GZDoom Open Source Project Faces Fork After AI Code Inclusion Sparks Developer Outcry
A core team of developers is threatening to fork GZDoom, a popular open-source port of the classic Doom engine, following the inclusion of AI-generated code and accusations of attempted cover-up by the project’s lead developer. The dispute, which erupted this week, highlights growing tensions within the open-source community regarding the use of artificial intelligence in software progress and the importance of openness in collaborative projects.
GZDoom has long been a vital platform for Doom modding and modernizing the iconic first-person shooter, boasting a dedicated community of contributors. The current controversy began with the discovery of code snippets,reportedly generated by ChatGPT,used to detect dark mode settings on Linux systems. While the code was initially defended as “boilerplate” by developer Number, the incident quickly escalated into a broader debate about the integrity and future direction of the project.
The initial inclusion of the AI-generated code prompted a discussion among developers regarding its licensing compatibility-specifically, concerns about “stolen scraped code that we have no way of verifying is compatible with the GPL,” as one developer put it, according to a GitHub commit log. Lead developer Zahl subsequently removed the code, but was then accused of attempting to delete the discussion surrounding it via a “force-push” update to the project’s repository, a practice widely considered poor etiquette in Git version control.
“If using code slop generated from ChatGPT or any othre GenAI/AI chatbots is the future of this project, I’m sorry to say but I’m out,” wrote github user Cacodemon345, echoing the sentiments of many other developers.Number defended the use of AI for non-critical tasks, stating the snippets were for “superficial checks of system configuration settings” readily available online.
the conflict came to a head following a GitHub issue report filed by user the-phinet outlining the disagreements over AI-generated code alongside other concerns about Zahl’s management style. Zahl responded by inviting dissatisfied developers to “feel free to fork the project.”
Developer Boondorl took the invitation as a signal of a project collapse, responding, “You have just entirely bricked GZDoom with this bullshit. Enjoy your dead project, I’m sure you’ll be happy to plink away at it all by yourself where people can finally stop yelling at you to do things.” As of Wednesday, multiple developers have begun exploring options for creating a new, community-driven fork of GZDoom.
