The Future of the Swedish Gaming Industry in an AI Era

Sammanfattning

This study explores the impact of modern AI technologies on roles, skills, and educational requirements in the Swedish gaming industry in Stockholm and Uppsala. With advancements in modern gaming AI, users can now operate not only on a technical level but also on an artistic and creative level. These tools allow for the generation of art, text, and sound using text-to-speech technologies. And as new functionalities rapidly emerge, these AI tools and applications across various software, hint at impending changes in many fields. These changes may potentially alter how humans work and use these AI-empowered processes. What knowledge will they need to take advantage of AI, and what risks or potential rewards could users and the industry identify now or in the future? With insights from Swedish educators and major game studios, this study will explore how an industry, not yet significantly impacted by modern AI, perceives these changes. The study uses survey strategy with a qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews with teachers, industry leaders and professional game developers, allows for diverse perspectives and captures how AI is currently integrated into workflows and its anticipated future impact in their fields. The collected data is analysed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that while AI has not yet significantly altered most roles and skill requirements, there is optimism about the potential to revolutionise the industry, alongside concerns about AI's potential negative impacts. The study reveals concerns about job displacement especially among artists while also highlighting AI's ability to enhance efficiency and allowing game developers to focus on more complex and creative tasks in their respective role. To this end we recommend stronger collaboration between industry and educational institutions to ensure that future game developers meet the requirements of what our study indicates will be vital for employability now and in the future. The findings show that having a fundamental and basic understanding of one's role would now also need to include the fundamental understanding of AI along with a positive attitude towards using it as a co-pilot in your daily work. The study concludes that the industry is not hit by any major impacts yet, but us in the early stages of AI adoption, that our respondents believe significant changes are expected in coming years.