Full paper · 2026

Generative AI in Game Development: A Qualitative Research Synthesis

Ternar, D. A., Denisova, A., Cunha, J. M., Kultima, A., & Guckelsberger, C.

ConferenceCORE conference ranking: CORE A*Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI'26), 2026

Teaser figure: Generative AI in game development, a qualitative research synthesis of 10 studies. Nine themes are shown with icons: human-in-the-loop refinement, ideation scaffold, contested efficiency claims, pipeline and integration, socio-technical role, access and adoption, risks and ethics, governance, and authorship. — Open full-size image

In short

Generative AI is changing how games are made, but the early qualitative studies of its use are scattered and rarely build on each other. We brought together the qualitative research published between 2020 and 2025 using meta-ethnography.

Key findings

Ten eligible studies were synthesised, found through a systematic search following PRISMA-S guidelines.
The synthesis identified nine overarching themes about generative AI in game development.
We give recommendations for practitioners, researchers and policymakers, and relate the findings to wider changes in game production.

The nine themes

Human-in-the-loop refinement as the production norm
Early-stage ideation scaffold, not autonomous authorship
Efficiency claims contested
Pipeline, integration, and artefact constraints
Socio-technical positioning: assistant, colleague, partner
Access, democratisation, and adoption
Risks, ethics, and labour precarity
Governance of practice and workflow friction
Authorship, materiality, and aesthetic consequence

Recommendations for practice

We recommend to treat integration as a first-class design problem.
Pipeline, integration, and artefact constraints
For both research and practice, the implication is to design for assistantship as the durable baseline.
Socio-technical positioning
Democratisation should be treated as a conditional process rather than a guaranteed outcome.
Access, democratisation, and adoption
Risk management should be treated as a primary design and governance concern.
Risks, ethics, and labour precarity
Governance should be treated as a design object in its own right.
Governance of practice and workflow friction
Authorship policies must be medium-aware.
Authorship, materiality, and aesthetic consequence

Read and cite

PDF (accepted version) Publisher's version (DOI)

APA citation

Ternar, D. A., Denisova, A., Cunha, J. M., Kultima, A., & Guckelsberger, C. (2026, April). Generative AI in Game Development: A Qualitative Research Synthesis. In Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI'26) (pp. 1-24).