Gamescom Dev speaker survey identifies potential impacts of AI on team structure and productivity

Gamescom Dev's annual speaker survey of 100 industry professionals found that 83% expect AI to impact team structure or productivity, with nearly half identifying AI-assisted development as the most significant trend for the next three years. The survey also revealed that 36% believe AI will change roles rather than reduce team sizes, while 33% expect smaller teams, and 34% think code and production would benefit most from AI assistance.

Gamescom Dev speaker survey identifies potential impacts of AI on team structure and productivity Nearly half of respondents expect AI-assisted development to be the most significant industry trend for the next three years Gamescom Dev has released its annual speaker survey results, revealing that 83% of respondents expect AI to impact team structure or productivity. Nearly half of the 100 speakers surveyed identified AI-assisted development as the most significant industry trend for the next three years, followed by hardware and RAM prices 28% , the creator economy 7% , and user-generated content 5% . 30% of respondents prefer minimal AI involvement in development, down from 33% last year. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/devcom-speaker-survey-highlights-mixed-attitudes-towards-ai In contrast, 34% believe code and production would benefit most from AI assistance. Regarding AI’s impact on jobs, 36% believe it will change roles rather than reduce team sizes, while 33% expect smaller teams. 14% anticipate higher individual output, and 17% do not expect workforce reductions. More than half of respondents identified economic uncertainty as the industry’s biggest challenge, followed by market saturation 38% , discoverability 35% , and rising development costs 30% . To improve discoverability, respondents want greater transparency in platform algorithms 32% , better storefront recommendations 22% , and more curated editorial coverage 21% . Looking ahead, 37% of respondents view smaller development teams as the greatest opportunity, followed by community building and new publishing models both at 15% . Respondents expressed mixed views on what business or monetisation model would dominate the market over the next three years. Digital and physical premium games led with 29%, followed by live service 24% and free-to-play with in-game items 21% .