Topic / Subject
Todd Howard says AI “isn’t a fad,” but per coverage, Bethesda isn’t using it to generate game content — only to speed up big data tasks and free teams for creative work.

TL;DR
Howard’s stance is: use AI as a tool, not a replacement — Bethesda still wants “handcrafted” games built around human intention.

Key Details

• Todd Howard says the current AI boom is “not a fad,” per reporting on his comments.
• He says Bethesda is not using AI to generate creative content.
• He says AI can help with large data tasks to free people up for creative work, while emphasizing it’s still “early days.”
• Bethesda did not detail which tools it may be evaluating internally or what future adoption would look like.

Breakdown
In 2026, every major studio has to answer the AI question, because players and devs both worry about the same thing: where does “automation” stop and “creative replacement” start?

Howard’s message is basically a line in the sand. He’s framing AI as back-office horsepower — helping teams crunch big datasets and speed up work that’s more “processing” than “craft.”

That matters because Bethesda’s brand is tied to worlds that feel intentionally built, not procedurally spit out. Whether you agree with that vibe or not, it’s clearly the identity he’s protecting in public: handcrafted, human-led, and careful about what gets automated.

The part we still don’t have is specificity. “We’re not using it to generate anything” is a clear statement — but it doesn’t map out what kinds of internal experimentation might exist, or what changes in two years when tools evolve. For now, the takeaway is caution, not hype.

What to Watch Next

• More concrete examples of what Bethesda considers “big data tasks” for AI use.
• Whether other AAA studios publicly draw similar “tool vs generator” boundaries.
• How players respond as AI tools become more common across development pipelines.

Sources
PC Gamer — “Todd Howard says AI’s not a fad… but we’re not using it to generate anything…”
GamesRadar — “The AI boom is certainly not a fad… Todd Howard says…”
Windows Central — “Bethesda’s Todd Howard says you can’t ignore AI tools…”

Comment
Do you want studios to publicly ban AI-generated content, or is “use it for tools only” a good middle ground?