Resident Evil and Witcher 3 mocap director says video game industry layoffs have made it so “nothing is guaranteed,” but AI won’t be replacing real actors “anytime soon”

The SAG-AFTRA video game actor strike continues, and one of the key points of the dispute remains protection against AI. Today, the union has sent out a message denouncing the potential of “AI abuse” in the latest contract negotiations, but in a recent interview at least one prominent figure in the performance capture world is confident that AI can’t truly replace human performances “anytime soon.”

“There’s no doubt that the industry is going through a challenging time,” Steve Kniebihly, a performance capture director who worked on the likes of Heavy Rain, The Witcher 3’s DLC packs, and Resident Evil Village, tells Entertainment Weekly. “Layoffs, budget cuts, and uncertainty have made it clear that nothing is guaranteed – even for successful studios. To me, what makes this job interesting in the first place is that weird, intangible chemistry between an actor and a director. It’s the trust at the core of that relationship that pushes everyone to give the best of themselves and creates more than the sum of its parts. And I’m not going to get that from A.I. anytime soon.”