GDC 2026 State of the Game Industry: 55% say generative AI hurts games
GDC's 2026 State of the Game Industry report, based on over 2,300 industry professionals, finds 40% use generative AI while 55% see its impact on games as negative. It also covers layoffs and target platforms.
Digital Developer Desk, 8h ago, 2 min read
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) has published its 2026 State of the Game Industry report, according to 80 Level. It draws on responses from over 2,300 industry professionals. Unlike earlier editions, this year's survey collected input from a wider range of industry workers.
On generative AI, 40% of respondents say they use it in their work, up 4% from the previous report. Among those users, 57% apply it to text generation, research, early prototyping, coding and presentations. It is most common in business operations and services, mobile-only studios and free-to-play development.
Sentiment is mostly negative. 55% of respondents say AI is having a negative impact on games, up 1% from the previous year. 35% call the impact mixed and 8% call it positive. Negative views are strongest among QA and community support roles. Survey project lead Beth Elderkin told GamesIndustry.biz that the data suggested the technology was not purely theoretical but was still early in its first two years.
The layoff figures are stark. 33% of respondents say they were laid off in the past 24 months, and about half say their company had job cuts. Among AAA employees, 68% say their studio has cut jobs. More than half of those laid off have not found a new job, and 27% of laid-off workers report sending more than 100 applications.
For platforms, PC remains the most popular at 81% of respondents. PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro follow at 45%, then Xbox Series X/S at 37%, Steam Deck at 32% and Nintendo Switch 2 at 29%.
Sources
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