Level-5 Wants to Cut Major Game Development From Five Years to Two Using

Level-5 President and CEO Akihiro Hiro has addressed concerns surrounding its use of AI during the LEVEL5 VISION 2026 II presentation, apologizing to viewers who were uncomfortable with how extensively the technology appeared during the event.

Hiro-san also clarified how AI is being used within its actual development pipeline. According to Level-5, core creative elements such as scenarios, character designs, and foundational settings are still created by people.

The company said its AI-related efforts are primarily focused on making production work more efficient after creative material has already been produced. One example provided was accurately converting original artwork into polygonal assets.

Level-5 also stated that released games do not simply include AI-generated output as finished game content. Instead, the company believes automation can reduce time spent on certain production tasks and allow creators to focus more heavily on creative work.

That initiative is tied to a much larger development goal. Level-5 said it is currently experimenting with ways to reduce the development cycle for major titles from around five years to two years.

As for LEVEL5 VISION 2026 II itself, the publisher acknowledged that AI had been used across multiple parts of the presentation because the team wanted to create a flashier showcase while experimenting with newer technology. Level-5 apologized for the response and said it plans to take the reaction into account for future presentations.

You can read our full translation of Hiro-san’s statement below:

Regarding the Use of AI in LEVEL5 VISION 2026 II

Because AI was used in footage shown during this event, it seems that concerns have also been raised about its use in the content of our games, so we would like to provide an explanation.

Simply put, because we wanted to make the presentation more visually impressive, we incorporated processing using the latest AI technology as part of an experiment.

We understand that some people were uncomfortable with this, and we sincerely apologize.

However, at our company, all elements related to the appeal and individuality of our released titles, including scenarios, character designs, and foundational settings, are created by people.

The areas where we are looking to improve efficiency through AI mainly involve digitizing creative work that has already been made by people. One example would be accurately converting original artwork into polygonal models.

Please be assured that our released games do not contain casually generated AI output.

On the contrary, the time created through greater efficiency using AI is allowing our creators to spend more time on the core aspects of creation. We believe the finished products are reaching a level of quality that players will be even more satisfied with than before.

Ultimately, we are currently experimenting and working toward a plan to reduce the development period for major titles from the current five years to two years.

That said, there is no denying that we used AI in many areas this time because we wanted to create a presentation that was easy to understand and visually impressive.

We will take this experience as a lesson and apply it going forward, so we hope you look forward to Level-5’s next presentation.

What do you think about Level-5’s approach to AI-assisted development and its goal of cutting major game development cycles from five years to two? Let us know your thoughts, and stay tuned to Noisy Pixel for more gaming news.