The rise of AI in video game art: How will it affect gaming in the long term?

AI art has been a huge phenomenon across the internet over the last few years, and now it’s making its way into major video game releases, to the dismay of many players. Some developers use AI to program NPC behaviour, while others create entire assets with it.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has been criticised by fans for its use of generative AI, while Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was disqualified at the 2025 Indie Game Awards over a few AI assets that were left in the title at launch. 

Indie games and smaller studios sometimes use AI in the creation of art, but the real target for controversy is the larger studios. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launched in November 2025, prompting fans to point out calling cards and other cosmetics they believed were created with AI.

In reality, nearly the entire gaming industry is beginning to give the green light to AI usage, though the areas in which it’s being applied vary from company to company. Sony, Microsoft, Ubisoft, and other major publishers are realising the value in AI, but while some jumped headfirst into the new technology, others are taking a more cautious approach.

A recent example of backlash is the use of AI placeholder assets in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Clair Obscur was initially nominated for multiple categories at the 2025 Indie Game Awards, but was disqualified after fans pointed out that a few minor pieces of art within the game were likely made with the help of AI, such as posters. Sandfall Interactive claimed that the textures were simply placeholders, but the damage was done.

Black Ops 7 is another noteworthy example of a game that used AI to create artwork for cosmetic earnables, and it’s received possibly the largest backlash for AI art yet. Some developers are only using AI to generate early concept art, like Larian Studios, and even they faced outrage from gamers worldwide, prompting the studio to change its stance on AI.

AI is a useful tool that could redefine NPC behaviour and world-building, but the message from players and critics in 2026 is clear: most gamers don’t want to play games that contain art or writing created by AI.

Though AI art is incredibly controversial, it’s not the only way that AI can be applied to game development. NPC movement and combat patterns can be handled by AI, allowing the non-player characters to adapt to the player’s actions.

Many open-world games would benefit from enhanced procedural generation using AI, enabling larger worlds with less effort from developers. As a final note, coders could use AI to help troubleshoot bugs, allowing companies to reallocate that time to more important aspects of the game.

AI has the potential to be incredibly innovative for the video game industry, but for gamers to accept its use, developers need to focus on the smaller, repetitive tasks rather than replacing the creative skills of artists.

The influx of new AI technology over the last few years is spreading further into video game development, with major companies like Microsoft leading the charge. Consumers are beginning to take note of the AI boom, and many are voting against it with their wallets.

There’s no denying that there’ll be a place for AI in game development, but the focus needs to be on other areas as opposed to replacing artists with it. Video games are a form of art, and human creativity is an essential step that AI can’t replicate.