Over Half of Game Developers Now Say Generative AI Is Harming the Gaming Industry

Half of developers think gen AI is bad for the gaming industry

While generative AI is being adopted at various levels of game development, a new survey suggests that developers increasingly think the technology is bad for the industry. According to the most recent survey from the Game Developers Conference, 52 percent of respondents said that gen AI is having a "negative" impact on the games industry, versus just 7 percent who viewed the technology as "positive." Perhaps most startling is how the negative outlook has grown over the years: in 2024, just 18 percent of those surveyed viewed the tech as a negative, and that number jumped to 30 percent in 2025. Now it's up to more than half. GDC surveyed 2,300 "game industry professionals" to get these results, and the demographics are primarily male (64 percent), white (67 percent), and based in the United States (54 percent). The organizers admit that this makeup is "far from truly representative of the global community, and we know more work is needed." (You can check out the full report right here.) However, the results still provide some fascinating insight into how actual developers feel about the AI, at the same time that the leaders of major publishers like EA and Krafton are espousing its virtues (and as Larian has had to clarify how it's using the technology). As for how much the gen AI is actually being used in the industry, 36 percent of those surveyed said they utilize it as part of their jobs, while 64 percent said they don't. The majority of those who do use gen AI said they use the tech for research and brainstorming (81 percent), as well as administrative tasks like email (47 percent). But some did admit to using AI for more development-oriented tasks, including prototyping (35 percent), testing or debugging (22 percent), and asset generation (19 percent). Only 5 percent of that group said they use gen AI on "player-facing features." The other major topic broached in the survey was the persistent layoffs and studio closures that have ravaged the industry over the last few years. In the 2025 survey, one in 10 developers said they had been laid off within the last year. This year, the numbers were similar, with 17 percent of respondents saying they had been laid off in the last 12 months, while a whopping 28 percent had been laid off within the last two years. Naturally, this had led to an aura of uncertainty; 23 percent of those surveyed said that they expected more layoffs in the next year, while 30 percent are unsure. The survey also questioned a small number of those in the educational space -- more than 100 educators and 50 students, according to GDC -- and unsurprisingly the outlook isn't very positive. 60 percent of those surveyed said that they expect the current state of the industry to make it difficult for new students to get jobs. "Most of my students will not have a career in game development," said one anonymous educator in Michigan. GDC itself kicks off this year on March 9th in San Francisco, and it's likely these two issues will be a major topic throughout.

More than 50% of game developers say generative AI is harming the industry, the highest level to date

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. A hot potato: Just because game company executives love AI, it doesn't mean everyone feels the same way. According to a new survey from GDC, over half of game developers think it's having a negative impact on the industry - up from just 18% two years ago. One dev said they would rather "quit the industry than use generative AI." The Game Developers Conference's 2026 State of the Game Industry survey covers several areas, including the controversial use of generative AI in game development. The survey shows that over one-third (36%) of game industry professionals are using generative AI tools as part of their job. At game studios, 30% of respondents reported using AI tools. That's significantly less than the 58% of those at publishing companies, support teams, and marketing/PR firms who say they use AI tools. Unsurprisingly, the area with the highest number of users is business professionals (58%). While the percentage of game industry pros using generative AI has increased slightly over the last couple of years, their opinion on the technology has changed for the worse in recent times. Of the 2,300 respondents, 52% said they think generative AI is having a negative impact on the game industry. That figure stood at 30% last year, and was just 18% two years ago. In 2025, 13% of respondents said AI was having a positive effect on the game industry. That figure is now down to just 7%. The numbers are higher for executives, of course. The most unfavorable views of the technology are held by workers in visual and technical art (64%), game design and narrative (63%), and game programming (59%). Few sectors face as much backlash for using generative AI as the gaming industry. The outcry is loudest when it's used to generate assets in games, as we saw with Black Ops 7, Anno 117, Arc Raiders, and elsewhere. Most of the survey's respondents, 81%, said their most common use for AI is research or brainstorming. This was followed by daily tasks (like writing emails) and code assistance (47% each), and prototyping (35%). The final AI section showed that ChatGPT was the most used LLM in the industry (75%), followed by Google Gemini (37%) and Microsoft Copilot (22%). The report includes some quotes from respondents. One generative AI supporter called anger toward the technology a "moral panic," another said "we are intentionally working on a platform that will put all game devs out of work and allow kids to prompt and direct their own content." Another dev said AI is "built on theft and plagiarism" and "a regurgitated amalgamation of everything that's come before." "Our standing rule is: If one of us brings up using GenAI in any of our work, then it's safe to assume we've been assimilated by The Thing and should be burned alive by Kurt Russell," said a US-based game design consultant. Earlier this week, Jack Buser, global director for games at Google Cloud, called generative AI the "Iron Man suit" of game development, urging all within the industry to use it.

Gaming industry has embraced AI, but most game developers still think it's bad

Half of game developers say generative AI is bad for the industry The gaming industry is experimenting with AI faster than ever, but it is doing so under a cloud of anxiety. A new industry-wide report reveals that while developers and studios are actively using generative AI tools in their daily work. However, a growing number of professionals believe the technology is ultimately doing more harm than good, particularly at a time when layoffs continue to shake the gaming industry. Recommended Videos The findings come from the 2026 State of the Game Industry report, released by organizers of the Game Developers Conference and based on responses from more than 2,300 industry professionals across roles and disciplines. The report paints a picture of an industry caught between efficiency gains promised by artificial intelligence and real fears about job security, creative erosion, and long-term impact. AI adoption rises as job insecurity deepens According to the report, 52% of game industry professionals now believe generative AI is bad for the industry, up from 30% last year. Only 7% think AI is having a positive impact, a number that has steadily declined over the past two years. Layoffs remain a defining issue. 28% of respondents said they were laid off in the past two years, a figure that climbs to 33% among US-based workers. Half of respondents also said their current or most recent employer carried out layoffs in the last 12 months, underscoring how widespread the disruption has been. Despite the uncertainty, 36% of game industry professionals now use generative AI tools as part of their job. Usage varies widely depending on role. Only 30% of people working at game studios reported using AI, compared to 58% of those in publishing, marketing, PR, and support roles. Why game developers are growing wary of AI tools Even within big studios like EA, developers report that AI tools can cause more trouble than help, forcing artists and designers to correct "hallucinated" or broken assets. Many also worry that by doing so, the are effectively training the very systems they fear might replace them in the future. More recently, Meta laid off hundreds of employees from its metaverse division, including teams working on its virtual reality games. This growing skepticism suggests that while AI is becoming harder to avoid, trust in its role within game development is rapidly eroding.

More than half of game developers now think generative AI is bad for the industry, a dramatic increase from just 2 years ago: 'I'd rather quit the industry than use generative AI'

The latest GDC survey also found that managers are more likely to use generative AI than their employees. According to a survey of game developers published by GDC -- the annual industry conference happening in San Francisco this March -- 33% of game dev professionals use generative AI for their work. This hasn't changed much since 2021, when GDC reported that 31% of devs use generative AI, but how they feel about it has dramatically shifted. This year, 52% of the more than 2,300 respondents said that they "think generative AI is having a negative impact on the game industry," according to the report's author, Beth Elderkin, who notes that just 18% said the same thing two years ago, and 30% last year. The opposite opinion, that generative AI is good for the industry, was only found in 7% of this year's respondents, a decline from 13% last year. The people least likely to approve of generative AI are who you'd expect: artists, designers, writers, and programmers. The people who use AI the most are also who you'd expect. Ever since CEOs started hyping the technology as a productivity elixir, skeptics have suspected that the executive class is more likely to personally rely on chatbots, and GDC's survey results are consistent with that hypothesis. "Business professionals' usage (58%) far outweighs most other job disciplines," according to the report. "And upper management (47%) uses AI tools more than those in the lower decks (29%). Studio directors (36%) sit between the two groups." Generative AI is a broadly-defined category of software, so it bears noting here that for the 33% who say they use it, most are not talking about generating in-game assets like we now see in Call of Duty. The most commonly reported uses for AI were research and brainstorming (81%), office work like responding to emails (47%), coding help (47%), and prototyping (35%). Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian has recently struggled to maintain its image as a bastion for old-fashioned creativity after sharing that it has used AI for some of these ideation, prototyping, and business purposes. The GDC report also includes a selection of quotes from anonymous respondents. One proponent of generative AI called criticism of the technology a "moral panic," and another went so far as to claim that they are "intentionally working on a platform that will put all game devs out of work and allow kids to prompt and direct their own content." Others were not so confrontational. "I use [AI] to help me project manage," said one respondent. "As a neurodivergent person, I struggle with segmenting big picture ideas to manageable small tasks. AI is great for those kinds of help." On the other side, developers opposed to generative AI characterize it as "built on theft and plagiarism" and generating "a regurgitated amalgamation of everything that's come before. "I'd rather quit the industry than use generative AI," said a UK-based game design supervisor. "Our standing rule is: If one of us brings up using GenAI in any of our work, then it's safe to assume we've been assimilated by The Thing and should be burned alive by Kurt Russell," said a US game design consultant.

"AI is Theft, I Have to Use It, Otherwise I'll Get Fired": GDC Reports One-Third of Game Workers Are Using GenAI for Daily Tasks

The GDC State of the Game Industry Report 2026 is officially out, offering insights into the video game industry based on responses from over 2,300 game industry workers. Respondents answered questions about everything from industry layoffs to popular game engines and platforms, and the current, longstanding hot-button industry topic, Generative AI (GenAI). For some people in the video game industry, GenAI tools are the latest technological innovation that will revolutionize the game development process. Everyone will use them if they aren't already, and they'll be as commonplace as anything else. Others think there is absolutely no place for them in game development, not even if you're trying to ride that middle lane where you think it'll be helpful for some things, but nothing can replicate or replace the "human" element in creation. While one-third (35%) of respondents said they don't personally use GenAI for their jobs, a majority (52%) said GenAI tools are used at their studios, which has also resulted in more studios creating policies around its use. Only 15% of respondents said their company did not have a policy on the use of GenAI tools, with 78% confirming that there is policy language of some kind at their studio. The remaining 7% said they were unsure. Policies are also getting more specific, with 22% of respondents saying that only specific tools are allowed and not others. Most are using LLMs like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot, which lines up for what they're using these tools for. "Research or brainstorming" was the most common response, with second going to daily tasks, including writing emails, code assistance, and prototyping. Only 5% of respondents said they used GenAI tools for "player-facing features," 10% for procedural generation, and 19% for asset generation. For some respondents, it's clear that these tools are essential, more for their efficiency than anything else. "We are a small team, so it is making us capable of achieving more than we would without it," said one respondent who is an executive working at an indie studio. But even with this increased use and necessity, as the report reads, "it appears the more the game industry professionals know about Generative AI, the less they like it." 52% of respondents believe GenAI tech is having a negative impact on the video game industry. It's a 30% bump compared to last year's GDC survey, but even within the negative majority are people who use it because they have to, or feel like they have to for their work. "AI is theft," begins one response from a developer in Ukraine. "I have to use it, otherwise I'm gonna get fired." What's more interesting than looking at the percentages, though, are some of the quotes from individual developers who answered positively, negatively, or with mixed reactions about GenAI tools and tech. Again, it should be noted that this annual survey is just a sample size; it's not a complete picture of the industry, and there's still a lot to be figured out with where GenAI tech lands not just in video games and video game development, but in other industries around the world.