GDC report finds 40% of developers now use generative AI
A new GDC survey finds AI use rising among developers even as layoffs, overwork and concern about the technology deepen.
The latest State of the Game Industry report finds that generative AI has moved from a theoretical talking point to an everyday workplace tool for many game developers. GamesIndustry.biz reports that 40% of respondents now use generative AI in their work, up four percentage points from the previous survey.1
The report is based on responses from more than 2,600 game industry professionals. Among developers who use generative AI, 57% apply it to a mix of text generation, research, early prototyping, coding and presentations. That spread matters: the result is not simply a measure of studios using AI to generate game content, but of a wider set of office and production tasks.
What the survey says
The report also records a distinctly uneasy response to the technology. Some 55% of respondents say AI is having a negative impact on games, a one-point increase year on year. The figures suggest that adoption and approval are moving in opposite directions: developers are using the tools while remaining concerned about what they mean for the quality of games, working conditions and employment.
That employment backdrop is severe. Thirty-three per cent of respondents say they have been laid off in the last 24 months, while around half say their company has carried out layoffs. Of those who were made redundant, 54% say they have not found another job. The survey is not a census of the global games workforce, but its results still show how the AI debate is landing during a period of exceptional insecurity.
The pressure is not limited to jobs. Eighty-six per cent say they have worked more than 40 hours in a week, 16% say they felt pressured to work longer hours, and 65% say their mental health has suffered because of their job. The report says poor planning, project changes and leadership were among the reasons respondents felt some overwork could have been avoided.
Where developers are building
PC remains the dominant platform for upcoming projects, named by 81% of respondents. PlayStation 5 follows at 45%, with Xbox Series X/S at 37%. The survey also records early interest in future hardware: 10% of respondents say they are working on projects for the next PlayStation console, while 8% are working on Microsoft's Project Helix.
Engine choices are shifting too. Unreal Engine is used by 35% of respondents and Unity by 28%, although both figures are down on the previous report. Meanwhile, 23% say they are using a proprietary engine. Virtual, augmented and mixed-reality development has fallen from 8% to 3% of respondents, reflecting a wider retreat from a once heavily promoted part of the games business.
Our opinion
The most revealing part of this report is the gap between AI's practical adoption and the industry's confidence in it. Developers are using generative tools because they are available and useful for specific jobs, not because the wider argument over authorship, quality or employment has been settled. Treating the 40% figure as proof that game-making has embraced AI would miss the more important finding: a workforce under pressure is experimenting while openly questioning the direction of travel.
The survey's limitations matter, especially because it reflects respondents rather than every developer. Even so, the combination of AI adoption, layoffs, overwork and deteriorating mental health makes a clear case for judging these tools by whether they improve working lives and games — not merely by whether studios can add them to a workflow.