Copyright eurogamer
PUBG and Subnautica 2 publisher Krafton has declared itself an "AI-first company", announcing a move to "place AI at the centre of problem solving" via a "complete" company reorganisation. The megacorp outlined its "transition to an AI-first company" in a Korean-language statement posted to the official website that detailed the goals of its new strategy to "prioritise AI as a central and primary means of problem-solving", "fostering change in individuals and organisations, increasing company-wide productivity, and accelerating mid- to long-term corporate value growth". "Starting today, Krafton will automate work centered on Agentic AI and fully implement an AI-centered management system where members focus on creative activities and complex problem solving," said Krafton CEO Kim Chang-han, as translated by machine. "We will leap forward as a company that promotes the growth of members and expands the organisation's areas of challenge through AI." As part of this commitment, Krafton's earmarked around $69.7 million (100 billion Korean won / £52.3 million) to invest in a GPU cluster, and support the multi-stage tasks required for "sophisticated reasoning and iterative planning". This, Krafton believes, will serve as a foundation for accelerating its AI tech, which it hopes to complete and have up and running in the second half of 2026. Another $20.8 million (30 million Korean won / £15.5m) will also be invested in its workforce to train its staff to use AI tools. It'll be through this new infrastructure that Krafton believes it will strengthen AI R&D and in-game AI services. Krafton's position is not an outlier in the industry. Back in 2024, Square Enix CEO Takashi Kiryu stated the company would be "aggressive in applying AI", with developers admitting they "dabbled" with AI for the ill-fated shooter Foamstars, Professor Layton studio Level-5 has used AI tool Stable Diffusion, and even Capcom has admitted experimenting with generative AI too. Sega also has an in-house AI team. In fact, a recent survey conducted by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA), the organiser of Tokyo Game Show, showed that over half of Japanese game companies are using AI in their development.
