Netflix Games loses its vice-president of generative AI

Five months after Netflix Games announced that generative AI in its game development studios would be a major focus for them, driven by the promotion of Mike Verdu to the vice president in charge of that technology, Verdu has apparently left Netflix Games (confirmed to Stephen Totilo’s Game File) indicating that its embrace of generative AI as a tentpole of game development may have been premature. When Verdu was first announced for his role, his enthusiasm for the role could not have sounded more boisterous. In a LinkedIn post, Verdu took a futurist tact about the technology and its utility in game development. “GenAI is that next challenge,” Verdu wrote at the time. “I don’t think I’ve been this excited about an opportunity in this industry since the 90s, when we saw a new game launch every few months that redefined what was possible. It was an incredible time to be making games as talented creators showed all of us what the future looked like. Guess what? We’re back to those days ... Read full article.