PS AI: How Sony’s game chief is going all-in on AI in gaming

Hideaki Nishino, president and CEO of Sony’s PlayStation business, is all-in on AI in gaming. During Sony’s parent company earnings call, Nishino made a presentation on how Sony is using AI within Sony Interactive Entertainment, the game division.

He said that PlayStation’s goal remains to be “the best place to play and the best place to publish.” He also said AI will be a powerful tool in helping to achieve that mission. While other corporate executives are saying similar things about AI, there’s an increasingly negative reaction in the West to AI’s use in gaming. Some see it as producing “AI slop,” while developers may see it as failing to protect artist copyrights and also leading to job cuts. As such, it’s a risky time for Nishino to so wholeheartedly embrace AI. Still, he noted Sony would continue to support its talent, rather than replace talent with AI.

He said, “We see AI as a powerful tool to help us in this mission. For our players, this will mean gaming experiences like never before – more immersion, more adventures, and fresh ways to enjoy their favorite characters. For our publishers, this will mean a more efficient production environment and better discovery to ensure their games reach the right audience. AI is lowering barriers to creation, accelerating development cycles, and
enabling more creators to enter the market.”

Sony’s AI is increqasing the volume and diversity of content, the company said. Source: Sony As a result, he said Sony expects to see a meaningful increase in the volume and
diversity of content available to players. He said the platform’s role will be critical in ensuring players find the right content in an increasingly crowded landscape.

“Our studios and their IP will also continue to be a key differentiator,” he said. “When players have more choice, they will gravitate toward trusted franchises they know will deliver high-quality experiences. Within our studios, game developers are automating repetitive workflows, improving software engineering productivity, and accelerating areas like quality assurance, 3D modeling, and animation through new, AI-powered tools.”

For example, he said Sony’s teams created a tool we call ‘Mockingbird’ that quickly animates 3D facial models based on performance captures.

“Importantly, we are not replacing human performers, but rather optimizing how we process the data from these live captures,” Nishino said. “With Mockingbird, animation work that would have taken hours can now be completed in a fraction of a second.”

Sony’s AI tool for building hair is changing workflows for making games. Source: Sony He noted that Sony has already seen teams at Naughty Dog, San Diego Studio, and others adopt the tool, including in released titles like Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered.

Another example is a tool Sony built for animating hair. This is often a labor-intensive
process given the volume of strands that must be created. The teams have accelerated
this process by taking videos of real hairstyles and having an AI tool output a 3D model
with hundreds of strands modeled.

These practical applications allow the teams to spend less time on manual, high-effort
tasks and to instead reinvest their time into building richer worlds and gameplay for players, Nishino said.

“AI tools in the hands of our teams will enable not only efficiency but also new types of experiences for fans,” he said.

Sony’s AI tech Sophy was used in Gran Turismo. Source: Sony For example, Gran Turismo’s AI-powered racing agent, Sophy, has added a
level of competitive gameplay for even the most seasoned drivers, Nishino said.

“Taking this further, our world-class creatives have already shown the ability to create amazing prototypes where NPCs with their own personalities can create a living, dynamic world for the player to explore,” he said.

And he offered some reassurance as well. He said, “As AI capabilities evolve, the role of our creators will remain unchanged. The vision, the design, and the emotional impact of our games will always come from the talent of our studios and performers. AI is meant to augment their capabilities, not to replace them.”

Sony’s store is benefiting from AI improvements. Source: Sony

AI is also already a part of the platform business. To take one example, over the last three years AI-powered tools ensured transactions were routed efficiently over payment networks, generating over $700 million of incremental revenue.

“We are building on this success with ongoing projects that will use machine learning to provide the best value possible to our customers,” he said. “As AI brings more choices to players than ever, the value of our platform will lie in its ability to recommend and personalize at scale.”

Sony’s use of AI is leading to better frame rates for graphics. Source: Sony And he said Sony has already seen how AI models can outperform manual curation, and this will continue to improve.

“Our AI capabilities will evolve into a consumer-centric experience that not only suggests the next game a player might enjoy, but also the next gameplay moment, subscription, accessory, or merchandise that best reflects their passion,” he said. “Beyond the store, our recently updated PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, available on the PS5 Pro, uses machine learning to enhance image clarity, delivering 4K visuals at high frame rates.”

Sony is using AI in all parts of its games business. Source: Sony Nishino said that with PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, games like Saros and Ghost of Yotei have never looked sharper.

“Through our investments in AI and machine learning, we will continue to push the fidelity frontier forward,” Nishino said. “We believe AI will unleash the creativity of our studios, power a more curated platform, and enhance the PlayStation experience for both players and creators.”

He concluded, “With our global player base, deep library of IP, and integrated ecosystem, AI is a powerful tool for us to deliver a truly cutting-edge entertainment experience.”

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