Kwalee, a prominent UK-based games publisher, has launched a new employee program called Kwalee Artificial Intelligence (KAI), designed to foster innovation and productivity by encouraging employees to pitch ideas for how AI can be used to enhance the company’s game development and other business operations.
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The KAI program allows all Kwalee employees to use open-source AI tools, such as ChatGPT, Dall-E, and Midjourney, to generate novel ideas that contribute to the company’s core business goals, including game design, data science, marketing, and customer support. The scheme is intended to encourage employees to think creatively and use AI as a tool to increase efficiency and productivity in their daily work.
Every idea submitted to the KAI program will be evaluated by a panel of senior leaders and signed off in exchange for benefits, including giveaways and financial incentives. This approach is similar to Kwalee’s weekly Creative Wednesdays event, where employees can pitch their mobile game concepts to a company-wide vote, work on a prototype for two days, and share in the game’s financial success.
Kwalee CEO David Darling has long advocated innovation in the game industry, having co-created the Game Genie modification tech for Nintendo systems as co-founder of Codemasters. This move marks the first time a game company has fully embraced AI as part of its mainstream business strategies.
Kwalee first experimented with AI and machine learning in 2019 during the development of their popular game, Draw it, which has over 115 million installs. To commemorate the game’s success, the company released a documentary that explored the game’s making and how expert tech teams helped bring it to fruition.
Kwalee CEO David Darling said:
“The use of tools, from the chisel to the printing press, has shaped the course of human history and will continue to do so in the future. They allow us to perform tasks more efficiently and effectively and have the ability to multiply our strengths and abilities. AI has shown tremendous potential as a tool for companies to use to gain a competitive advantage. By offering our team an opportunity to pitch ideas to integrate AI into our work at Kwalee, we can boost our productivity and help us create the next generation of entertaining games.”
Kwalee’s Vice President of Marketing, Harry Lang, also expressed his support for AI in a recent blog post on the emergence of AI in marketing. Lang argued that marketers must embrace AI as a moderated assistant and an idea sketchpad for the work they produce, suggesting that those who reject it risk being left behind in the industry.
Integrating AI into Kwalee’s daily work processes is expected to streamline game development, improve player satisfaction, and lead to cost savings and increased profitability for the company. This commitment to AI underscores Kwalee’s dedication to staying at the forefront of the rapidly-evolving game industry and delivering the best possible gaming experiences to players worldwide.
