Hooded Horse prohibits the use of generative AI in its projects

The publisher Hooded Horse, responsible for the success of Manor Lords, has established a strict technical directive: the company will not work with studios that use generative AI. In an interview with Kotaku in January 2026, CEO Tim Bender stated that the technology "has made our lives harder" and included contractual clauses prohibiting AI-generated assets.

Bender's decision aims to protect the technical and legal integrity of the works. The executive recommends that developers even avoid the technology for temporary content. "There is a chance that this could go unnoticed, because all it takes is for one of these to slip through in some version and not be replaced," explained the CEO, who described the infiltration of AI assets as "cancerous."

The stance of Hooded Horse is a positive point for the preservation of copyright. By blocking tools that the U.S. Copyright Office declared, in early 2025, to not have copyright protection without "human creativity," the publisher ensures legal security for its partners. This commercial clarity prevents costly mistakes, as admitted by Charles Cecil of Revolution Software in the remake of Broken Sword.

However, the global industry scenario is subject to severe criticism. It is regrettable that large corporations like Nexon and Sega insist on using these tools under the pretext of efficiency, ignoring the "strong resistance" of the technical community. The normalization of AI, advocated by executives like Phil Rogers of the Embracer Group, threatens to dilute artistic quality in favor of productivity metrics.

The divergence among market leaders generates a concerning technical fragmentation. While Dan Houser, a veteran from Rockstar, states that AI is not as useful as believed, Embark Studios already uses it for dubbing in Arc Raiders. This lack of consensus and the use of "placeholders" that end up in the final version, as seen in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, demonstrate a disorganized sector in need of firm ethical standards.