Overview
- Thursday's Tokyo Game Show preview from the Computer Entertainment Suppliers Association reported that 85.8% of surveyed Japanese game developers now use generative AI, up from 51% a year earlier.
- Of those respondents, 63% said they use AI tools daily while 22.8% said they use them only occasionally.
- Developers told CESA they primarily deploy AI for supportive tasks such as debugging, error correction, automated testing, programming help, documentation and prototyping, with human review required before outputs are used.
- Major firms including Capcom, Sega, Square Enix, Konami, Koei Tecmo, Level-5 and Sony were included in the survey sample, and CESA said a full report with methodology and detailed use-case breakdowns will be published in December 2026.
- Industry commentary and a separate Google Cloud–commissioned study showing similar global uptake suggest the shift is widespread, and companies are responding by restricting tools, tightening governance and stressing protection of intellectual property.