Half of game devs use AI, but innovators are wary: survey

A new report by video games news outlet Game Developer and the Game Developers Conference (GDC) highlights a difficult year for the video game industry in 2023, including studio closures, layoffs and the impact of generative AI.

“It's an understatement to say it's been a tough year for game developers,” Game Developer publisher Alyssa McLone said in the report. “As technological changes and workplace uncertainty continue to reshape the broader industry landscape, developers face difficulty and uncertainty at every turn.”

The 2024 State of the Game Industry Report by research firm Omdia surveyed 3,000 game developers and included questions about their careers and the video game industry as a whole.

The report notes that while accessibility options in games have progressed, frustration has risen on Twitter, opinions on returning to the office are divided, and 56% of respondents are concerned about future layoffs.

In the report, 34% of respondents described their role as game design, while 32% said they worked for independent studios—compared to 18% at AAA studios. The majority, more than 60%, reported working on PC games compared to 35% for PlayStation 5 and 34% for Xbox Series X/S.

The survey found that most developers are interested in creating games for PC, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch platforms, with 62%, 41% and 32% respectively.

Unity and Unreal Engine tied for the top game engines used by developers in the survey at 33%, with 14% responding that they used a proprietary game engine.

While Web3 games continue to be developed, interest from the wider gaming industry has declined, with over 77% of game developers saying they are not interested in blockchain technology.

After the launch of OpenAI's GPT-4 in By 2023, increased interest in artificial intelligence has led to several game studios including Blizzard Entertainment, Square Enix, and Ubisoft using the technology. According to Game Developer's Report, 4 out of 5 developers are concerned about the ethics of using AI.

Despite player pressure, 31% of surveyed developers said they use generative AI personally, and 49% said the technology is used by their companies, with most use in “business and finance” at 44% and “community marketing and PR at 41%.”

According to the report, indie studios are more likely than AAA studios to use generative AI tools such as ChatGPT or Midjourney, with many saying they use AI for coding assistance.

“Code development is one of the best places for this to be useful. From engineering and all content, developers will find ways to improve their processes using AI,” a respondent told Game Developer.

The report indicated that 32% of video game companies do not have an official policy regarding the use of AI, while AAA studios may have more policies. Some respondents see artificial intelligence as a benefit to their workflow, while others say there is no place for AI in the industry, with 18% saying AI will hurt the industry.

“nothing else. AI exploits the work of others without credit or payment and is a loss to true creativity,” said another respondent.

Game Developer 84% of developers are concerned about the ethics of using Generative AI.

“As an industry, we're in the business of recognizing and thanking real human creators for their work and contributions to projects. This doesn't help,” said another.

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.