Earlier this week, Square Enix revealed its ambitions to rapidly reduce its quality assurance workforce and use generative AI to handle 70 percent of its game QA and debugging. The company added that it wants to “establish a competitive advantage in game development.” However, Michael Dawes—the publishing director of Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Laurian—called Square Enix and called its plan “stupid.”
“So QA is among the few video games involved in any company,” Dows wrote. x. “They’re integral to your community teams. To publishing. They give you real feedback. They know what’s good and what’s bad before the audience works, and they’re the most flexible department.”
“(The) idea that QA people can be changed en masse is silly because it thinks that the conversations they have with them can be changed and they can’t,” Dawes added. “They are massively beneficial web checks.”
Dows also noted that QA jobs have often been gateway positions for people looking to get into the video game industry. He warned that losing QA workers would mean losing future designers and other positions.
QA is not inherently an entry level job but I would also add that without gateways into the industry you won’t find your lead designers. This is a stupid way to go. You want to be able to offer people rewarding positions that help them grow and help you grow!
— Too AFK (@ChromeWelp) November 6, 2025
In a subsequent post, Dows noted that Square Enix aims to save $19.6 million by outsourcing its QA to AI. He also questioned why the executives were not bailed out if the company so badly needed saving.
.6 The required annual savings of $19.6 million—while substantial in real-life terms—is not nearly enough for a AAA company. Where are the executive “vacations” if things are bad? I’m sure these games aren’t failing because of QA, publishing, etc.
— Too AFK (@ChromeWelp) November 7, 2025
Reports have surfaced that Square Enix is already taking massive employee layoffs. Square Enix isn’t the only video game company to embrace AI. Electronic Arts has reportedly instructed its employees to treat the AI as “thought partners.” A recent survey also found that over 50% of Japanese game publishers use AI in some way. Prominent game developers Hideo Kojima and Glenn Schofield have both stated that AI tools should be embraced in game creation.
