If you are concerned about the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the gaming industry, you may find the latest statistics unsettling.
The recent 2024 Unity Gaming Report, based on a survey of 7,062 game industry professionals, revealed that approximately 62% (4,378) of developers are utilizing AI tools in their production processes, as reported by GameDeveloper.com.
Within this group, 63% (2,758) specifically acknowledged using generative AI to assist in generating assets for their projects.
This indicates that around 39% of the surveyed individuals are leveraging AI for asset creation in the gaming sector. This trend is noteworthy amidst concerns about job security in the industry due to AI advancements.
The utilization of AI and generative AI is intended to enhance productivity; however, the decision-making process behind integrating these technologies early on remains unclear, whether driven by management directives or embraced by developers seeking efficiency gains.
‘Empowering Designers’
Kjell Bronder, the VP of product management at Niantic (known for Pokemon GO!), highlighted their approach:
“To boost our productivity, like many others, we’ve been exploring AI’s potential to empower our designers in creating new assets and exploring innovative concepts.”
“This includes prototyping new character designs, bringing them to life, and introducing new animation techniques.”
It seems that these empowered designers were not among the 25% of Niantic employees affected by layoffs in mid-2024.
Unity remarked, “Despite the ongoing economic challenges in 2024, game developers are effectively adapting to technological advancements, economic shifts, and changing player preferences by optimizing their resources.”
Possibly, this optimization contributed to the 1,800 job cuts at Unity earlier in the year.
As AI technology progresses, it could potentially reduce human involvement in game development. While acknowledging this shift, consumers should continue to demand quality and innovation in the games they support, without compromising on standards for the sake of profit.
Featured Image: AI-generated by Ideogram
