Staggering Increase in Use of AI in Gaming, but Human-Driven Game Development Still Drives Innovation
While pressure of AI mounts, traditional human-driven game development is laced with creative iterations that often lead to groundbreaking ideas.
(Photo: SBR)
NEW YORK, July 22, 2025 — Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in game development has become a multi-dimensional issue for this industry.
AI has penetrated deep into the gaming sector, with some staggering statistics revealing this trend.
A recent report reveals that the number of games on Steam that disclose the use of generative AI has risen by 700 percent in a year, up from around 1,000 games a year ago to almost 8,000 now, almost 7 percent of the whole Steam library.
Moreover, almost 20 percent of the games released this year disclose use of AI.
While use of AI in gaming is rampant, a section of gamers opposes it.
The assistance from AI is ranging from its role in scriptwriting, storyboarding, scheduling, and market research, to data analysis conducted to ensure the viability of an idea, also a key aspect where AI’s role comes into play.
According to Statista, the global AI market is expected to reach $2 trillion by 2030, reflecting significant investments in tools that directly impact industries such as entertainment and gaming.
AI in gaming has also cut down the human intervention, with several companies opting to restructure.
Cost-cutting pressures have led to significant layoffs.
In the media and entertainment industry, companies restructure operations to meet market demands and financial constraints, and trimming down the employee strength is particularly evident in the gaming industry.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer says that rising development costs and audience expectations have contributed to layoffs and changes in monetization. Phil says inherent risk of game development is always a looming factor.
Tech Benefits and Human Touch
A recent analysis of a case study, Angry Pumpkins, a fully AI-generated game, has highlighted use of AI in gaming.
Besides, the analysis also draws a comparison between the use of AI in games vis-à-vis human-driven game development.
AI has the ability to create artistic components and programming scripts; besides, it can manage all other necessary elements for game development, enabling the creation of a game through simple prompts.
As per the case study, in 2023, Javi Lopez, founder of Magnificent.ai, used GPT-4 for programming and Midjourney and DALL-E for graphics for game development.
It took Lopez 400–500 prompts to create a Halloween-themed game, Angry Pumpkins.
The game is inspired by Angry Birds, but with pumpkins in place of traditional projectiles.
Titled Angry Pumpkins, Lopez said that the entire process took around 10–12 hours and required only 600 lines of code.
He categorically admitted to not have written any of the codes.
In an interview with Techspot, Lopez also shared that producing the artistic components was easy, but delivering AI instructions on programming elements correctly was far more challenging.
This involved a lot of patience and repetitiveness to yield the intended results, Lopez.
Limitations of AI in Gaming
Angry Pumpkins is a game functioning as a playable prototype with professional assets and a working physics system.
Being dependent on AI-generated templates shows AI-driven game development has the possibility of creative stagnation.
With automating processes, AI prefers prioritizing efficiency over innovation, producing games bereft of originality or emotional depth.
Comparatively, traditional human-driven game development is laced with creative iterations that often lead to groundbreaking ideas.
A critical analysis of Angry Pumpkins puts forth the democratizing potential of AI but also raises concerns about homogenization in the absence of human oversight.
There is a strong opinion that AI must be used to enhance specific elements of game design rather than driving the entire creative process.
The technical components of an AI-developed game are likely to meet industry standards, but the game’s lack of originality, driven by the heavy reliance on pre-existing templates, suggests that entire game development process cannot be AI driven.
AI’s capability to have smaller teams, create high-quality content within a stipulated time, is a transformative move; however, it raises certain questions regarding homogenization of creativity.
A lack of human gatekeeping, AI-generated content has a tendency to become formulaic, it may stick too closely to pre-existing templates and crush the originality.
The larger concern is that while AI democratizes production, at the same time it may compromise on the diversity of creative expression within the industry.
Besides, use of AI integration in the context of games development can prove useful towards setting a shorter timeframe for recreating common mechanics.
This is already a tried and tested process involved when developing interactive experiences anyways.
Notably, Angry Birds (2012), the game that inspired Angry Pumpkins, was developed on a budget of roughly €100,000 and required a team of people.
While AI led the fast-pace creation of a similar product, its lack of human creative input led to a homogenized result.
Angry Pumpkins has high-quality visuals but feels like a reskin of Angry Birds due to its striking similarities, says the study.
Being dependent on AI-generated templates shows AI-driven game development has the possibility of creative stagnation.
Inputs from Saqib Malik
Editing by David Ryder
