Is AI a Tool or a Creator in the Game Industry?
Industry Experts Highlight the Need for Collaboration with AI Agents
In the game industry, which stands at the forefront of technological advancement, is artificial intelligence (AI) merely a tool or a creator in its own right? Industry insiders state that AI serves as a tool to enhance creativity, and emphasize that collaboration will become essential in the approaching era of 'AI agents.'
Kim Kyungil, director of the Game Science Institute, is giving a greeting at the '2025 Game Science Forum' held on the 26th at the National Library of Korea in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Noh Kyungjo
Kim Dokyun, head of the AI Transformation Team at Krafton, announced at the 'Game Science Forum' held on the 26th at the National Library of Korea in Seocho-gu, Seoul, "By utilizing AI, we have reduced concept art work that used to take 16 hours down to just 1 hour, and we are now generating user interfaces (UI) in-house as well."
Kim explained, "Last year, 52% of game studios reported using AI in game development, but this year, 96% of developers say they are utilizing AI technology," adding, "The game industry is well-suited for AI adoption due to its labor-intensive production structure, its digital nature, and the complexity arising from its diverse components."
He continued, "We are entering an era where we collaborate with agents specialized in areas such as narrative design, coding, world building, and 3D modeling through multi-agent systems." He added, "Humans will be responsible for essential and creative domains such as presenting the vision and ideas for games, making final decisions, and ethical judgments, while agents will take on massive data processing, repetitive tasks, and solving technical problems."
He predicted, "As long as you are creative, anyone will be able to make games," and further anticipated, "As AI agents take over work, people will have more leisure time, which will present new opportunities for the game industry."
Na Kyubong, head of the AI Business Strategy Team at NC, introduced concrete examples of AI technology in use, such as automating character lip-sync and adding dialogue using existing voice data.
He said, "Technologies that simplify the parts of the creative process I find challenging provide immediate effectiveness," and added, "When I step back and look at what I am working on in this more convenient state, I start to think, 'I could do even more,' which enhances creativity." He explained that as AI takes over tedious but necessary tasks, a virtuous cycle is created in which creativity is further amplified.
Na emphasized, "NC AI aims not to make people passive and unable to create, but to enable even more active creative work," adding, "We dream of a world where everyone becomes a creator."
Meanwhile, Kim Kyungil, director of the Game Science Institute and keynote speaker at the event, stated, "If you add feedback to labor, it becomes a game, and if you take feedback out of a game, it becomes labor." He explained, "Games satisfy the human instinct to become the protagonist of the world through constant feedback."
He also said, "Through games, we can change our learning mechanisms. In particular, the combination with AI allows us to avoid underestimating the future and to see it on a larger scale," adding, "Games and AI reinforce the proposition that 'if you don't live as you think, you will end up thinking as you live.'"
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