Daniel Vávra, the writer and director of Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, has posted a predictive and somewhat damning statement about artificial intelligence on social media. He was responding to a video showcasing the insane advancements of photorealistic, gen-AI video creation tools, which are fast becoming terrifying.
Vávra, a games industry veteran of more than 20 years, stressed that movies and gaming ‘will never be the same’, and suggested we need to make the most of it because of the benefits it offers.
‘Everybody Hates AI (Well Actually, Not Everybody)’
In a recent statement that some might dub inflammatory, Daniel Vávra, the creative director of 2025’s Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, bigged up generative AI. He wrote:
Everybody hates AI (well actually not everybody). But I told you its unavoidable future.
Hate me as you wish. Its the truth. This is fan made trailer. Made in two days. By one person. Movie (and gaming) industry will never be the same. You can see it as an game over or as an opportunity for everyone to make great stuff without the big money from corporations.
But it doesnt matter what you think. Its here and its not going anywhere.
Vávra suggests that pushing back against AI is a fruitless effort, as it’s inevitable that the technology will continue to evolve. Instead, Vávra indicates that a symbiosis of sorts is the best way forward, using the progressive technology as a way to make things better and faster without gargantuan investments from ‘corporations’.
It’s no big secret that more developers are falling into the use of AI these days. It allows them to iterate faster, test more effectively, and create games, especially larger ones, at a much more efficient pace. The sketchy area comes when generative AI is used to replace artists, musicians, and actors, and it has caused an intense amount of flak across the industry in recent years.
In a throwback interview with Insider Gaming, Doug Cockle (Geralt of Rivia, The Witcher) named AI voice replication ‘theft’. It was a sentiment that has been echoed countless times since.
Vávra gave his thoughts back to those opposing his energy towards AI, offering up an analogy of sorts:
My “art” is just a materialization of my thoughts, the result of my brain guiding my hands. Its similar as if you were saying that driving cars is unnatural cheating to reach something faster and only peple who really arrive in destination are those who walk…
It’s rough, but it makes quite a lot of sense, and it’s one of the biggest debates around the use of AI. Are you inherently evil or immoral for using AI to make your life easier, and is it better to struggle, take longer to do things, and spend more money just to declare you’re not using AI for something?
Do you think Daniel Vávra’s comments are acceptable? Let us know what you’re thinking on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Overwatch 2 is just Overwatch again
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
More from Grant Taylor-Hill
