Tim Willits, Chief Creative Officer at Saber Interactive, remains optimistic about the integration of artificial intelligence in game development but has voiced significant concerns regarding its environmental impact. Speaking at Gamescom 2026, Willits acknowledged the substantial energy and water consumption associated with the data centers that power AI technologies.
"Personally, you know, whenever I look something up that maybe my wife asked for, I'm like, 'oh man, I'm destroying the environment to answer this question,'" Willits told PC Gamer. "So yes, that is a real issue. I mean, as a society. Globally. Look at the disasters happening even this week. So yes, mankind, we need to figure that out."
When discussing potential solutions to these environmental challenges, Willits referenced a proposal by Tesla CEO Elon Musk to locate servers in space. "Elon wants to put servers in space. That could be the answer, right? I mean, it's funny, but why not? Starlink is fast. I don't care if I have to wait a couple of extra seconds to get my silly AI picture. But it is a problem, I think."
Saber Interactive has recently faced scrutiny over its use of AI. The studio was involved in a controversy surrounding its upcoming game, Rideshare Stimulator, where a former writer alleged being replaced by ChatGPT. Saber Interactive denied this specific claim but confirmed the use of AI for dialogue generation, stating, "we are firm believers in using AI tools to improve or enhance gameplay experiences."
Despite these ongoing discussions and controversies surrounding AI, Willits also touched on other industry topics, including the 'silo problem' affecting large AAA studios. He expressed that, even with these challenges, he views the current period as a "great time" to be working in the games industry.