The Mobile Gaming World's Surprisingly Positive Stance on AI

The debate surrounding generative AI in the gaming industry has sparked intense discussions, with some viewing it as a means to enhance game development and others expressing concerns over its reliability, ethics, and potential job displacement. However, in the mobile gaming sector, the tone is decidedly different. InnoGames, a prominent mobile game developer, has been embracing AI technology for years, and its chairman, Hendrik Klindworth, shares his perspective on why the company is 'positive about the opportunities of AI.' According to Klindworth, the key to successful AI integration lies in using it as a tool to support the creative process, rather than replacing human developers. 'We use AI to make games that we could not have created before,' he explains. 'The taste, the quality – this is done by humans.' InnoGames plans to utilize AI to generate more content without increasing its employee base, focusing on live-ops within games to keep free-to-play audiences engaged. Klindworth believes that the relative acceptance of AI in the mobile space can be attributed to the fact that mobile gamers prioritize a great gaming experience over the development process. 'They care about a great gaming experience – maybe not about how it was created so much,' he notes. The company's artists have also responded positively to AI, seeing it as a means to create new and innovative content. 'We have artists that say, with the help of AI, I can create nowadays things that were not really possible before,' Klindworth says. InnoGames has been using AI on the engineering side of development as well, with Klindworth stating that agentic coding systems have reached a level where they can significantly aid in producing high-quality content. As the mobile gaming market becomes increasingly saturated, InnoGames faces the challenge of launching new titles while maintaining its existing games. Klindworth emphasizes the importance of creating new games, stating, 'I think it is necessary as a company to create new games... You can't always rely on this.' The company's approach to game development involves getting prototypes into players' hands as soon as possible to gather early feedback, and if the feedback is not positive, development is halted. InnoGames has seen significant success with strategy titles like Forge of Empires and Heroes of History, with the latter becoming the company's second-biggest title. The company's latest game, Cozy Coast, marks a departure from its usual strategy titles, targeting a casual audience with a 'merge-2' puzzle mechanic. Klindworth believes that companies should have a mix of games that play to their core strengths and those that offer something new. He highlights the importance of knowledge sharing between development teams and giving them autonomy to find the best approach for each game. As the gaming industry shifts toward sustainability, Klindworth acknowledges that the days of double-digit growth are behind us, and companies must focus on maximizing their existing teams' potential. 'I wouldn't expect explosive growth in the games industry in general, especially from the hiring perspective,' he says. 'Rather, companies will look at how much more can we do with our existing teams – how much more content can we create there?' With AI potentially providing a productivity boost, Klindworth stresses that mobile firms must adapt to the challenges of a red ocean market, constantly questioning and challenging themselves to improve.