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The mere mention of generative AI prompts an immediate backlash these days, but there's no escaping the reality that it's now a recognised tool across the video game industry.
The fingerprints of gen-AI have been found throughout numerous projects over the last few years, sparking all kinds of discussions about creative freedoms and artistic integrity.
Developers very rarely disclose what their AI models are actually used for in any detail — hell, some don't disclose their use at all — but a survey fresh out of Japan highlights just how commonplace gen-AI has become.
The numbers make for a shocking read. According to said survey, which was carried out by Japan's Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association, a whopping 85.8% of Japanese game developers use some form of generative AI in their working process.
63% of those those employees claim to use gen-AI on a daily basis, while the rest — 22.8% — state that they only use it "occasionally".
For context, this same survey was carried out in 2025, and a comparatively small — but still significant — 51% of developers had said they used gen-AI. 2026 has seen a hefty increase, then.
All of Japan's key players, like Capcom, Square Enix, SEGA, Konami, Koei Tecmo, and even Sony contribute to the CESA's surveys as official members of the organisation — so no one's out of the potential firing line here.
As for how gen-AI is actually being used, it all gets a bit murky — as you can probably imagine. When queried on their application of the tech, most developers said that they avoided "direct use" of AI generated assets and the like, and that AI models are typically only used to make production pipelines more efficient.
Debates rage on with regards to this sort of approach. There's no getting around the fact that generative AI models are trained on existing works — so often without permission — and so many argue that using it in any stage of the creative process ultimately weaken's the project's artistic integrity.
But again, it looks like gen-AI is only becoming more and more popular. It'll be very interesting to see what kind of numbers this survey throws up in 2027...
Are you at all surprised by this data? Please post a human response in the comments section below.