Video game preservation has been treated as a major priority for Xbox over the last few years. The company’s efforts with backwards compatibility are far superior to anything seen from competitors like Sony and Nintendo, and Xbox Series X|S users have benefitted as a result. There has been a lot to celebrate when it comes to Xbox’s preservation efforts, but fans aren’t too impressed with the company’s latest idea. Today, Xbox shared its vision to use its generative AI model Muse for multiple purposes, including game preservation. Naturally, this is already raising some eyebrows.
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“Today, countless classic games tied to aging hardware are no longer playable by most people. Thanks to this breakthrough, we are exploring the potential for Muse to take older back catalog games from our studios and optimize them for any device.ย We believe this could radically change how we preserve and experience classic games in the future and make them accessible to more players,” writes Fatima Kardar, corporate vice president for gaming AI at Microsoft.
The blog post from Xbox has already resulted in a lot of backlash from users online. Many have pointed out that emulation of older games already exists, and does not have the same ethical, environmental, or financial costs that are associated with AI. Others have pointed out that many of the games that are missing on modern platforms have issues related to licensing. AI isn’t going to solve that, so no one knows what this technology will actually be used for. Some fans are already sharing concerns that this could be a way for Microsoft to make inferior remasters of older games.
“A classic game recreated in AI is no longer a classic game,” writes Bluesky user Mike Leiderman.
“Great idea MS, just take beloved classics and run them through the Slopmatic9000. I’d love to play versions of my faves that look like Fortnite and retain none of the intelligent design of the original creators,” writes Bluesky user Jay-RPG.
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It remains to be seen whether Microsoft can come up with an application for Muse that will actually win over Xbox users, but this story distills one of the biggest complaints about AI: it seems companies are desperate to find an application to the technology to justify the billions that are being invested. There are countless teams in the video game industry working to preserve video games and bring them to modern platforms, not only at Microsoft, but also at companies like GOG. Can AI offer remasters that look as good as Square Enix’s HD-2D remakes, or feel as faithful as GOG’s Resident Evil games on PC? Gamers are very skeptical, and they’re totally justified in feeling that way.
How do you feel about AI being mixed in with video game preservation? Do you think this will result in poorly created remasters? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky atย @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram atย @Dachampgaming!
