Quantic Foundry: Most Gamers Are Negative About the Use of Gen AI in Video Games

Quantic Foundry ran an optional survey (N = 1,799) alongside their Gamer Motivation Profile from October through December 2025. After looking at the profile results, gamers were invited to answer additional questions. Some of these questions were specifically about Generative AI (Gen AI) in games. The data regarding the demographic makeup of the population can be found at the bottom.

An overwhelming 85% of respondents have a negative attitude towards the use of Gen AI in video games, with 63% selecting the most negative response option. Nick Yee, the co-founder and head of analytics at Quantic Foundry, explains: "Such a highly-skewed negative response is rare in the many years we've conducted survey research among gamers. As a point of comparison, in 2024 Q2-Q4, we collected survey data on attitudes towards a variety of game features. The chart below shows the % negative (i.e., below neutral) responses for each mentioned feature. In that survey, 79% had a negative attitude towards blockchain-based games. This helps anchor where the attitude towards Gen AI currently sits."

Both female and non-binary gamers are much more negative about Gen AI than male gamers. Quantic Foundry also found that older gamers are more favourable towards Gen AI, whereas younger gamers are more negative.

Nick Yee on gaming motivations and the correlation with GenAI: "The more a gamer cares about power progression (i.e., leveling up, upgrading gear, unlocking more powerful skills), the more positive they are towards Gen AI. Conversely, there is a negative correlation with both Story (r=-.12) and Design (r=-.12). The more a gamer cares about elaborate narratives, interesting NPC backstories, and customization, the more negative they are towards Gen AI. All other motivations had correlations < r=.10."

Gamers were the most negative about using Gen AI for artistic and creative purposes (artwork, music, sound, narrative, and dialogue). However, they were more open to using Gen AI for dynamic difficulty adjustment. In summary, attitudes towards Gen AI usage in video games become less negative the further it moves away from artistic and creative features.

"In the earlier 2024 Q2-Q4 survey we mentioned earlier as a comparison, we had "AI-generated quests/dialogue" as an option where we saw a response of 46% negative. In the current survey, they are now 77% and 83% negative respectively. This suggests that attitudes towards Gen AI has significantly worsened over the past year among gamers," Nick Yee wrotes.

Overall, this survey sample leans towards a core PC/Console demographic:
Gender: Male (65%), Female (23%), Non-Binary (9%), Other/Did Not Answer (3%)
Age: 13-17 (4%), 18-24 (33%), 25-34 (47%), 35-44 (14%), 45+ (2%)
Gamer Type: Casual (5%), Core (74%), Hardcore (21%)
Platforms Used For Gaming: PC (90%), Console (57%), Mobile (30%)