The use of artificial intelligence to create games is considered the future of the gaming industry. It is talked about as a universal tool that is suitable for working with all game elements. After studying the promised opportunities, you ask yourself: "Are they really needed? Or should you use more traditional tools?"
Let's start by fantasizing a little about where AI generation might lead us in the near future.
A World at the Snap of Your Fingers Tomorrow
AI greatly simplifies the creation of game worlds. It is enough to prepare the assets, and the program will create an entire Skyrim or Koprulu sector from Starcraft, which you can explore from the first person. And you don't have to wait years to admire beautiful and unusual worlds.
Working with such generators will require large capacities that only large corporations can afford. The products they create will inherit the existing problems of the modern gaming industry: poor optimization, a weight of hundreds of gigabytes, and countless bugs. Games may be released faster, but enthusiasts will continue to refine them.
"If you can create a huge world, then why do you need other options?" - effective managers will inevitably come to this conclusion. At the same time, they will think about filling the world last. The epidemic of open-world games will be repeated, where you will have to endlessly collect resources, clear out outposts, and protect settlements in distress.
World generation will work well in arcade games. This could be an analogue of Fall Guys or Party Animals, where players compete and fool around. If you get tired of the map, you can vote for a new one: a prison, a restaurant, a medieval castle, an active volcano. And the built-in AI will create a map taking into account all the wishes. This is exactly what the AI named Kane did in the Amazing Digital Circus series, when he came up with adventures for his charges.
Will Every NPC Become a Personality?
People all over the world are already actively using chatbots. You can ask any question, and in a few seconds a detailed answer will be generated. An extensive database allows AI to organically support the conversation - you can even forget that you are not communicating with a living person.
AI can revive role-playing games if you use it to generate replicas and actions of non-player characters. In Skyrim, you can talk to passers-by or artisans and spend time together in a tavern. If you complete Panam's love line in Cyberpunk 2077, it will not disappear from the plot – AI will allow you to go on full dates with her. The neural network can take on the role of the Dungeon Master in D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) and react vividly to the creativity of the players.
Although this is fun, with the exception of D&D, giving non-player characters a mind will harm role-playing games in the long run. Their essence boils down to overcoming all adversities and coping with great evil. On the way, you are helped by the main and secondary characters – the rest play the role of the background. If you spend all your time with the main characters or spread your attention to the background ones, you will simply forget about the goal.
Educational games will move to a new level. It will be fascinating to listen to lectures on history from Napoleon himself, Ivan the Terrible, Caesar, Sargon the Ancient. Or do exercises while an attractive virtual teacher monitors progress and corrects mistakes.
However, this is the stuff of the future. What is happening now?
Artificial Sparring Partner Today
Smart NPCs are doing well in dating simulators today. In AI2U, you need to build relationships with virtual girls who comment and react to actions and words. You can persuade your chosen one to move to the right place, ask for help, or pass the necessary item.
AI is capable of playing the role of an advanced bot opponent. In Starcraft 2, players are already competing with neural networks. An AI called AlphaStar was trained on the basis of replays of professional matches. Over time, he learned to imitate the tactics used and even defeated professionals. Many of his rivals didn't even realize they were playing against a machine.
But good rivals can also be created by experienced programmers. It's another matter when the machine helps to deal with game mechanics. The players themselves use AI services to master hardcore games.
In Escape from Tarkov, a paid bot from Questie.Ai service has become popular. The bot gained fame thanks to a Western journalist who used it as a guide. As a result, the virtual partner was invaluable in helping to navigate the area. On the other hand, it is a pity that developers will start using such "crutches" so as not to spend money on bringing games to mind. Or maybe they will put the payment on the players themselves.
The very idea of AI trainers remains tempting. But as an opponent, classic bots are preferable – against them you either learn to play well, or you cheat with scripts and bugs. If you want to fool around, then switch the difficulty level to "Easy". AI in games should be smart enough to understand exactly how you want to play. Do we need anything more?
Dangers of the Future
The focus of corporations on the development of AI technologies is reminiscent of an old joke:
– Mr. Chief, this computer will make your work twice as easy.
– Great! Immediately put two computers on my desk!
The technology itself can be a good tool when working with games. Everything is spoiled by the desire of corporations to establish a monopoly on AI: the resulting product will be used in all possible areas, but too little attention will be paid to bringing the technology to mind.
The scandal with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 showed that you can face risks – even if you do everything qualitatively. For using AI, the developers were stripped of awards, including "Game of the Year", at the Indie Game Awards (in December 2025). Such incidents will alienate craftsmen from using this tool, while the market will continue to be filled with mediocre crafts.
The ability to create a world at the snap of your fingers or communicate with NPCs sounds exciting. But due to the increase in prices for components, not everyone will be able to afford this pleasure. Not to mention that classic games provide a better quality entertainment.
Those gamers whose PCs can still handle such novelties will face market saturation. If worlds can be created with the snap of a finger, and every passerby becomes a full-fledged interlocutor, then there will not be enough time to complete the novelties. As a result, people simply will not buy AI games.
