Ex-PlayStation Boss Says Game Development Will Have A “Tough Future” Because Of AI

As a veteran of the industry, former PlayStation Studios boss Shuhei has a lot of thoughts about where things are currently headed. And with AI infiltrating just about every major developer under the sun, he is both fascinated by and worried about artificial intelligence's overall impact on game development.

In an August 18 Gamerbraves interview, Yoshida said AI tools are "allowing almost anybody to become a game developer." Because AI can do things like write code for you, an artist or a designer can create entire games by themselves now. This, in his mind, will lead to more games being created and released than ever before.

While he praised the speed at which developers will be able to launch games with AI, Yoshida was quick to put the rose-tinted glasses away, highlighting the adverse effects it could have on gaming.

"For anyone who wants to make money by developing games, we'll see even tougher competition going forward,” he said. "As a fan of games, I'm very excited about the future and seeing so many interesting games come out. But from a developer's standpoint, it's going to be a really tough future."

For him, "tougher competition" is the greatest concern, as the exorbitant amount of games released will give consumers more options and probably a greater sense of decision paralysis.

Yoshida also commented on PlayStation's decision to end all physical disc production in January 2028, saying it may not be "such a big issue" since physical-disc games still often require downloads, just like digital media. Still, he did acknowledge how much it'd suck if "physical games were no longer available to collect."

Yoshida has been opening up about all facets of the games industry, from explaining why he was fired from his position to sharing his thoughts on the Steam Machine. This muzzle is off.