Elon Musk’s AI Company Is Recruiting Indie Game Designers

Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, is now hiring candidates with game design experience, suggesting that Musk’s long-standing passion for gaming is starting to merge with his AI ambitions.

On Thursday morning, Musk reshared a post from the account @techdevnotes on X (formerly Twitter) that read, “xAI is Hiring for Video Games.” In typical Musk fashion, he simply replied with one word: “True.”

This isn’t coming out of nowhere. Last year, Musk teased his desire to create a new game studio under xAI, writing, “Too many game studios are owned by massive corporations. xAI is going to start a new game studio to make games great again!” At first, it sounded like another one of his ambitious tweets, but by February, that vision started taking shape.

At that time, an xAI employee revealed that the new studio is still in its early stages, with a small team of nine members, including Musk himself. During a presentation, Grok 3, xAI’s AI model, generated a basic version of Tetris using Python code. Another demo showed Grok 3 building a 2D game called “Bubble Trouble,” complete with physics, collision detection, and a simple interface. The AI even attempted to include retro sound effects, though it struggled to get them quite right.

Musk later elaborated on X, saying the team is “working on being able to integrate photo-realistic graphics into AI games for the xAI game studio.” He also claimed that players will eventually be able to improve graphics resolution just by asking Grok, showcasing the company’s vision of interactive, AI-driven game development.

While most of its work so far has revolved around AI, the recent job listings show that xAI’s next big experiment could involve everything from storytelling, AI-assisted design, analytics, and content creation, all crucial elements of modern game development.

The job listings also suggest xAI is targeting indie developers and creative technologists rather than AAA veterans.

However, it’s not entirely clear whether xAI intends to build a full-fledged game studio or develop a suite of AI tools that can assist game creators.

Job posting by xAI

Musk’s Gaming Love

Anyone who’s followed Musk for a while knows he’s not new to gaming. Despite running multiple companies, he’s often described gaming as his personal escape after long workdays.

In many interviews, Musk admitted he regularly plays Diablo IV, often teaming up with friends online. He also claimed to have been “semi-pro good” at Quake during his younger years, which checks out, given his fondness for fast-paced shooters.

Earlier this year, he livestreamed a 52-minute Diablo IV session from his private jet under the alias @cyb3rgam3r420, testing X’s new streaming capabilities in what many saw as his way of pushing the platform toward Twitch-style content.

Musk has also shared admiration for games like Elden Ring, calling it “a work of art,” and has frequently mentioned Overwatch and The Battle of Polytopia among his favorites.