GDC 2025: AI isn't the 'creative cure-all' that some hoped

The new Unity Gaming Report is out, revealed today at GDC 2025, and it suggests video game studios are placing caution ahead of revolution. The prospect of generative AI being the magic bullet to solve all of the industry's problems doesn't appear to be here just yet, as the report says, "AI hasn’t quite been the creative cure-all that some hoped".

AI has been the buzzword and idea for the last year, and I've tried Nvidia's ACE and can see the allure, but as Ashly Burch reacts to Sony's AI Aloy test shows, this future is a precarious one. No wonder then, many of the game devs quizzed for the Unity Gaming Report reveal caution, and indeed not a race to AI, are the trends that dominate. (Read what devs thought about gen AI in last year's Unity Gaming Report.)

While the report shows many of the devs who took part are excited for what AI can do – 79% of devs polled report feeling positive about using AI in gaming – and will likely make use of it, in practice it's seen as just another tool among others to help game development. Finding a balance between AI's potential and other, practical ways to save time, is the main trend emerging from the Unity Gaming Report.

While gen AI is buzzy, devs are more interested in practical ways to keep projects on time and within budget. For example, Onat Hekimoglu is Slow Bros' Cofounder, CEO, Director, and Composer, and said in the report, "Building all the game assets by hand isn't exactly the most efficient way… but we do try to automate a lot of the processes in our analog to digital pipeline, so more time can be spent on analogue creation".

Read my interview with the Slow Bros team on how they made Harold Halibut for a deeper dive into this dev's unique and very lengthy process.

The Unity Gaming Report reveals many game devs are focused on doing the fundamentals more efficiently, such as finding ways to reduce R&D times – 21% identified long lag times exploring tech as the biggest blocker – while some pointed issues around marketing and funding being something to solve. Interestingly, the basic puzzle of finding a unique game concept was a major issue, with 18% of devs naming this as a primary problem.

Tools that can increase productivity are becoming more vital, perhaps more so than the headline grabbing gen AI tools. Unity Editor, which can offer deep insights into live game features for ads, data management and analytics is something 40% of the devs involved aim to use more of.

Michael Bastaens, 3D Artist, Black Salt Games, said in the Unity Gaming Report: “Another thing we do is keep an eye out for new tools that might increase productivity in our pipelines. With a smaller team size we can’t always look to build things from scratch. This might involve looking around in the Unity store for useful add-ons or just investigating new software that might help out with animations. Tools and software evolve pretty quickly in game development and it's definitely worth the time to investigate things that can reduce costs and time."

And so it's here where the Unity Gaming Report reveals how gen AI will likely be used in game development, perhaps not replace art and ideas but improve productivity. Sola Saulenko, Marketing Director, Pixonic, MY.GAMES says: “Developers would benefit from AI tools that simplify playtesting and automate bug detection. Additionally, AI-powered solutions for localisation and quick translations of ad copy, or even generating initial sketches for concept art, could save significant time and resources."

The use of AI for automated playtesting, moderating in-game comms, and improving code have risen according to the report, but AI to replace artists, animators and modellers has stalled, implying that AI tools (so far) are most effectively used in support capacities, rather than generating original work.

For more on Unity, read our guide to the best game development software. To read the full Unity Gaming Report visit the Unity website.