In a heated on-air conversation, the game developers revisited the 2023 turn of events in the gaming industry. The dialogue was hosted by leading game media outlets, Game Developer and Game Developer Conference (GDC), to discuss the development in the vibrant gaming industry.
The developers noted that the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) generative tools impacted major layoffs and closure of gaming businesses last year. An announcement conveyed by the Game Developer Alissa McAloon illustrated that 2023 was a challenging year for game developers.
Adoption of AI in Gaming
The developers lamented that with the changes in the gaming industry the game developers were exposed to severe adversity and uncertainty that undermined their efficiency at the workplace. McAloon confessed that the changes in technology and job instability affected the broad gaming sector.
The dynamism of the gaming industry grabbed the attention of key industry players to examine the factors undermining the growth of the sector. A recent survey conducted by the prominent research firm Omdia titled “2024 State of Game Industry” outlines the factors slowing the development of the gaming industry.
The survey target group includes over 3000 developers working on different projects in the gaming sector. The Omdia drafted multiple open-ended survey questions to examine the internal and external challenges facing game developers and gaming industry.
During the data collection stage, the Omdia team devised questionnaires that reflected on the current and past performance of the gaming industry. A review of the research findings demonstrated that lately players can easily access online and offline games.
Factors Contributing to High Adoption of AI in Game Development
On the X platform, the survey respondents argued that the uncertainties in the gaming sector undermined long-term job stability. The X post demonstrated that 56% of the participants projected that there would be significant layoffs in the gaming industry due to current developments in the AI industry.
On the contrary, 44% of the respondents still believe they will retain their current position despite the change in tech developments. The study demonstrated that the advancement of technology has impacted the automation of gaming processes.
With the adoption of advanced technology, the study examined the roles and responsibilities undertaken by developers in the gaming sector.
According to the report, 34% of the participants majored in developing game designs, and 32% of respondents worked at independent game studios. The remaining 18% of the employees worked for a fast-paced AAA studio.
Besides examining the roles executed in different gaming fields, the survey assesses the products offered by diverse game developers. In the report, around 60% of the respondents built on PC games, 35% worked on creating video games on PlayStation 5, and 32% of the developers confessed to working for Xbox X/S.
Impact of Changes on Customers Preference for Gaming
Reportedly, with the ongoing development in the gaming sector, the survey demonstrated the shift in market demand and customers’ needs that contributed to the development of new games.
The survey demonstrated that game enthusiasts were more interested in PC PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch games. The quest to meet the customer’s experience forced the developers to be more creative and innovative.
The survey revealed that approximately 33% of the game developers leveraged the power of emerging technologies such as Unity and Unreal Engine to boost game experiences. Correspondingly, around 14 % of the developers used their unique proprietary game engines to design the games to their desired specifications.
Developers Loss Interest in Blockchain Games
Despite the changes made in the gaming sector, the survey indicated that the interest in gaming dropped in 2023. The sudden drop in gaming interest emanated from the decline in blockchain games.
According to the survey, 77% of the respondents showed no interest in developing their games on the blockchain network. Most of the developers demonstrated their growing interest in AI-fueled games.
Remarkably, following the invention of OpenAI generative tools, including the GPT-4, most of the game-developing studios invested heavily in these technologies to boost efficiency and performance. Even though the regulators have been striking the lightning rod on AI-powered projects on a scale of 4 out of 5 the developers complained about the ethical implications of AI technology.
Nonetheless, the Omdia report illustrated that 31% of game developers use AI technologies to build their projects. Apart from this, 44% of the companies specializing in Business and Finance use AI technologies to optimize their operations.
