AI Games 2025: Revolution or Disaster? 🤖🎮

2025 marked the significant rise of generative AI within the video game industry, with its use increasingly apparent in several of the year’s most popular titles. CEOs from leading game studios now assert that generative AI is being integrated across the industry, including within their own development processes. Notably, generative AI has largely supplanted NFTs as the dominant trend publishers are pursuing. Proponents of the technology argue that it represents a powerful democratization force, as the ability of generative AI to combine images, text, audio, and video can dramatically reduce development times and associated budgets – addressing two major challenges currently facing the industry. In response, numerous video game studios have announced partnerships with generative AI companies. For example, Ubisoft has developed technology capable of generating short dialogue snippets, known as “barks,” and has implemented AI-powered NPCs with whom players can engage in conversations. Electronic Arts (EA) has partnered with Stability AI, while Microsoft is leveraging AI for gameplay analysis and generation. Beyond these formal partnerships, major companies such as Nexon, Krafton, and Square Enix have publicly embraced generative AI. Consequently, generative AI is beginning to appear prominently in games. Until recently, the technology had largely been confined to experimental prototypes and smaller, lower-quality games, frequently lost amongst the tens of thousands released annually on platforms like Steam. However, generative AI is now becoming a notable element in the year’s biggest releases.

Raiders, a popular multiplayer shooter released this year, utilized generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) for character dialogue, while Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 incorporated gen AI images. Notably, even Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which became Game of the Year in 2025, initially featured gen AI images before they were quietly removed. Reactions to this increasing use of gen AI within games have been mixed, with a general player and developer aversion becoming apparent. Following the discovery of gen AI assets in Anno 117: Pax Romana, Ubisoft stated the assets “slipped through” their review process and were subsequently replaced. When similar assets were found in Black Ops 7, Activision acknowledged the issue but maintained the images’ inclusion within the game. Critical response has been particularly uneven: ARC Raiders received low scores, with reviewers specifically citing the use of gen AI as a contributing factor. Conversely, Clair Obscur was largely praised, and its temporary incorporation of gen AI has received minimal attention. Developers appear sensitive to public reservations regarding gen AI, yet they haven’t committed to a complete ban. Activision, after discovering gen AI assets in Black Ops 7, explained that the technology is used to “empower” its developers, rather than to replace them. EA VP Rebecka Coutaz, when questioned about gen AI’s potential use in Battlefield 6, described the technology as “seductive” but affirmed that Swen Vincke, CEO of Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian, revealed that gen AI is being utilized for the studio’s next game, Divinity, though only for...

Generating concepts and ideas, Vincke explained, was central to the game development process. He asserted that every element of the finished game would be created by human developers, and he attributed the industry's continued use of the technology to the pressures of a tech-driven environment: “You can’t afford not to try things because if somebody finds the golden egg and you’re not using it, you’re dead.” This sentiment was echoed by Junghun Lee, CEO of ARC Raiders’ parent company Nexon, who stated, “It’s important to assume that every game company is now using AI.” However, the technology’s potential remains unfulfilled, as evidenced by a report published last year by Keywords Studios, a game development services company, which demonstrated that while gen-AI tools can streamline certain development processes, they cannot replace the work of human talent. The initial discovery of gen AI within titles like Call of Duty and Pax Romana was facilitated by the low quality of the images produced. Furthermore, Ubisoft’s implementation of interactive, gen-AI NPCs resulted in dialogue that sounded unnatural and stilted. Notably, players in the 2025 Chinese martial arts MMORPG Where Winds Meet are currently manipulating the game’s AI chatbot NPCs to break the game, mirroring the methods employed by Fortnite players who previously exploited AI-powered Darth Vader to make the character swear.

AI’s current results have not met expectations, prompting the question of its pervasive presence. One key factor is the competitive advantage it offers, as alluded to by Swen Vincke in a recent Bloomberg interview. Simultaneously, the simplest explanation is the overall economy: despite ongoing inflation, declining consumer confidence and spending, and rising unemployment, the stock market continues to surge, largely fueled by the significant investment flowing into AI technology. Game makers, seeking capital to sustain operations and maintain profitability, are eager to capitalize on this trend. Notably, for some independent developers, the use of generative AI fundamentally undermines the core purpose of game creation. The intellectual challenge of conceiving ideas and devising solutions to development problems—tasks that generative AI is intended to automate—represents a crucial element of the appeal for these developers. Furthermore, indie developers express particular sensitivity regarding the moral and environmental ramifications of utilizing AI-generated outputs, which are often compiled from existing works without consent or compensation. The energy consumption of AI data centers, particularly their impact on surrounding communities – frequently low-income and minority areas – is also a growing concern. Considering its unrealized potential and often disappointing outputs, generative AI risks being viewed as gaming's next fleeting trend, much like NFTs. However, with major gaming companies increasingly reporting their use, generative AI is likely to remain a contentious issue in game development—a lightning rod for debate—until significant advancements are made.

The rapid advancements in technology, such as those seen with the rise and subsequent collapse of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), demonstrate how quickly innovation can lead to market corrections.