netflix, a streaming giant, has recently made a major move into the gaming and ai fields. the company announced a recruitment for a director of generative ai for games, which has sparked intense debate within the industry. according to the job posting, the annual salary for this position ranges from $430,000 to $840,000 (about cny 3.065 million to cny 5.98 million), with the position based in los angeles and requiring at least 10 years of full-cycle game development experience. this "extremely high-paying" position, described by industry insiders as "like pressing the 'plagiarism machine' button," exposes the gap in perception between streaming platforms and the traditional gaming industry.
netflix's job posting specifies that the director will be responsible for formulating a generative ai strategy for the gaming business, building technical architectures, and collaborating with various teams to develop new games. however, this seemingly high-profile position has drawn widespread criticism from gaming industry professionals. one commentator pointed out sharply, "netflix wants to hire an ai director with an annual salary of $500,000, but they might be considered overqualified just for having worked on a unity tutorial project for the first time." some have also compared this to netflix's plan to hire contracted art directors at $30 per hour around the same time. this pay gap highlights netflix's misperception of the core values of game development.
this isn't the first time netflix's ai strategy has sparked controversy. in july, co-ceo ted sarandos publicly stated that ai not only reduces costs but also "brings great possibilities to the production of movies and tv shows." the company also announced plans to launch ai-generated interactive ads by 2026. from movies and tv to gaming, netflix's ai transformation strategy has faced strong opposition from the traditional creative industry. the debate over technological substitution and artistic value in the industry may just be beginning.
