Is AI the future of gaming? GDC attendees say yes, but don't agree how

The Game Developers Conference offered a clear snapshot of the industry: generative AI remains a dominant focus. Banners and booths filled the halls, with companies like Nvidia and Google prominently showcasing projects and hosting packed panels, yet it was far from obvious how the technology will actually reshape development.

On the show floor the range of experiments was wide. Google highlighted projects built with Gemini components, from a top-down shooter with a constant voiced assistant to a fantasy town populated by chatty AI NPCs that often produced incoherent replies. Other demos leaned more creative: a roguelike used prompts to generate a custom hero and tailor the game around that character.

Tools on display varied in ambition and polish. Nunu.ai pitched QA automation that builds bug tests with AI, while Arcade AI presented a prompt-driven game engine that could quickly mock up environments and logic but produced rough, prototypical results.

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