Inside Google’s $75M Bet: A24, Elden Ring and AI Films

Surprise investments change the game. Google quietly committed $75 million to A24, and suddenly two of gaming’s talk-of-the-town properties—Elden Ring and Death Stranding—have an unusual backer.

The cash comes with technology: tools developed through Google DeepMind labs that A24 will test inside its own tech division. Think of them as studio power tools rather than autonomous auteurs. They’re meant to speed up preproduction, tighten workflows and help with distribution logistics, not spit out finished feature-length films overnight.

One early example under development is automated storyboard software that can sketch sequences and propose shot layouts, shaving days or even weeks off the prep cycle. Another set of tools aims to streamline scheduling, VFX handoffs and other production chores that traditionally devour time and resources. Simple goals. Big effects.

Fans reacted fast. Should we worry? Will AI erode the visual soul of these adaptations? Those concerns have traction because fans protect game worlds like family heirlooms. The headlines made the unease louder, but there’s a clause in the multi-year deal that calms at least some fears.

Google is contractually barred from using A24’s projects to train its own AI models. That restriction moves the needle: these tools are optimization partners, not training fodder. A24 insists the new tech is optional and that creative teams remain the ultimate gatekeepers.

A24’s role matters. The studio is producing both films and will decide how—if at all—AI tools are woven into each creative process. Directors, cinematographers and editors stay in the director’s chair. The partnership reads less like a takeover and more like a lab experiment with human oversight.

Still, the story raises big-picture questions. When does assistance become authorship? Can speed and efficiency coexist with the messy, human-driven alchemy that makes cinema memorable? There are no neat answers yet. What we do have is an unusual pairing: an indie studio known for distinctive cinema and a tech giant offering new instruments.

Whether these instruments end up sharpening filmmakers’ craft or changing it entirely will unfold in plain sight, one production at a time.