Former Rockstar Games core developer Obi Vermey speaks to GamesHub about how AI technology is changing the paradigm of creating next-generation open-world games, including GTA 6.
70% of development costs go to simple, repetitive tasks.
According to Vermey, approximately 70% of the development costs of modern AAA games are spent on repetitive, simple technical tasks like graphic asset creation, rigging, and optimization. AI is maximizing development efficiency by automating these labor-intensive processes.
Intelligent rigging and skinning uses AI to analyze a character model’s appearance, automatically placing bones and physically calculating and applying muscle contraction and relaxation. This automates processes that previously required meticulous artist work.
Automatic LOD optimization is also innovative. AI adjusts the polygon count based on camera distance in seconds without visual loss. AI also scans and corrects data holes and overlaps that occur during collision detection in 3D models in real time, minimizing bugs.
Motion matching that maximizes the ‘realism of movement’
The most anticipated change in GTA VI isn’t simply improved graphics, but the “realistic movement.” Motion matching technology compiles thousands of motion capture data into a database, then AI analyzes the character’s current speed, direction, and terrain in real time.
Rather than playing pre-programmed animations when transitioning from walking to standing, AI calculates the most natural foot positions and center of gravity and synthesizes the movement in real time. This is a key technology that creates the feeling of characters organically interacting with various terrains, such as sand, water, and slopes.
Procedural generation of urban ecosystems
Vermey emphasized that “there’s no need to manually create every alley and interior.” Simply set a basic theme, and the AI will automatically generate furniture, wallpaper, and props for thousands of buildings. This will allow players to explore far more building interiors in GTA VI than in previous games.
NPCs aren’t just background characters; they have their own destinations and social relationships. AI simulates how crowds on a beach disperse and regroup, and how surrounding NPCs react differently to traffic accidents.
Generative AI for core content is introduced cautiously.
However, both Rockstar and Vermey are cautious about AI that generates text or dialogue in real time. Rockstar prioritizes cinematic presentation, and is wary that randomly generated dialogue by AI could ruin the game’s tone and disrupt user immersion.
Instead, it seems likely that AI will be used sparingly, limited to minor interactions with shopkeepers or meaningless chatter heard on the street, to enrich the worldview.
“Liberation, not replacement, of developers”
Vermey emphasized that AI isn’t meant to replace developers, but rather “a tool that liberates artists from repetitive tasks.” By quickly taking over repetitive tasks like rigging and optimization, AI will free up developers to focus on more engaging mission design, direction, and storytelling. GTA VI is expected to be the most dense virtual world ever created, born from the combination of AI’s technical efficiency and Rockstar’s artistic obsession.
