GDC Survey: 40% of Game Developers Now Use Generative AI in Daily Work
Mobile studio workers report the highest adoption rate at 70 percent, while 34 percent of respondents say they were laid off in the past two years.
By Rebecca Svoboda ·
The video game sector continues to integrate artificial intelligence into its production pipelines. According to the latest annual survey from the GDC Festival of Gaming, 40 percent of developers now use generative AI as part of their regular job duties.
This figure represents an increase from 36 percent in 2025. Adoption rates vary by platform. Workers at mobile-only studios reported a 70 percent usage rate. Developers working on free-to-play titles reported a 58 percent usage rate.
The industry has faced mixed reactions to this shift. Many indie developers have voiced opposition to the technology. However, House House, the developer of the game Big Walk, recently won awards attention after stating that they used large language models sparingly to solve technical problems during the final stage of development. Meanwhile, retro game analysis is increasingly relying on AI for reverse engineering.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma posted on social media on Thursday, outlining a future for the platform that relies heavily on automated tools. She stated, "A small team will be able to build worlds that today demand hundreds of developers and hundreds of millions of dollars."
The survey details specific applications of the technology. 73 percent of respondents used AI for research and brainstorming. 62 percent used it for data analysis and summarization. 56 percent used it for code generation and debugging. Fewer developers used the tools for visual assets, with 22 percent using it for concept art and 8 percent using it for final production art.
The workforce data reveals ongoing instability in the sector. 34 percent of survey respondents reported that they were laid off at some point during the past two years.
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