“AI is Theft, I Have to Use It, Otherwise I’ll Get Fired”: GDC Reports One-Third of Game Workers Are Using GenAI for Daily Tasks

The GDC State of the Game Industry Report 2026 is officially out, offering insights into the video game industry based on responses from over 2,300 game industry workers. Respondents answered questions about everything from industry layoffs to popular game engines and platforms, and the current, longstanding hot-button industry topic, Generative AI (GenAI).

For some people in the video game industry, GenAI tools are the latest technological innovation that will revolutionize the game development process. Everyone will use them if they aren't already, and they'll be as commonplace as anything else. Others think there is absolutely no place for them in game development, not even if you're trying to ride that middle lane where you think it'll be helpful for some things, but nothing can replicate or replace the "human" element in creation.

While one-third (35%) of respondents said they don't personally use GenAI for their jobs, a majority (52%) said GenAI tools are used at their studios, which has also resulted in more studios creating policies around its use. Only 15% of respondents said their company did not have a policy on the use of GenAI tools, with 78% confirming that there is policy language of some kind at their studio. The remaining 7% said they were unsure.

Policies are also getting more specific, with 22% of respondents saying that only specific tools are allowed and not others. Most are using LLMs like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot, which lines up for what they're using these tools for. "Research or brainstorming" was the most common response, with second going to daily tasks, including writing emails, code assistance, and prototyping. Only 5% of respondents said they used GenAI tools for "player-facing features," 10% for procedural generation, and 19% for asset generation.

For some respondents, it's clear that these tools are essential, more for their efficiency than anything else. "We are a small team, so it is making us capable of achieving more than we would without it," said one respondent who is an executive working at an indie studio.

But even with this increased use and necessity, as the report reads, "it appears the more the game industry professionals know about Generative AI, the less they like it." 52% of respondents believe GenAI tech is having a negative impact on the video game industry. It's a 30% bump compared to last year's GDC survey, but even within the negative majority are people who use it because they have to, or feel like they have to for their work. "AI is theft," begins one response from a developer in Ukraine. "I have to use it, otherwise I'm gonna get fired."

What's more interesting than looking at the percentages, though, are some of the quotes from individual developers who answered positively, negatively, or with mixed reactions about GenAI tools and tech.

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Again, it should be noted that this annual survey is just a sample size; it's not a complete picture of the industry, and there's still a lot to be figured out with where GenAI tech lands not just in video games and video game development, but in other industries around the world.

At least with its increased use, more studios are writing guidelines as to how it should be used, and most of its use doesn't seem to make it to our actual monitors when we sit down for a night of gaming. That will likely continue to be what players care about the most, as Studio Atelico told Wccftech in a recent interview, "I strongly believe that what players and people in general are opposed to is not actually AI, but rather the exploitation of people and 'slop.'"

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