The Content Creation in Game Development panel at GDC 2026. The survey was a separate project. Image source. Licence.
In GDC's 2026 survey, 36 percent of game industry respondents said they used generative AI at work. The organizers reported 30 percent among respondents at game studios, compared with 58 percent for a group that included publishers, support teams and marketing or public relations firms.
The survey also found that 52 percent of respondents saw generative AI as having a negative impact on the industry. Views were particularly unfavorable among respondents in art, design and programming. The survey drew more than 2,300 responses and expanded the groups it sought to cover. Its results describe respondents and should be read with that change in mind when comparing years.
The different answers make sense as measurements of different things. An industry can adopt a tool unevenly, and people can use it at work while still being concerned about what wider adoption means for their jobs.