The famous gaming platform Roblox is set to be the next stop for generative AI to flourish. The leading space for 3D artists and programmers has announced two initiatives. The tools are currently only showing up in creator focused Roblox Studio: a coding tool that lets anyone use conversational AI to generate code on the fly; and create designs with prompts describing what users want. 

The company’s CEO David Baszucki envisions that its generative AI systems might someday work in a way that’s somewhat similar to what you might have seen on the sci-fi show Westworld, based on his comments during Roblox’s Q2 2023 earnings call earlier this month. 

One of the latest announcements is ControlNet, an open-source neural network designed to improve image generation models. With conditional control, ControlNet produces high quality outputs, streamlining the training process. Compared to its competitors, ControlNet offers a 10x efficiency gain without the need for complete model retraining. The second initiative is StarCoder, an open-source LLM specifically for code generation. The model built on licensed training data can be used for commercial applications. 

As per the official blog, both the announcements are the results of partnerships for artists and programmers as the company emphasizes the importance of responsible and community-engaged AI research.

Stefano Corazza, former VP of Adobe’s AR division and now head of Roblox Studio, stated Roblox’s new AI features are for “someone who is familiar with coding, and we just want to make them more productive.” Roblox isn’t actively in VR and AR yet, although Corazza revealed the company is exploring several types of platforms.

The gaming industry has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to adopting new technologies and same is the case for genAI. Unity, a top game engine, also announced an AI marketplace that could change the way studios make games. With the latest Roblox announcements it is clear that these steps for generative AI are going to make a big impact several divisions of gaming like metaverse, AR and VR soon enough.