If there is one thing Elon Musk needs, it’s to enter the video game industry, and it looks like that’s his next big goal. The tycoon announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he wants to create his own AI game studio under the wing of xAI, the startup focused on developing Grok. His goal? To challenge large corporations.
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As with anything Elon Musk says lately, this should be taken with caution. However, it’s well known that when Musk sets his mind to something, he doesn’t stop until he achieves it—whether for better or worse. His back-and-forth over the purchase of Twitter is a clear example of this.
The comment from the head of Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and X came in response to a post by Billy Markus, the creator of Dogecoin. Markus expressed concerns about ideological manipulation by game creators and the media, which he believes undermines the true spirit of the gaming community.
“Gamers have always been anti-corporate, anti-trash trolls. They have always rejected manipulative nonsense and could tell when someone was a fraud. Why fall for this?” he said, and Elon Musk quickly seized the opportunity to respond.
According to Musk, too many game studios are controlled by large corporations, and he wants to change that. “xAI is going to start an AI game studio to make video games great again,” Elon Musk stated. Naturally, his words carried a political undertone. Musk’s original phrase—”to make games great again”—was a clear reference to the MAGA slogan, which is associated with Donald Trump’s political movement.
Will Elon Musk really create his own video game studio? Time will tell.
Elon Musk has not provided any further details on how he plans to create his video game studio or what he specifically means by “AI games.” The use of artificial intelligence in the gaming industry has evolved significantly, especially with the rise of generative models, though it has also sparked some controversy.
AI in video games is not new, but for a long time, it was mainly used to power background functions, such as scaling and frame generation technologies. However, with the advent of generative AI, many game studios are now using it to create characters, environments, and other elements that are more directly experienced by players.
In 2023, Steam banned the distribution of games that used assets created with generative AI. This decision sparked controversy, but Valve defended it by stating that verifying the ownership of these assets was impossible. However, this year, Steam reversed the ban, though it now includes a warning on each game page regarding the use of this technology.
It remains to be seen how Elon Musk’s project with xAI will develop, if at all. The startup behind Grok has launched a new round of financing, aiming to raise $5 billion. Once completed, the company’s valuation would reach $50 billion.
