LogIn"The idea that QA people can be replaced at a large scale is stupid."
Square Enix
While some companies adopt AI to accelerate tasks, others go much further and replace whole departments with the tech. That's what happened with Square Enix, which has recently announced its plans to automate 70% of QA and debugging tasks with AI and committed mass layoffs across "nearly all areas" outside Japan.
Michael Douse, Larian's publishing director, was probably as aghast as developers and players who heard the news. On his X/Twitter, he called QA professionals "some of the most video games engaged people in any company".
"They give you the real feedback. They know what is good and what is bad before the audience does, and they are the most resilient department."
"AI and automation is clearly integral to QA for any large scale game but the idea that QA people can be replaced at a large scale is stupid because it supposes that the conversations with them can be replaced and they can't. They are a massively advantageous vibe check."
He added that while QA is not an "inherently entry-level job," without "gateways to the industry you won't find your lead designers. This is a stupid path. You want to be able to offer people beneficial positions that allow them to grow and help to grow you!"
Considering how many games have been failing right at launch lately, I wouldn't dare to remove the human touch with AI. If Square Enix decided to give the machines more space in the company, they should work together with the staff, not against them.
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