When artificial intelligence gradually enters the gaming world
, by Quentin
We're not telling you anything new when we say that artificial intelligence has been the focus of attention for many years now, at the heart of many issues. However, this technological revolution also raises many questions, fears, and objections. This is particularly true in one area: the arts.
Video games are very much part of the artistic world. Even though they are often reduced to a simple form of entertainment, they remain cultural. This is why the use of artificial intelligence is causing concern among many gamers around the world, who are worried about a transformation that could impact creativity and imagination in our future games.
Are there predictable abuses associated with artificial intelligence?
This is no longer just a fantasy, but a project publicly announced by several influential figures. Elon Musk, for example, recently stated that his studio xAI would be able to release “an excellent game” generated by artificial intelligence by the end of 2026. He is not only targeting this sector: he also claims that his AI, called Grok, will be able to generate a "at least watchable" film by the end of 2026, and even "very good films" in 2027. These statements should be taken with a grain of salt, as the boss of X is known for rather running his mouth
.Nevertheless, it should be noted that artificial intelligence has already been established in the video game industry for many months. Some decisions have been met with fierce criticism, such as Aspyr's decision regarding the Tomb Raider IV - VI Remastered compilation. In France, the studio replaced parts of the voice acting by Françoise Cadol, the original voice of Lara Croft, with generative AI—without her consent. Of course, this caused quite the outcry on social media inmediately.
Good ideas and innovative proposals...
There are still some more positive examples, notably from NVIDIA with its ACE technology. This allows players to interact with NPCs in a game in real time, using their voice, with natural exchanges. At CES 2025, PUBG and NVIDIA presented an AI-powered teammate capable of talking to you, giving you strategic information, sharing loot, driving a vehicle, or fighting, all while adapting to the situation.
Artificial intelligence is also crucial for managing proprietary technologies such as AMD's FSR, NVIDIA's DLSS, and Intel's XeSS. Today, the vast majority of development studios rely on AI, whether to generate code, improve animation, automate QA testing, or help with creative tasks.
A technology already firmly established in the industry
This shift, initially presented as a simple assistance tool, could ultimately threaten many jobs. This was one of the first strong statements made by the group of investors who recently bought Electronic Arts for $55 billion. They stated their intention to rely heavily on artificial intelligence to reduce costs, increase margins, and more easily absorb the debt incurred for this acquisition.
This is a purely industrial vision, in which profitability takes precedence over creativity. The goal is to produce faster, at lower cost, while maximizing competitiveness. It's a risky gamble, especially from an artistic standpoint.
A recent report by Nikkei reveals that 51% of Japanese studios—including Capcom, Konami, Square Enix, FromSoftware, and SEGA—already use AI to generate images, videos, text, and code scripts. Western studios are not far behind. The majority of companies in Europe and the United States have also integrated AI into their production pipeline.
Microsoft, for its part, already requires King (Candy Crush) teams to use AI tools, be it artists, designers, developers, and managers. This is the case for all branches of the company.
This 2025, more than 7,800 of the 114,100 games available on Steam used some form of generative AI. This is an impressive leap from 2024, when only 1,000 titles fell into this category. What's more, this only just beginning and is set to go up in the coming years.
It's therefore essential that this technology be regulated and used wisely. While AI has the potential to ease the burden on developers, improve certain repetitive tasks, and making better games, it can also become a threat to creativity, employment, and the very identity of video games.