Up to 40% of game developers use generative AI, and more say it's harmful

Generative AI remains one of the most divisive topics in games. Players have criticized studios and publishers for using it to make art, writing and code, and some releases have faced backlash over AI-made assets. The people building games, however, appear to be adopting the tools anyway.

According to a new report from the Game Developers Conference, as many as 40 percent of developers active in the industry now use generative AI in their work. That is up four percentage points from the same report a year earlier. The "as many as" framing is important. It is an upper estimate drawn from the report's data, not a precise count of how many studios or workers rely on the tools day to day.

The usage figure sits alongside a sharper sentiment problem. The report also finds that even more developers think generative AI is harmful to the industry than use it. That gap suggests many people are working with technology they view with suspicion. The findings do not fully explain why, but the pressure to move faster, studio mandates and concerns about jobs and creative credit are all plausible factors in the broader debate.

For publishers, the split makes the issue hard to sidestep. Adoption is climbing while public criticism grows, and developers who are skeptical of the technology may push for clearer rules on how it is used. Studios that are open about where AI appears in their games may find it easier to win back trust than those that stay quiet. The GDC numbers suggest the argument over generative AI in games is far from settled, even as the tools spread through development teams.