Here is a reality check if you have been watching the industry this week:
AI is not causing mass layoffs in games because it’s replacing talent.
AI is being used as cover by clueless leadership that already failed.
If AI were actually replacing developers, we’d see:
> Smaller teams shipping more complete games
> Clear productivity metrics tied to shipped features
> Fewer delays, not more
Instead, what we’re seeing is:
> Layoffs before AI tools are production-proven
> Projects canceled with no playable vertical slice
> Proven Projects getting cancelled to move money into pipe-dreams
> Executives talking about “AI strategy” instead of shipped loops
That’s not automation. That’s abdication.
Get real, the leadership of almost every AAA studio has never written code, designed a loop, and never sat through a real playtest. That MBA was not a degree in games, it was a degree in capitalist bull****.
When things go wrong, they don’t know how to fix systems, so they chase "leadership" narratives.
Right now, “AI” is the narrative.
It lets management say:
“The tech is changing” instead of “we don't know what people want”
“The industry is shifting” instead of “we didn’t have a point of view”
“Roles are evolving” instead of “we failed to lead”
Developers didn’t suddenly become less skilled in the last 18 months. What changed was that cheap capital dried up and leadership ran out of excuses.
AI isn’t replacing devs.
It’s exposing those who never understood development in the first place.
And the people paying for that confusion are the ones who actually build games.
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