Gaming Industry Transformed by Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The emergence of successful games requires overcoming a complex process that involves 2D and 3D artistic designs, storytelling, sound, dialogues, and fun mechanics. Additionally, in order to allow millions of people from different parts of the world to play simultaneously without latency, games must be coded and optimized to run smoothly across various phones and computers. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that games—one of the most complex development fields in the entertainment industry—will be significantly influenced by the AI transformation.
The emergence of successful games requires overcoming a complex process that involves 2D and 3D artistic designs, storytelling, sound, dialogues, and fun mechanics. Additionally, in order to allow millions of people from different parts of the world to play simultaneously without latency, games must be coded and optimized to run smoothly across various phones and computers. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that games—one of the most complex development fields in the entertainment industry—will be significantly influenced by the AI transformation.
The biggest expectation of millions of players from different geographies, languages, and cultures is to communicate effectively, act together, and compete under fair conditions. Meeting these demands, while simultaneously managing dynamics such as user-generated content (UGC) shaping the games, multiple games and interaction areas existing within a single game, is becoming increasingly important. The gaming industry, as a multidisciplinary field combining different technologies and competencies, must overcome these challenges. For this reason, it is inevitable that AI will create diverse impacts in every area and bring about fundamental changes in the industry.
While some game studios have already started using AI extensively, with its rapid advancement and continued integration into products, it is inevitable that within the next two years, AI-developed games and pioneering companies in this field will lead to a major transformation.
Evolution of Game Engines
Popular 3D game engines such as Unity, Unreal, Roblox, and Godot have been in the market for over 15 years. AI, cloud technologies, and new spatial platforms have the potential to bring fundamental changes to 3D designs. Especially after Unity’s pricing policy changes, many developers have started seeking new alternatives. It may now be more accurate to call these platforms 3D Creation Engines instead of game engines, as they are not only used in the gaming industry but also in film, animation, and other areas of 3D content creation.
Considering that 3D experiences combine elements such as art, sound, animation, and code, a fully AI-driven engine will not only generate outputs via generative models but also integrate scene or world understanding as input. Although older game engines are quickly offering AI plugins, it is clear that entirely new AI creative creation engines will provide much greater differentiation.
With AI’s contribution, the creation process is becoming automated, but creators must always be able to intervene and guide decisions. This ensures that the content creation process no longer becomes chaotic for studios and allows talented designers and directors to generate endless amounts of content.
Soon, we may see no-code AI engines that allow creators to instantly generate visuals, 3D objects, or user interfaces without professional programmers. These engines will enable AI to deliver complex, highly customized user experience designs for each product.
2D and 3D Design, Animation, and Media
Generative AI platforms such as Midjourney, Stable Diffusion (Stability.ai), and DALL·E have become the go-to names in 2D design. Their ability to rapidly create captivating visuals that spread widely on social media has been one of the key reasons for their popularity. Today, gaming companies already use these technologies across different verticals.
2D Design: With tools like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Leonardo, and DALL·E, text-to-image generation has become extremely easy. However, maintaining consistency and uniform style across assets remains a challenge. Companies such as Layer.ai and Runwayml are developing industry-specific solutions for gaming.
3D Design: The backbone of modern games lies in 3D assets, and so far, no single AI company has provided a complete solution. However, initiatives like NVIDIA – Get3D, Autodesk – ClipForge, Kaedim, and Hypotheticare working intensively on this. While some focus on text-to-3D generation, others aim to create 3D models from images using AI.
Animation and Video: Animation and video production are among the biggest cost factors. An AI startup capable of addressing this need effectively could become the next unicorn. Companies like Deepmotion, Move.ai, Plask, Runway, Leonardo, and Synthesia are already making significant progress in this field.
Music, Sound Effects, Speech, and Dialogue: The first thing players often encounter when they download a game is sound. Game music is far more important than many realize, and sound effects in FPS games often guide player actions. Visuals and animations cannot be fully experienced without sound. Dialogue delivery, requiring the right emotional tones, often demands high-level voice actors and studio recordings. AI is rapidly providing cost-effective solutions here. With multi-language support becoming critical, AI’s role in reducing costs is invaluable. Examples include Sonantic, Resemble.ai, Aiva, Musico, and Deepdub.
AI Assistants for Coding
Although AI has not yet fully taken over coding, AI assistants are accelerating the process and improving quality. Tools such as GitHub Copilot, Divi AI, and Tabnine are already widely used and provide strong support to developers.
Our Future Predictions
Use of AI Tools: Proficiency in AI tools will become a highly valuable skill. Specialists in this area will be in high demand.
Rise of Micro Game Studios: The number of low-budget yet high-quality games on mobile and PC platforms will increase, intensifying competition.
Creativity and Innovation Needs of Large Studios: Faced with growing competition, major studios will need to innovate more. New mechanics, interactive experiences, and continuously evolving games will become crucial community drivers.
New Genres and Content: Utopian ideas and creative content previously deemed impossible due to high production costs will now become achievable through AI.
Increase in AI-Supported Tools: AI tools supporting the entire gaming and entertainment industry will continue to evolve and expand.
AI Investments and Teams: Large gaming companies forming AI teams and investing in AI transformation will strengthen their market position. This also presents great opportunities for startups.
Conclusion
We at Boğaziçi Ventures continue our strategy of investing in early and growth-stage gaming companies that place AI at the center of their operations. We eagerly await applications from creative and innovative startups that have already built AI-focused teams and are working to adopt new technologies. Our second BV Growth Fund, launching at the end of 2024, will continue investing in companies that aim to transform industries—particularly gaming—through AI.
Our investment focus is not limited to games themselves but also extends to technology startups providing solutions to the gaming and entertainment industries. This strategic approach both strengthens our leadership position and enhances the competitiveness of Turkey’s entrepreneurial ecosystem globally. In 2023, Boğaziçi Ventures became the most active investor in Turkey’s gaming industry through our investments.
In addition, BV Portföy Joygame Pre-IPO GSYF offers the opportunity to invest in Joygame, one of Turkey’s pioneering gaming companies, which has grown 18x in the past two years. Joygame has over 100 million registered users and develops games across 19 studios for both PC and mobile platforms, distributing them globally.
At the same time, we continue to invest in publicly traded gaming companies. Investors who do not want to miss the rapid growth and transformation opportunities of the global gaming industry can invest in the future through the BV Portföy Gaming and Technology Variable Fund (BTE).