Fumito Ueda Says New Studio Avoids Generative AI in Development

A new trailer for Gen Atlas at Summer Game Fest 2026 highlighted the sci‑fi project from Fumito Ueda, which his studio genDESIGN is developing under an agreement with Epic Games. Ueda says the studio does not rely on generative AI for core development. "Everything that is considered game development" is "made by humans," he said in a recent interview, which suggests prototyping, concept art and even code will be produced by people rather than generated tools.

genDESIGN limits generative tools to administrative tasks—"coming up with schedules" and "summarizing meeting notes"—and not to producing in‑game assets or placeholders. That approach contrasts with recent releases such as Crazy Taxi and Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, which disclosed generative‑AI use on their Steam pages.

Series creator Kenji Kanno said via a translator that the team "used it as a reference," with artists generating ideas to inspire finished drawings rather than inserting generated images into the game.

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