62% of Game Developers Are Now Using AI
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We’ve had multiple reports and surveys come out this year and have noticed a pattern of developers relying on artificial intelligence (AI) in 2024. One statistic from the Unity report reveals that 62% of game studios and their developers are now using AI in their development processes. What’s really interesting to note alongside this statistic is that, according to a Stack Overflow survey of more than 65,000 developers across all industries, around 76% currently use or intend to use it in the near future (up from 70% last year). Even with public concerns about AI in areas like art or marketing, especially after backlash faced by companies like Xbox and Wizards of the Coast for the use of AI in their products, developers are reportedly been applying AI to help streamline their projects and boost productivity (often in response to increasing demands by employers now that we have seen record layoffs this year in the video game industry).
According to one report, AI is being utilized to speed up tasks like asset creation and even character animation. About 46% of developers using AI noted improvements in animation while 56% highlighted its effectiveness in assisting with worldbuilding. The ability to quickly generate assets and streamline workflows has become exponentially more important even just within the past couple of years, with the average time-to-launch for games going up from 218 days in 2022 to 304 days in 2023.
With that said, not every studio has jumped on board the AI train. Reports say that 38% of surveyed developers have not yet adopted AI, with reasons like having a lack of technical expertise, or not understanding of how to effectively implement this relatively new technology that still has its obvious problems.
AI is also finding its way into post-launch support with tools like NVIDIA’s AI-based upscaling and Microsoft’s optimization technologies. As these tools continue to grow and become more prevalent in our everyday lives, AI is positioned to have an even larger impact on the gaming industry and technology as a whole, though questions remain (both morale and technical) about its role in creative processes.
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