The makers of Playdate, the console-with-a-crank, will no longer accept games created with generative AI

The Playdate is a curious little device. It's a handheld console with a crank built into the side, which developers can make use of for in-game controls. What devs can't do anymore, though, is get their games accepted onto the Playdate Catalog store if they use generative AI "for art, audio, music, text, or dialog."

So says an announcement on the Catalog developer blog. Panic Inc, the developer of the device, defines generative AI as the use of:

• Large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Google Gemini
• AI-based image generation models such as Stable Diffusion, DALL-E, Midjourney
• AI-base audio generation models such as MuseNet, Suno, Udio, and others

The announcement clarifies that games using AI in their development will no longer be accepted, but custom-written functions like enemy AI are fine. It also says that games already listed on the Catalog store that have previously used AI will remain, but they will be "flagged as such", with explanations provided as to exactly how generative AI was implemented.

"There are lots of people in the world who are extremely eager and excited to create beautiful music, art, and words for your Playdate creation," the statement opines.

"If you need any help at all finding people to help with any parts of your title, you can check out the collaborations channel in the Playdate Squad Discord or the Playdate developer forum."

The use of generative AI in games is a hot topic and sure to bring up some strong opinions. While a survey at the start of the year claimed that 50% of game developers think its inclusion is bad for the industry, some investors seem to think otherwise.

It must be a tempting option for the developers of small games for a relatively niche device, though, where budget and time constraints are pushed to their limits. Still, it's a no-go for gen AI-enhanced game development on the console-with-a-crank. The wheels, they keep turning. Something like that, anyway.

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