Unity AI will let developers create casual games using only text prompts at GDC 2026

Unity will soon let you create casual games using simple text prompts

The company says its upcoming AI tool will let you generate playable games inside the Unity editor just by describing what you want. Making a video game usually means learning to code, working with complex game engines, and spending hours piecing everything together. That is true even for simple casual games. Many aspiring developers have to learn scripting languages and different tools just to build basic gameplay. For hobbyists or people without technical skills, the process can feel overwhelming and discouraging. However, the company behind one of the most popular game engines is pitching a very different future for game development. Unity says the latest iteration of its AI tool will allow people to generate playable casual games using only natural language prompts. That means you could describe what you want and let the AI build the project for you, moving from an idea straight to a prototype without writing a single line of code. Recommended Videos Speaking during a recent earnings call, Unity CEO Matthew Bromberg said the company is preparing to roll out a new beta version of Unity AI at the upcoming Game Developers Conference in March. This updated tool will be built into Unity's editor and use advanced models to generate game logic, assets, and structure based on plain language prompts. Lowering the barrier to game development According to Game Developer, Bromberg said this focus on what he calls "AI-driven authoring" is a top priority for the company in 2026, and that it could significantly lower the barrier to making interactive games. The company frames this as a way to democratize game creation, giving both seasoned developers and newcomers a faster route from idea to finished product without deep technical knowledge. Bromberg also expects the technology to expand the pool of people creating interactive content, potentially drawing tens of millions of new developers into the ecosystem. Unity's AI system already uses large language and image models from partners such as OpenAI and Meta to assist with code generation and asset creation. What remains to be seen is how polished and practical full-game generation will be once the beta becomes available later this year.

Unity boss who once called out the 'idiocy' of the metaverse now says his company's new AI tech 'will enable developers to prompt full casual games into existence with natural language only'

Matthew Bromberg says the new Unity AI will be showcased at GDC in March. Just a couple weeks after Google seemingly spooked game company investors with its AI-powered "world model" Project Genie, engine maker Unity says it's chasing the same digital dragon, and that "AI-driven authoring" will be one of its major focuses in 2026. "At the Game Developer Conference in March, we'll be unveiling the beta of the new upgraded Unity AI, which will enable developers to prompt full casual games into existence with natural language only, native to our platform, so it's simple to move from prototype to finished product," Unity CEO Matthew Bromberg said during Unity's Q4 financial results last week (via Game Developer). Unity's new AI assistant "will lower the barrier to entry, raise productivity for existing users and democratize game development for non-coders," Bromberg said. "Our goal is to remove as much friction from the creative process as possible, becoming the universal bridge between that first spark of creativity and a successful, scalable and enduring digital experience." Anything's possible, as my father used to say when I told him I wanted a million dollars and a pony for my birthday. But likely? I won't judge, but I will cast my eyes over to Project Genie, which as The Verge said after some experimentation produced results "much worse than an actual handcrafted videogame or interactive experience." Bromberg's specific references to "casual games" is presumably meant to temper expectations, but it also relies heavily on the presumption that casual games suck as a rule, which is simply false. (I'm not even sure how "casual games" are being defined here, except as a stand-in for "games that suck," which I don't see as an especially strong selling point for Unity AI.) Bromberg touched on Project Genie directly during the Q&A portion of the financial call, describing the Google and Unity systems as "complementary, not duplicative," and saying that "world models are going to be a source of inspiration and assets for creators, but that they are not in any way going to replace game engines." He also expressed some pretty big ambitions for Unity's AI-powered future: "There are going to be tens of millions of more people creating interactive entertainment driven by AI making these tools more accessible to tens of millions more people." That statement sounds not too far off comments made by Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson in 2024, just after the bong rip hit.

Unity boss claims engine's next generative AI update will let users prompt "full casual games" into existence, just by using natural language

Unity CEO Matthew Bromberg has touted generative AI advances to its game engine that'll soon enable users to "prompt full casual games into existence" just by using natural language. While generative AI remains controversial, given its many ethical implications, the technology has found a foothold in game development. A GDC survey conducted earlier this year revealed 36 percent of respondents now use AI - predominantly for 'research and brainstorming', although code assistance and daily tasks such as writing emails were the other most cited uses. Inevitably, game engine company Unity has been looking to both drive and capitalise on the AI boom, with CEO Matthew Bromberg now bullishly highlighting what he sees as the next step in 'democratising' game development. As reported by Game Developer, Bromberg - speaking to investors during a recent earnings called - flagged an upcoming Unity AI beta update that'll expand the company's ambitions for "AI-driven authoring". This new beta, set to be unveiled at the Game Developer Conference in March, will "enable developers to prompt full casual games into existence with natural language only, native to our platform," Bloomberg claimed, "so it's simple to move from prototype to finished product." "Our goal, he continued, "is to remove as much friction from the creative process as possible, becoming the universal bridge between the first spark of creativity and a successful, scalable, and enduring digital experience". Bromberg later told investors the company is envisaging a future where "tens of millions" of people are "creating interactive entertainment" driven by AI-enabled development tools. While generative AI adoption increases, its use remains contentious. Earlier this year, Baldur's Gate 3 studio Larian reversed course after its admission of using the technology for concept art creation drew ire. Meanwhile, other studios have sought to get ahead of controversy by assuring audiences their use of generative AI is limited. Last week, for instance, Krafton's Project Windless team said it would not be using the tool for "content creation or narrative elements" but confirmed it was using generative AI "internally during exploratory phases to support iteration and efficiency". Back in 2024, Eurogamer explored some of the ways AI is changing video development - although the escalating AI arms among tech giants, and the resulting memory shortages it's now causing, are increasingly threatening to impact the games industry in other ways.

Engine Maker Unity Focusing on "AI-Driven Authoring" to Allow Devs to "Prompt Full Casual Games Into Existence"

Generative AI (GenAI) has been one of the most controversial topics in the video game industry in recent years, and will likely continue to hold that spot for the foreseeable future. Whether you think GenAI has a place in game development or not, what's clear from game engine makers like Unity is that users who want to use it in the process of making their games will have that option. Spotted by GameDeveloper, in Unity's recent earnings call for its fourth quarter financial report, not only does Unity claim that "AI-driven authoring" is a "major area of focus" for the company, but it sees the potential of the technology being its ability to "enable developers to prompt full casual games into existence with natural language only." The statement comes from Unity's chief executive officer, Matt Bromberg, who has been at the head of the company since taking over for the interim chief executive officer James M. Whitehurst, who took over from John Riccitiello after the company's abysmal runtime fee fiasco in 2023. "AI-driven authoring is our second major area of focus for 2026," says Bromberg. "At the Game Developer Conference in March, we'll be unveiling a beta of the new upgraded Unity AI, which will enable developers to prompt full casual games into existence with natural language only, native to our platform - so it's simple to move from prototype to finished product." Bromberg continues, "This assistant will be powered by our unique understanding of the project context and our runtime, while leveraging the best frontier models that exist. We believe together this combination will provide more efficient, more effective results to game developers than general-purpose models alone." Bromberg would add that he believes the technology will go further in efforts to "democratize" game development, and "remove as much friction from the creative process as possible, becoming the universal bridge between the first spark of creativity and a successful, scalable, and enduring digital experience." Unity isn't the only company claiming it has GenAI technology that can make games through prompts. Google's Project Genie (despite being a self-admitted experiment) was enough to send the share prices of major game companies plummeting. While that may have more to do with investors not understanding how video games are made and what technology like Project Genie lacks, the idea of games being prompted into existence is already out there. For it to now come from the company behind one of the most popular game-making engines carries far more weight than it did coming from Google, and it'll be interesting, to say the least, to see how markets react when the new beta branch is revealed at GDC 2026. Still, regardless of the stock market's reaction, it's unlikely consumers will react positively to a game that a developer admits was made entirely through prompts. Even executives pushing for GenAI technology can admit that no one wants "GenAI slop." It's difficult to believe that the ability to prompt games into being would lead to anything but more AI-slop on gaming platforms. There's also the fact that, while some executives in the industry might see GenAI as the next-best thing that'll forever change the industry, the biggest video games in the industry are differentiated from the rest of the pack because they are handcrafted experiences. And that's without getting into recent reports that show just how much disdain developers who are being forced to use GenAI have for the technology.