Revolution Software is using their own AI technology to remake Broken Sword

Studio founder Charles Cecil explains how AI has made the remake possible

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Revolution Software announced at Gamescom 2023 thatBroken Swordwould be coming back, withBroken Sword - The Shadow of the Templarsgetting a full remake while a sixth title in the series is coming in the future too, under the titleBroken Sword - Parzival’s Stone.

Speaking to TRG ahead of the announcement, Cecil talked about the studio’s plans for aBroken Swordremake and the sixth title in the series. Cecil is a larger-than-life character, who is able to talk about the studio’s plans with enthusiasm. It even carries a pocketful of stones to illustrate the plans forParzival’s Stone, but he also talks about howBroken Sword - The Shadow of the Templarswould be using AI to upscale.

Cecil wasn’t shy about the studio’s use of AI technology, but he gave a fairly robust explanation of why the game was using it. The AI technology will be used to update the game’s animations.

When queried on this, Cecil said, " I completely share and appreciate the concerns. We’re using our own data to train on. But probably more importantly, we’re using a bunch of really talented animators who are taking the original animations and working on them so that we can use AI to upscale them.”

“It’s absolutely brilliant. And that is then the basis on which they can then reanimate those characters. It’s our own system.”

Cecil explains that the intent isn’t to appropriate anyone’s work and that quality animators produce all of the work. The AI system is actually allowing theBroken Swordremake to happen, in fact.

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“Nobody has been screwed on it at all,” suggests Cecil. “We have 30,000 animations inBroken Sword 1, and more inBroken Sword 2- 40,000. So that’s 70,000. If we wanted to convert the two games by hand, each one takes an hour. So if you pay somebody, let’s say £15 an hour, you’re talking well over a million pounds. So what we’re able to do is really focus on really talented, high-quality people, and so much of the donkey work is taken away. We have a huge team - we have about 10 people animating at the moment, but they’re not having to do the drudgery. What they’re doing is they’re adding the expressions and the character and all of those good things.”

While Cecil wouldn’t confirm that the studio was working on a remake forBroken Sword 2as part of proceedings, this would certainly suggest that the team is considering a path to get the second game remade, too.

Honestly, I have my own knee-jerk reaction to AI tech being pushed into game development, but here, it seems like a way to get a beloved game the up-to-date re-release it deserves.

If you’re looking for more games to pass the time while you wait for the Broken Sword remake, our list of thebest RPGsmay offer a new journey to embark on. We’ve also got a list of thebest multiplayer games on PCif you’re looking for something slightly more communal, too.

Jake Tucker is the editor in chief of TechRadar Gaming and has worked at sites like NME, MCV, Trusted Reviews and many more. He collects vinyl, likes first-person shooters and turn-based tactics titles, but hates writing bios. Jake currently lives in London, and is bouncing around the city trying to eat at all of the nice restaurants.

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