94% of game studios use AI, but few rely on it deeply, report finds
Almost every game studio uses artificial intelligence. Few have woven it deep into production.
That is the central finding of the VAIA Report, conducted by games industry consultancy Vivrato, which was founded by former PlayStation executive Adam Boyes. The report was based on 101 confidential one-on-one interviews with senior studio leaders and decision-makers, primarily at studios headquartered in North America and Europe, according to Video Games Chronicle.
The interviews were carried out between April and September. Each followed the same 44-question guide and covered the same nine stages of game production, from concept and pre-production to live ops and monetisation. Live ops is the updates and events that keep a game running after launch. Monetisation is how a game earns money beyond its initial sale.
Use is widespread. Integration is not.
Of those interviewed, 97% said they have used AI in some form. A slightly narrower 94% said AI is used in at least one of the nine production stages. Yet 52% rated how deeply AI was built into their production pipeline at 3 or lower out of 10.
Europe is further ahead. European studios reported deeper AI adoption than North American studios in the study. In art, assets and animation, 70% of European respondents said AI was used, compared with 53% of North American respondents.
Earlier surveys point in a similar direction. A survey by Google Cloud and The Harris Poll, published on 18 August 2025, found that 87% of developers are using AI agents in their workflows, according to GamesIndustry.biz. AI agents are software tools that can carry out multi-step tasks on a developer's behalf. A separate survey finding, published on 3 March 2025, said 30% of game developers believe AI will play an “extremely important role” in QA testing, the systematic search for bugs before release.
The wider industry conversation is broader than tools. The GDC Trends Report 2026 covers professional ethics of AI, growth of co-dev partnerships, and challenges in securing publishing and funding, according to GamesIndustry.biz. Co-dev partnerships are arrangements where an outside studio helps build part of a game.
What makes this stand out for players is the gap between trying and trusting. Many teams have tested AI on art, code, testing or support work. Few have let it settle into the daily pipeline that decides staffing, budgets and schedules.
