An Xbox strategy manager said the company is already using artificial intelligence in game development and that those claiming otherwise are not being honest, then pulled back from the remarks. Brandon Stirrup made the comments on X, deleted them a day later, and deactivated his social media account shortly afterward, though his posts have been archived elsewhere. His remarks set off discussion about what role generative AI does or should play in how games are made.
It is not entirely unexpected that Xbox would use AI to the degree Stirrup suggested. Xbox recently announced the creation of Xbox Labs, at least partly in reaction to a growing trend of AI-coded game ports, and the announcement strongly suggested the new team would use AI without stating it directly. Microsoft, which owns Xbox, is also a major player in AI development, a fact that has already made Xbox the target of a BDS boycott over the Israeli military's use of that AI. Xbox has not officially stated a position on developing games with AI.
Among the largest game studios, the emphasis tends to be on using generative AI to speed up development. Capcom, Square Enix, Sega, Nexon and Activision have either used AI in their games or committed to doing so. Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, has been especially open about its AI use, and CEO Tim Sweeney has promoted it vigorously on social media. Multiple industry studies have found very high adoption rates, around 90 percent, though limited participant pools and differing definitions of AI raise questions about how representative those results are.
Smaller independent studios have been notably vocal in opposing generative AI, and they generally lack shareholders to impress with claims of cost savings. Among them are Finji, publisher of Tunic; ConcernedApe, developer of Stardew Valley; and Strange Scaffold, developer of Clickolding. Given the number and variety of studios, it is impossible to say how much of the industry actually uses AI, but assertions that everyone does are plainly false.
Players are divided as well. Some accept AI as part of games going forward, while others have pledged to avoid games that use it, citing environmental costs, labor issues or aesthetic preference. That has driven interest in tools such as a browser extension that makes Steam's AI disclosures more visible, and in grassroots efforts by developers to carry labels certifying their games as AI-free. The most contentious uses involve assets that appear in the finished game, whether included deliberately, as with AI-generated voices in The Finals, or described as placeholders that were meant to be removed, as happened recently with Crimson Desert. Many players and developers accept AI for generating code even while opposing it elsewhere.
The overall effect of AI on game development remains difficult to measure. AI cannot produce games worth playing without substantial support from skilled developers, but there is concern that executives could cite AI's promise to justify layoffs, and whether AI will ultimately make games easier to develop is unresolved. One clear trend is the rise of low-quality "slop" games, often copying other projects directly, as reflected in a large increase of AI games in the Steam Next Fest demo event.
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