nightmare

Gamescom is different from a lot of industry trade shows for a variety of reasons, but one of my favorite is how approachable it is. Even when you put the hundreds of thousands of public attendees to one side and consider only the more sterile business-to-business area, it has always been an easier show to gain access to – which has myriad benefits.

It’s always been a great training ground for younger media that might not have the professional credentials to secure access to more restricted shows like E3, when it ran, or Summer Game Fest now. That’s how it’s worked for me, and teams I’ve always been a part of. The same is true for developers: for indies, there are a number of ways ‘in’ to Gamescom. Chief among these are the international stands, where the trade bodies of countries around the world have booths in the business area designed to promote their country’s gaming wares. Such stands never existed at your E3s and the like. If you’re a very small-scale indie from Spain, Turkey, Britain, or myriad other places you could simply campaign your local body to give you a slot – a little space on their stand to demo your idea.

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These stands have become a favorite of mine for game discovery. I always hold back a few hours of my schedule at Gamescom just so I can breeze through these areas and see if there’s anything that catches my eye. This year was no different, with a smattering of fascinating indies garnering my attention. This year I noticed a surging trend, however – an absolute deluge of AI-generated content, especially artwork.

I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised by this. This has been gradually ticking up the last few years, for a start – but this year presented a dramatic uptick. Everyone is talking about it: all the big-brand earnings calls both inside and outside of games are filled with chatter about how it’s all going to change the world or whatever. I’m writing this very article in an app that has an AI assistant crowbared into it against the wishes of most of its userbase. It’s the current thing, right?

I’m no great fan of AI, but I also count myself among the pragmatic in that I do think in some ways AI tools are inevitably going to become an indelible part of game development as a way of speeding up some processes. Part of that is because overpaid brass seem hell-bent on using it. Part of it is because I think we do have to face up to the fact that in some limited ways it can, indeed, increase productivity. In many other ways – most ways – a lot of what is being promised to investors and the world is total snake oil that seems destined to cause a huge market collapse. This is where I give a plug to Ed Zitron’s Better Offline, an excellent podcast that has become a crusading warning and furious scream at executive greed, tech lies, and the market disaster that is likely to come.

Punters gathered in their masses. | Image credit: Gamescom

With that said, I understand the use of AI in some places by game developers to speed things up. And yet… I feel very queasy about it. The best small independent game I saw at Gamescom is a brilliant mash-up of ideas with a clever presentation – but the most prominent artwork in the game is all driven by AI. As a direct result, I’m not going to name it today. There are several other indie titles I spotted in the same boat. It was an undeniable trend.

When I ask one developer about their use of AI, the lead of a very small team explains to me that it’s been invaluable to them. “This is the only way we could’ve accomplished a look like this with our resources,” they say. Another gestures to a piece of hand-drawn art above their screen to advertise their presence before noting that they’d experimented with that style in-game before changing to something AI-driven. A third is quick to point out that the AI visuals I see are not all-AI: original animation had been fed into AI to add detail, resulting in a strange, not-quite-real, half-and-half look.

I nod along thoughtfully to each of these explanations, though probably also with a barely-disguised grimace. I then gingerly explain to each that to some, such prominent AI is an absolute turn-off (including to many of us in the media and our audiences) and that I expect it to be a messaging challenge for them. Some seem to understand. Others clearly find my position ridiculous, which is fine – but I am steadfast in believing myself right.

It cuts both ways, as demonstrated in my apprehension to name these games. On one hand I am personally reluctant to directly promote and assist any game that has used artificial art where a real human could’ve been paid to create something with heart and soul. That’s one reason to not name these games.

Was there any AI used in the trailers for ONL? It’s hard to tell, but chances are… yes. | Image credit: Gamescom

But there is another, too: I really liked a couple of these game concepts, and I do believe that those ideas and their originators deserve half a chance. These aren’t big-name companies after all, but independent developers or fledgling studios of three or four people. I’m also not helping them to cover it up, as there’s no hiding their AI credentials: once released, it’ll be visually obvious to everyone. I spotted each instance in seconds. I can also understand for such tiny teams how liberal use of AI might seem like a good idea, even if I don’t remotely agree.

AI can be a black mark. It might’ve helped to spin something up quickly, but being known for using it could do immense harm to a game’s market potential. Thus I don’t want to ‘call out’ a tiny team’s inventive game concept for AI art when it’s a very early prototype – the developers have time to change course, and I think they should have a chance to do that without a public pillorying. Though in every case I encountered at Gamescom, gentle prodding seemed to suggest that not one had such a desire.

These encounters and the developer reactions do give me pause for thought. It’s the most thought-provoking thing I saw at Gamescom 2025, in fact. No matter how loudly some of us reject this tech and those who use it, it’s clear to me at this stage that some of these tools (the ones that work, anyway) are here to stay to some degree. The response of those making use of it makes it clear they have no intention to give it up. How we all navigate that – on both sides of the debate – is where the greater challenge lies.

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