Developers say AI could help save 'broken, battered' games industry

Video game industry veteran Glenn Schofield, known for co-creating the “Dead Space” series and working on several “Call of Duty” games, said the gaming industry is facing significant challenges and developers can look to artificial intelligence technology to help solve some of the problems. Schofield's comments come as many in the video game industry have made them Concerns, opposition and fears about further adoption and implementation of AI.

“We need to fix the games industry now,” Schofield was reported to have said recently at Gamescom Asia. IGN. Advertisement

game industry Artificial intelligence should be embraced, not fearedSchofield said.

“Artificial intelligence is not going to replace us,” he said. “It exists to make us faster, better, more efficient. Artificial intelligence is really for all of us. It's not just for directors and artists, it's for writers and marketing executives.”

Schofield called on game industry executives, owners and founders to start training developers on artificial intelligence and start using the tools “as soon as possible.” This is already happening, a 2024 survey found Most game developers around the world already use artificial intelligence in their development processesdespite workers' misgivings.

Many people's concern about AI is that it could replace humans and human creativity, but Schofield says humans will always be critical in the process. “Remember, creativity is the lifeblood of the industry,” he told the developers in the room. “What about those thoughts? They came from you.”

Previously, Schofield said the adoption of artificial intelligence in the gaming business May cause some “disruption” to the job market in the short termbut over a long enough period more jobs will be created overall. “When cell phones came out, people were worried about carriers and pay phones. Instead, we ended up with billions of devices, new apps, streaming, and millions of jobs that didn't exist before. The Internet, PCs, and even cars all follow the same pattern,” he said.

Schofield isn't the only prominent game developer who believes adopting artificial intelligence can help the video game industry. Masahiro Sakurai, known for his work on the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series, said The AAA game development scene is unsustainable, but AI can help.

Sony has been using AI tools for game development for years and credits machine learning systems with Help accelerate development of Marvel's Spider-Man 2. EA Sports said If developers hadn’t used machine learning and artificial intelligence, the results of CFB 25 might not have been as good.

Meanwhile, the Candy Crush developer fired by Activision Blizzard says they're working on Replaced by the artificial intelligence tools they helped create. A recent report comes from financial times Says EA may look to further implement AI systems to help speed up development Private sale to a syndicate of investors. EA employees have Slams proposed sale A range of concerns were involved, including the possibility of mass layoffs and studio closures.

Regarding the concerns about artificial intelligence among employees in the global game industry, 30% of developers in the above survey said They believe generative AI is negatively impacting the video game business (12% increase from 2023). Developers surveyed cited factors such as intellectual property theft, energy consumption, and bias in AI programs as influencing their views on generative AI.