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| Story-driven moments like this are why players value human-written stories and performances in games. |
By Jon Scarr
If you only look at the headline numbers, it’s easy to come away with the wrong conclusion. A recent survey from Quantic Foundry shows that 85 percent of gamers feel negative about generative AI in video games, with nearly two-thirds selecting the most negative option available.
That sounds like gamers rejecting AI outright. But once you dig into what they’re reacting to, the picture changes.
This isn’t a rejection of AI as a tool. It’s a rejection of inauthentic content, especially when it shows up in places where you expect human intent.
The Line Gamers Keep Drawing
The most important finding in the survey isn’t the overall negativity. It’s where that negativity spikes.
Gamers were most opposed to generative AI being used for:
- Artwork
- Music and sound effects
- Story, dialogue, and narrative content
Meanwhile, attitudes softened when AI moved away from creative expression. Dynamic difficulty adjustment was the least controversial use, with a meaningful chunk of people landing in neutral or positive territory.
That gap matters. It tells us gamers aren’t reacting to AI itself. They’re reacting to AI replacing authorship.
Story and Design Are Where Trust Breaks
The survey also broke responses down by gaming motivations, and this is where things get really clear.
People who care most about:
- Story
- World-building
- Character backstories
- Visual and mechanical design
were significantly more negative toward generative AI. On the flip side, people focused on power progression, leveling, and optimization were more open to it. That lines up with how games actually feel to play.
Systems can be invisible. Stories can’t. Players tend to accept AI when it quietly adapts to how they play rather than trying to perform or take centre stage. When a mechanic adjusts difficulty behind the scenes, it doesn’t challenge your connection to the game. When a character speaks or a quest unfolds, you want to feel like someone meant it.
This Is Why the Backlash Is Getting Worse
One of the most striking data points is that sentiment hasn’t softened over time. It’s gone the other way.
In a comparable 2024 survey, AI-generated quests and dialogue drew 46 percent negative responses. In this latest survey, those numbers jumped to 77 percent and 83 percent negative.
That’s not fear of the unknown. That’s familiarity breeding distrust. The more players see generative AI used in visible, creative roles, the more they recognize what feels off about it.
Gamers Want Identity, Not Output
This also explains why messaging around “educating players” keeps falling flat. Games have used AI for decades. Enemy behaviour, pathfinding, simulation systems, and difficulty tuning have all relied on it. You’re fine with that because it doesn’t pretend to be something it isn’t.
Generative AI crosses a different line. It asks you to emotionally invest in content without a creator to connect to. No voice, no perspective, no lived experience. Just output. For a medium built on immersion and identification, that’s a problem.
This same problem shows up elsewhere in the industry, where AI-generated content overwhelms discovery instead of creating meaning, making it harder to find games that actually feel intentional.
There Is a Place for AI in Games
The survey doesn’t say AI has no future in games. It suggests the opposite, as long as it stays in the right lane.
AI that:
- Helps you learn complex systems
- Adapts difficulty to your skill level
- Surfaces information based on how you play
all fits naturally into the experience without undermining it. AI that replaces art, writing, or music doesn’t. That distinction matters more than whether something is technically impressive.
The Takeaway
Gamers aren’t rejecting AI because it’s new. They’re rejecting it because it feels cheap, interchangeable, and disconnected.
What players are asking for is simple:
- Human intent
- Creative identity
- A sense that someone cared
Until generative AI can offer that, it’s going to keep running into resistance, no matter how loudly the industry insists it’s inevitable.
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