AI use is expanding in the game industry, but it is focused on support tasks such as research and writing code rather than producing actual game content. Even as adoption rises, concerns persist about job losses and a decline in the quality of creative work.

On Nov. 12 local time, IT outlet The Verge reported that a latest Game Developers Conference (GDC) survey on the state of the game industry showed 40 percent of respondents use AI at work. That was up 4 percentage points from 36 percent in the previous survey. The survey covered about 2,600 game industry workers worldwide.

The AI usage rate was 58 percent among developers of free-to-play games, while it reached 70 percent among workers at mobile game-focused studios. Among AI users, 57 percent said they use the technology daily.

The top uses were research and brainstorming ideas, at 73 percent. Data analysis and summarisation followed at 62 percent, and code generation and bug fixing at 56 percent. By contrast, 22 percent said they use AI for concept art and visual ideation, and 8 percent said they use it to produce finished graphics that go into actual games.

Negative views of AI were also high. Some 55 percent of all respondents said AI has a negative impact on the game industry. Another 35 percent said it has mixed effects, while only 8 percent said it has a positive impact.

AI use varies in real-world game development. House House, the developer of indie game "Big Walk", said it used large language models (LLMs) in a limited way while resolving technical issues late in development.

By contrast, Xbox Chief Executive Officer Asha Sharma (아샤 샤르마) offered the view that using AI could allow even small teams to build game worlds that currently require hundreds of workers and massive costs.

Job insecurity is also at a serious level. Some 34 percent of those surveyed said they experienced layoffs over the past 2 years, and 54 percent of those who had been laid off were still unemployed.

Debate in the game industry is expected to continue over AI-driven productivity gains, protection of creators' rights and interests, and employment stability.