As the gaming industry grapples with rising development costs and players’ gravitation toward older games, genAI might give studios the creative boost they need to reimagine storytelling and personalise gameplay in a crowded market, according to a new Google Cloud study.

Polling more than 600 game developers across the US, South Korea, Norway, Finland, and Sweden, the tech giant’s latest report, AI Meets the Games Industry, found that almost all (90%) developers already use AI in their workflows to some degree.

For those integrating the tech into their day-to-day, 95% say that AI is reducing the need for repetitive tasks, freeing them up to focus on more strategic and creative concerns. 

Google found that this acceleration is particularly strong in core areas like playtesting (47%), content optimisation (44%), code generation and scripting (44%), as well as for the creation of in-game coaching and automated tutorials (38%).

However, as well as saving game developers time in testing, AI is also allowing them to be more creative, with more than a third (36%) of respondents personally using it for dynamic level design, animation, and dialogue writing.

Developers who are using AI agents are even further ahead, implementing them to create more dynamic and intelligent gameplay, with 44% using them for content optimisation that adapts to in-game needs, while 37% are using them for procedural world generation and 34% for advanced NPC behaviour.

As a result of the opportunities AI is bringing, dev teams are adding new team members, with 62% saying that AI-focused roles in particular have emerged. Over half (56%) added that even their existing roles are adapting to the shift to include some AI-specific tasks, with the tech changing how their team collaborates.

Across the board, studios agreed that AI is a transformative force in gaming, with 97% believing it will reshape the industry at a macro level.

Not only could that mean accelerated development cycles and enhanced player experiences thanks to bold creative innovations, but it could also let smaller, independent studios compete with bigger rivals, something expected by 29% of developers.

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AI is also predicted to herald a new era for more powerful gaming engines (40%), and games that feel more ‘alive’ and dynamic (37%), but a quarter (25%) of developers admitted that, at the moment, it’s proving difficult to measure the ROI of their AI projects, while the same number cited the costs of AI integration as an ongoing challenge. 

“AI is no longer a futuristic concept for the games industry—it’s a present-day reality that’s driving innovation and changing the very nature of how games are made and played,” said Jack Buser, global director for games at Google Cloud. 

“From creating more responsive and immersive player experiences to accelerating development cycles, generative AI is empowering developers to push creative boundaries and build the next generation of games.”