CD Projekt Red’s Michał Nowakowski on Fully AI-Generated Games: ‘I Have Some Doubts’

He has repeatedly argued that generative AI is not yet capable of creating large games independently. As he put it in a previous interview, AI doesn't have the capacity to "sit down and make games" . In an earnings webcast in late 2025, Nowakowski said AI has "meaningful" benefits in productivity areas but shut down the idea that AI would reduce headcount or replace creative talent. He stated bluntly: "It's not gonna be making The Witcher 5, or 6, or anything like that" .

Nowakowski also rejected the AI-as-layoffs narrative, arguing that mass industry layoffs stem from canceled projects and structural turmoil, not AI. "While we have seen dramatic redundancies across the industry due to project closures, I cannot recall a single instance where someone was fired because of AI" .

The Broader Industry Picture: Data That Supports His Skepticism

Nowakowski's skepticism is mirrored by large-scale survey data and observable market trends. This section covers the five key areas of industry concern.

1. Developer Sentiment Has Turned Decisively Negative

The GDC 2026 State of the Industry survey found that 52% of working developers say generative AI is having a negative impact on the games industry — up from 30% in the 2025 report and just 18% in 2024 . A separate survey from the Game Developer Collective found that developers are four times more likely to say generative AI will reduce the quality of games than improve it .

2. Fears About Artistry and the Human Touch

Workers fear AI will be used by management to cut costs and prioritize efficiency over artistry. A BBC report on game worker sentiment noted a "prevailing fear" that AI leads to job transformations that erode creative craft . At GDC 2026, nearly all developers surveyed by The Verge expressed "strong reservations" about incorporating AI into their projects. Indie developers in particular argued that AI "undermines the human touch essential to game development" .

3. Junior Roles and Entry-Level Careers Are Shrinking

Between 2022 and mid-2025, the game industry cut approximately 45,000 jobs . Entry-level and junior roles shrank first as AI tooling reshaped what studios expect from talent. 500 applicants per junior posting is now common . Artists report fears of a future skill shortage as junior pipelines dry up and mid-level roles are compressed by AI-assisted production expectations .

4. Storefront Saturation and the 'Gameslop' Phenomenon

The number of AI-disclosing games on Steam rose 681% from 2024 to 2025, reaching 7,818 titles in 2025 alone . By the end of 2025, over 4,311 games used AI in some capacity — a 100% increase year-over-year . This flood has introduced the term "gameslop" — low-effort, AI-assembled titles that arrive untested and unpolished, clogging storefronts and making discovery harder for legitimate indie titles . By September 2025, nearly 1 in 5 of the 13,500+ games launched on Steam incorporated generative AI .

5. AI Clone Games Target Successful Indies

WIRED reported in August 2025 that AI-generated game clones increasingly target successful indie titles. Cheap imitations produced by AI tools are becoming a widespread problem, exemplified by clones of the co-op game Peak . The Tunic publisher Finji has also spoken out, saying their inbox is overflowing with AI-generated games that feature unreliable code and generic, soulless graphics .

Summary

Nowakowski's skepticism — that AI-first studios prioritize volume over craft, that generative AI cannot independently produce large, soulful games, and that the industry should not mistake prototyping speed for quality — is directly mirrored by the data. As of 2026, a majority of developers believe generative AI is harming the industry, junior roles are being squeezed, and storefronts are being flooded with low-quality AI-generated titles. Nowakowski's central argument — that AI is a useful productivity tool but not a replacement for human-led game development — is the dominant sentiment among professionals surveyed at GDC and beyond.