Sony and Take-Two chiefs split on AI's role in games
At the Paley International Summit, Hiroki Totoki said AI will not replace humans, while Strauss Zelnick said developers who do not embrace it may be replaced.
Sony's Hiroki Totoki and Take-Two Interactive's Strauss Zelnick set out contrasting views on AI in game development at the Paley International Summit on October 20, 2026, according to GameSpot.
Totoki said creativity belongs to humans and that AI technologies will not replace people in game development. He added that he encourages staff to use AI in a particular manner while working to protect the rights of rights holders, creators and artists.
Zelnick said AI itself will not replace a developer, but that people who do not embrace AI might be replaced by those who do. He described AI as a collection of datasets, compute and large language models, arguing that datasets are backward-looking while creativity is forward-looking.
Unexpected hits, Zelnick said, do not come from algorithms but from creative people making surprising, original choices. He cited Home Alone, which he oversaw as a Fox executive, as an example of an unexpected success.
In October 2025, background reporting noted that PlayStation has made heavy use of AI in its development processes, and that Take-Two uses AI in its workflows but that there is no AI in Grand Theft Auto 6. Pushback against AI in game development has come from developers and players over job security, legal issues and concerns about homogenization.
Quick answers
What did Sony's Hiroki Totoki say about AI in games?
He said creativity is for humans, that AI will not replace humans in game development, and that he encourages AI use in a way that protects the rights of rights holders, creators and artists.
What did Strauss Zelnick say about AI and developers?
The Take-Two boss said AI will not replace a developer, but people who do not embrace AI might be replaced by those who do.
Where did the executives speak?
Both spoke at the Paley International Summit on October 20, 2026.