Tim Morten, the CEO of Stormgate developer Frost Giant Studios and former StarCraft production director, believes generative AI tools can become a force for good in the video game industry.
During a wide-ranging conversation at Gamescom 2025, Morten said adopting generative AI tools is about streamlining workflows and stretching budgets—as opposed to eliminating certain roles entirely.
It’s an opinion that some of his peers across the industry might have a hard time swallowing. The recent 2025 State of the Industry survey indicated that while more studios are adopting generative AI tools, the technology is becoming increasingly unpopular among developers.
Out of the 3,000 people who took part in the survey, only 13 percent felt generative AI tools will have a positive impact. By contrast, 30 percent of respondents suggested the technology will leave a negative mark. Morten appears to be in the former camp.
“John Carmack made an observation about how work that he used to painstakingly do by hand when he started in the game industry, over the course of his time in the industry got completely obviated,” he said. “It didn’t mean his job went away. It meant he could focus on solving other problems. I think right now, in some players’ heads, AI means taking jobs away. I am not a publisher. I am not a business person. I am a game developer. The last thing in the world that I want to do is eliminate my job.
“But what I do want to do is fulfil these grand visions. Stormgate is a grand vision for a game—I want tools that help me be able to do that. Stormgate’s challenge, like so many other games, is having the funding to cover the surface area that matches the vision. AI is a way for developers to be able to do that better.”
“This is 100 percent the direction that the industry is heading”
Morten, who openly admits that Frost Giant has so far struggled to execute its vision for Stormgate (leaving the studio and its team in a precarious position), conceded that AI tools still need to mature. He also, however, claimed that every single developer he speaks with is already using “some amount of AI” and is actively trying to figure out how to incorporate even more.
Under Morten’s leadership, Frost Giant used external generative AI tools to animate character portraits. He explained the studio “simply didn’t have the bandwidth” to do that work without AI and said most players were “fine” with that call—although he acknowledged some have vocally opposed it.
“We tested with the AI [portraits]. We tested without them,” he continued. “We really felt that having the characters’ faces animate when that dialogue is playing added to the game, and felt that was the better choice than not having it.”
Morten said he understands why there is often an “emotional reaction” when discussing generative AI, but believes the industry at large will continue to adopt the technology.
“Over time, this is 100 percent the direction that the industry is heading,” he added. “As a creator, I think the right way to use AI tools is to train the network before you use it on your own assets. That is a way to not just ensure you’re respecting the sanctity of intellectual property, but also a way to provide more consistency and quality in what you deliver.”
Game Developer attended Gamescom 2025 via the Gamescom Media Ambassador Program, which covered flights and accommodation.
