Earlier this week, a group of former ZeniMax developers revealed that they’d formed a new worker-owned studio in the aftermath of Microsoft’s mass layoffs. It’s called Sackbird Studios, and the logo’s a bird with a sack. Following accusations that this bird looked like it could be AI-generated, the studio have responded that it isn’t, but some of the images on their website were.
Kotaku’s Ethan Gach reached out to Sackbird amid questioning of their avian adumbration on social media. “Our trademarked logo was hand-drawn by a human artist working directly with the founding team,” reads the response from a studio spokesperson. “Some supporting visuals on our website, like the Baltimore skyline and social icons, were generated with AI image tools and then customised and polished by us.”
“At the time, we didn’t have an artist on staff and were racing to meet a launch deadline, so AI helped us prototype quickly,” they continued, adding that they don’t view the controversial tech as “a replacement for artists”, but rather “just another brush in the box”. “The final look, humour, and heart are all Sackbird,” the statement concluded.
It’s certainly not a great look for the new studio, who’ll rightly face strong scrutiny about use of AI going forwards. The aspect of the statement which has caught my attention is the idea Sackbird were racing to meet a launch deadline. Given how strongly the group emphasised being “fully employee-owned and funded, which means we only answer to people who are passionate about games” in their launch press release, I’m struggling to see how that deadline can’t have been self-imposed to at least some degree if the staff have the level of control they’re suggesting.
That said, getting the ball rolling quickly on a new venture so you minimise any delays in re-establishing an income is at least understandable as a motivation, especially given the Sackbird team were recently laid off from their previous jobs. Whether that justifies leaning on AI, rather than ensuring that paid artists were employed or commissioned to handle every bit of art necessary to get through the all-important launch phase of your new studio is a judgement each of us’ll have to make individually.
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