More than half of gamedev professionals see GenAI as harmful, according to GDC’s latest survey

Only 7% deliberation it’s having a affirmative impact

GDC person released their 2026 State of the Game Industry report, comprising survey results from thousands of quizzed developers connected the trade and concern of gamesmaking. As successful the 2025 report, this year’s responses awesome a increasing discontent with generative AI tools, with opposing sentiments tipping into elemental bulk presumption for the archetypal time: 52% present accidental GenAI is having a antagonistic interaction connected the industry, up from 30% successful 2025 and 18% successful 2024.

Before we commencement celebrating the motivation arc of the universe, this opinion-hardening appears to correlate with neither an wide alteration not summation successful the adoption of GenAI tech. Asked if they oregon idiosyncratic successful their institution utilized these tools, 52% said yes and 35% said no, some unchanged from their 2025 survey levels. However, optimistic views are becoming harder to travel by, with the percent of respondents who thought GenAI is having a affirmative interaction dropping from 13% successful 2025 to a specified 7% successful 2026. Presumably that’s made up of Tim Sweeney, Larian’s Swen Vincke, fractional the radical connected my LinkedIn feed, and that 1 dentist retired of 10 who doubts toothpaste.

For each the enforcement talk, mandatory AI usage policies besides correspond a tiny number of companies, with conscionable 6% reporting its enforced deployment astatine their workplace. By contrast, 28% said that GenAI usage is wholly optional, 22% said that immoderate tools were allowed portion others were not, and 16% reported a broad prohibition connected the exertion altogether.

We’ve been seeing this divergence successful idiosyncratic companies’ approaches for ages, from Embark Studio’s openly AI-drenched ARC Raiders to Hooded Horse forbidding its usage successful the games they publish. Yet arsenic idiosyncratic who looks astatine GenAI and lone truly sees six-fingered Santas, horrible knock-on effects connected hardware, and the wide dishonesty of equating robotically aggregated sounds and pictures with genuine art, I’d beryllium lying if this survey didn’t springiness maine immoderate anticipation of GenAI’s eventual defeat. Even by the admittance of arch AI imposers Microsoft, this worldly volition lone beryllium arsenic agelong arsenic there’s a tendency to usage IT, and astatine slightest successful games, that tendency is shrivelling earlier our eyes.

Sadly, the remainder of the study tin marque for grimmer reading. Chiefly, it puts immoderate uncomfortable numbers connected apical of the wide occupation nonaccomplishment stories crossed 2025 and 2026 truthful far: 1 games idiosyncratic successful 4 reports being laid disconnected successful the past 24 months, with the astir communal origin being workplace oregon section closures. Of those who had been laid off, 48% of respondents said they haven’t yet recovered a caller job. Confidence successful aboriginal stableness is mixed is arsenic well, arsenic portion lone 23% said they expected much layoffs astatine their workplace successful the adjacent 12 months, 30% stay unsure.

The afloat study is escaped to read, and I’d promote giving it a flick through. For each the statistics, it inactive manages to overgarment a much quality position of modern crippled improvement than immoderate dose of jargon monoxide poisoning you mightiness person from corpo-speak property releases. Some bully small microfacts successful there, excessively – I’m going to instrumentality the Steam Deck being the 4th astir developed-for games level arsenic justification for my continued penning astir it each different goddamn day.