurogamer, Romero is a Dead Man creator Suda51 discussed the use of generative AI in his upcoming game. The developer not only explained that his new title doesn’t use AI but claimed that NetEase Games is pushing back against its use.
“As far as not using any AI for our games, it started as a Netease policy for all their companies,” the developer said. “They originally had a section researching and developing AI-related stuff, but at one point they decided not to do that any more. They folded that section and told their studios to not use AI in games, to not use it at all.”
Suda51 explained that, at some point, generative AI could get “really cool”, but right now “there’s something about the images and videos you see that feels off.”
However, Suda51’s statement is, unfortunately, inaccurate. While NetEase may not be forcing developers to use generative AI to cut costs, the studio also isn’t demanding developers stop using the technology.
In a statement to FRVR, a NetEase representative confirmed “this story isn’t true – we even have a GDC talk about AI”, referring to the company’s upcoming talks at the March 2026 event. The spokesperson explained that the ban on AI “isn’t true”.
Additionally, a number of still-supported live-service titles are actively using generative AI technology in numerous ways. For example, Where Winds Meet, a game published by NetEase Games and developed by Everstone Studios, is actively using forms of Generative AI for numerous elements of the open-world action game.
Speaking to us in a recent interview, the team confirmed that they are using AI technology for less obvious purposes. For example, AI facial recognition is used to generate character faces based on user portraits, and the game features numerous AI-powered NPCs.
“In game development, we’ve always taken an open and collaborative approach, actively following and carefully evaluating the potential of cutting-edge technologies like AI,” the studio responded in a written interview.
“At the moment, our team mainly uses AI as a supporting tool in specific areas, for example, in our facial modeling system, which allows multi-level parameter adjustments,” they continued. “Players can also use voice input for AI voice tone recognition, generating character appearances in different styles, ages, and ethnicities—making true personalization possible.”
