AI-generated content has become one of the most sensitive topics in the gaming industry in recent years. Whenever a game is found to use AI, it often triggers anger among players. However, the latest survey of Steam players shows that there are not as many players who are truly opposed to AI as everyone thinks.
43% of players think AI is not bad at all?
According to a survey of more than 1,000 Steam players conducted by market research company Bryter, 43% of respondents said they would not mind using AI in the development process as long as the game is fun. Another 26% held a neutral attitude, believing that it depends on how it is used. Only 31% of players are truly opposed to AI appearing in game development.
What players really hate isn’t the AI itself
The survey also pointed out that most players are more concerned about how AI is used. If AI only assists in program development, debugging, testing or improving production efficiency, many players will accept it. However, if AI is directly used to generate art, dubbing, scripts, or even replace real creators, it will easily cause backlash. In other words, players do not completely reject AI, but are more concerned about whether the work still retains the efforts of the creator and whether it affects the final quality.
The battle over AI will continue
In recent months, including Steam’s new AI content disclosure regulations, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney’s public discussion of AI, and the controversy caused by the use of AI in many games, AI issues have continued to become the focus of the gaming circle. However, this survey also shows that the heated discussions in the community may not fully represent the true thoughts of most players. At least judging from the current data, players who truly have “zero tolerance” for AI are still in the minority.