At devcom 2025, Europe’s largest game developer conference, Google Cloud dropped a stat-packed reality check: 97% of game developers believe generative AI is actively reshaping the games industry, and 90% say they’re already using it.
The research, conducted by The Harris Poll across 615 developers in the U.S., South Korea, Norway, Finland, and Sweden, suggests AI is no longer experimental—it’s embedded. At a moment when studios are fighting rising development costs, market oversaturation, and players returning to older titles, developers see AI as both a cost-cutter and a creative accelerator.
Beyond Buzzwords: Where Gen AI Is Actually Being Used
The survey paints a clear picture: developers aren’t just tinkering—they’re integrating.
- Automating the grind: 95% say AI helps clear repetitive tasks, letting teams focus on creative work. The most common use cases: playtesting and balancing (47%), localization (45%), and code generation (44%).
- Expanding creativity: About a third of developers personally use AI for level design, dialogue writing, and animation. Others credit AI with enabling new genres, gameplay mechanics, and more experimentation with narrative design.
- Shaping player expectations: Nearly 9 in 10 developers (89%) say AI is shifting what players want. Gamers expect smarter NPCs (34%), more “alive” worlds (37%), and dynamic responses to their actions. AI-powered NPCs that learn on the fly or game worlds that adapt in real time are no longer sci-fi—they’re near-term features.
The Rise of AI Agents in Games
Another trend flagged by the study: AI agents—autonomous systems that pursue goals on a player’s or developer’s behalf. Developers are already using them for:
- Content optimization (44%).
- Dynamic balancing and gameplay tuning (38%).
- Procedural world generation (37%).
- Automated content moderation (37%).
That last use case may end up being critical as studios wrestle with moderation at scale, particularly in multiplayer environments.
A Tool for Indies—or a Double-Edged Sword?
One surprising insight: 29% of developers believe gen AI could level the playing field for smaller studios. Automating localization, scripting, or testing could make indie projects more competitive with AAA releases. But the optimism is tempered by real hurdles: the cost of AI integration (24%), the need to upskill teams (23%), and uncertainty about how to measure AI’s impact (22%).
And then there’s the IP question. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of developers worry about ownership of AI-generated content, with concerns ranging from data privacy (35%) to legal ambiguity over AI-created assets (32%). It’s a tension that mirrors broader debates in creative industries.
From Experiments to Execution
Developers aren’t just enthusiastic; they’re pragmatic about integration. The top recommendations for rolling out AI tools include:
- Starting small with pilots before scaling (40%).
- Aligning AI with the studio’s creative vision (39%).
- Upskilling staff to handle new tools (39%).
- Setting clear success metrics (38%) for AI deployments.
As Jack Buser, Google Cloud’s global director for Games, put it:
“AI is no longer a futuristic concept for the games industry—it’s a present-day reality that’s changing how games are made and played. From more immersive player experiences to faster dev cycles, generative AI is helping developers push boundaries and build the next generation of games.”
The Bottom Line
For an industry squeezed between ballooning budgets and unforgiving players, AI isn’t just another trend—it’s shaping up as survival tech. The numbers from Google Cloud’s survey suggest adoption is nearly universal, but the real story may lie ahead: whether studios can balance efficiency gains with IP risks and whether indie devs really can harness AI to compete with industry giants.
Either way, the message from devcom 2025 is clear: AI is no longer knocking on the door of game development—it’s already moved in.
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