A new GDC survey shows that game developers’ ire toward the use of generative AI in game development is going up.
Every year, the organization behind GDC Festival of Gaming releases the State of the Game Industry Report, featuring insights from thousands of developers around the video game industry. For the 2026 State of the Game Industry Report, 2,300 were surveyed for the latest one and were asked about a variety of topics, including generative AI.
Overall, 36% of the game developers surveyed used generative AI (828 people), with “business professionals” and “upper management” using it more than your rank-and-file game developers. ChatGPT was the most commonly used external AI tool, and the technology was mostly used for “research and brainstorming.”
While generative AI is clearly being used by some developers, the sentiment around the use of technology is more negative than ever before. To be more specific, 52% of game developers surveyed (1,196 people) said that generative AI is having a negative impact on the game industry. Last year, only 30% of developers responded that way. Only 7% said it had a positive impact, while the rest were mixed on its use.
One anonymous game design supervisor went as farm as to tell the surveyors “I’d rather quit the industry than use generative AI.” Ultimately, the reality is that the technology is being used, but disdain for its use, especially for content players actually see, is growing. Many players also don’t like the use of generative AI, as games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Divinity have faced backlash over their use of it.
