Almost a third of developers think generative AI is a negative for the games industry, says new survey – Rock Paper Shotgun
One in ten respondents to GDC’s annual survey was laid off in 2024Each year, the Game Developers Conference (GDC) release the results of their State Of The Game Industry Survey, which collects responses from over 3000 developers. The 13th annual survey – which you can find in full here – queries respondents on topics including layoffs, generative AI, the live service boom, and funding. As is the nature of our times, it’s a big grim salad with a few bright crouton sprinklings. From the report’s introduction, which does not mention croutons even once:It feels like the last 12 months have seen their share of fortune and heartbreak. Industry layoffs have continued, to the point where one in 10 developers say they’ve lost their jobs in the past year. More studios adopt Generative AI, even though it’s increasingly unpopular among developers. Working hours are going up, investment opportunities are shrinking, and recent severe weather events… are drawing attention to the growing impact of climate disasters.But the game industry is resilient, as are its developers. PC development has skyrocketed, more studios are prioritizing game accessibility, unionization support holds steady, and Hollywood continues to see the value in adapting games for the big (and small) screen.It’s rare to see a week pass where we don’t hear about job losses in some form, but even so, that one in ten figure hits especially hard. Narrative roles were hit worst at 19%, compared to 6% working in business and finance. The most common reasons given were restructuring, declining revenue, and market shifts/industry trends. In last year’s survey, 53% of respondents had not been impacted by layoffs, either personally or at the company they worked for. This year that number fell to 43%.19% of developers told GDC that they were given “no reason” for layoffs at their company. “If you lost your job, have you been able to find a new one?” asked the survey for an ‘in your words” section, which collects direct quotes from respondents. “The games industry is killing me,” was one developer’s reply. Otherwise, the survey doesn’t contexualise these layoffs against figures of new hires in the same period, although there’s possibly a throughline here between the 56% of developers that say they’ve invested money into their own games versus the 28% who have “publishing deals and project-based funding”. This climate of layoff fatigue is paired with a growing apathy towards generative AI tools, often touted as the industry’s future. “Game development is supposed to be art and an expression of one’s imagination, not an AI-generated concept with no real thought process,” reads the quote from a respondent that leads the section on Generative AI tools. A majority of developers (52%) surveyed said they worked at a company that uses such tools. 16% of respondents said their company has a policy against using generative AI tools, compared to 9% where their use was mandated.Almost a third of respondents felt Gen AI was having a negative effect on the industry: 30%, up from 20% last year. 13% felt the impact was positive, down from 21%. “When asked to cite their specific concerns, developers pointed to intellectual property theft, energy consumption, the quality of AI-generated content, potential biases, and regulatory issues,” reads the survey.”When asked what applications they saw for the use of Generative AI in the game industry, developers pointed to tasks like coding assistance, concept art and 3D model generation, and automation of repetitive tasks (developers made similar suggestions in our 2024 survey),” reads the report. “But the word used most frequently in their responses was ‘none’.”I should acknowledge that the rhetorical device they’ve used at the end there – paired with the above opening quote – is obviously very skewed on one side of the argument. Then again, it’s also the side of the argument I’m on, and is therefore good. Objectivity is for little weenies.There are a few positives thankfully, as the report highlights up top. “71% of developers think their company’s DEI and accessibility efforts have been at least slightly successful, while 51% feel the same way about their company’s sustainability efforts”. Additionally, union support has remained consistent from last year, with 58% of respondents in favour – a figure that may go up, given that this was the first year since the survey began that the number of developers working 40 hours or less per week decreased.PC development is also looking healthy, with 80% of developers surveyed currently making games for our lovely thinking tellies, up from 66% last year.
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