Nearly 90% of videogame developers use AI agents, Google study shows

Aug 18 (Reuters) - A Google Cloud survey showed that 87% of videogame developers are using artificial intelligence agents to streamline and automate tasks, as the industry focuses on optimizing costs following a wave of record layoffs.

Most of the respondents in the report, published on Monday, said AI was helping automate cumbersome and repetitive tasks, freeing developers to focus on more creative concerns.

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Gaming publishers have turned to AI to deal with the industry-wide challenge of ballooning development costs and elongated creation cycles stemming from high fan expectations and intense competition.

The study, conducted by Google and The Harris Poll, surveyed 615 game developers in the U.S., South Korea, Norway, Finland, and Sweden in late June and early July.

Around 44% of developers use agents to optimize content and process information such as text, voice, code, audio and video rapidly, enabling them to exercise autonomy and make decisions, the study showed.

But the use of AI in videogames is a highly contentious topic, with many within the industry concerned over potential job losses, intellectual property disputes and lower pay.

Last year, Hollywood's videogame performers went on strike over AI and pay issues, while studios shut down and more than 10,000 people lost their jobs.

The industry is expected to gain momentum this year and the next, with the launch of premium titles and new consoles seen to boost spending.

According to the survey, 94% of developers expect AI to reduce overall development costs in the long term. That, even as roughly one in four developers find it challenging to precisely measure the return on investment of their AI implementations, while costs associated with integrating the technology are also high.

Around 63% of those surveyed expressed concerns over data ownership as the legality around licensing and who exactly owns AI-generated content remains unclear.

Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar

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