The Uncertain Future of Game Development

The video game industry is booming, but beneath the surface, game developers are living in uncertainty. For Jess Hyland, a video game artist with almost 15 years of experience, the industry is on shaky ground.

“I’m very aware that I could wake up tomorrow and my job could be gone,” says Jess.

The industry has seen a surge in players and profits during the pandemic, sparking investments, expansions, and acquisitions. However, this growth has been short-sighted, leading to thousands of workers losing their jobs and successful studios shutting down.

The gaming industry has seen a surge in players and profits during the pandemic.

The potential of generative AI tools, like those showcased by tech giant Nvidia, has some bosses excited about the potential to save development time and free workers up to focus on creativity. However, for many workers, the suspicion is that AI is a path to cutting costs when labor is their biggest expense.

A prototype of an AI development tool.

Jess knows one person who has lost work due to AI and has heard of it happening to others. There are also dozens of accounts online suggesting that jobs in concept art and other traditionally entry-level roles have been affected.

Jess Hyland, a member of the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain’s game workers branch.

Chris Knowles, a former senior engine developer at UK gaming firm Jagex, shares Jess’s concerns. He believes that AI will serve to minimize, rather than enable, the work of creatives.

“If you’re going to have to hire actual human artists to fix the output, why not harness their creativity and make something new that connects with players?” says Chris.

Chris Knowles, former senior engine developer at UK gaming firm Jagex.

The fear is that AI will be used to turn out assets such as artwork and 3D models at scale, and the expectation on workers will be to produce more output.

“The more content you can make, the more money you can make,” says Jess.

While Jess has serious personal reservations about using AI to “automate creativity”, she wouldn’t be against using it to bear the burden of some of the more repetitive admin tasks that are a feature of most projects.

A game developer at work.

The gaming industry is a multibillion-dollar business, but it’s also an artistic medium that brings together artists, musicians, writers, programmers, and actors. The uncertainty surrounding AI’s impact on the industry is a concern for many.

Gaming industry workers are concerned about the impact of AI on their jobs.