- Google launched its new artificial intelligence tool, Project Genie, for AI Ultra plan subscribers
- It has since caused a drop in the stock prices of several video game companies.
- Investors Placing Shares in Project Genie Are Worrying Sign About Possible AI Game Development
AI remains a constant threat to gaming, with its heavy impact on gaming PC hardware through high RAM prices and concerns about replacing game developers, and a recent update shows that the latter may eventually become a possibility.
According to Google, several video game developers and publishers have seen significant drops in stock price as a result of the launch of Project Genie. It is a new artificial intelligence tool from Google that allows users to generate playable interactive worlds based on prompts or images.
As you may have guessed, this has led to multiple users creating worlds using images from popular games like Nintendo. The legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomRockstar Games GTA 5and kingdom heartssome of which closely resemble the original products in some areas.
There is no map preloaded in memory. As your agent explores, Genie instantly predicts and represents the path forward. Infinite exploration. pic.twitter.com/5lZzhFS6voJanuary 30, 2026
Analysts have pointed out that the reason for the drop in share prices of companies like CD Projekt Red, Take Two Interactive (the parent company of Rockstar Games) and Nintendo is that investors have clearly put a lot of stock into Project Genie, probably with the idea that this would overthrow genuine creations from big game studios.
However, Project Genie is still in its experimental phase, meaning these interactive worlds are barely playable, and it comes at a hefty cost to users: $249.99 per month through Google’s AI Ultra plan.
It’s not even close to being advanced enough to surpass authentic games, and the consensus around integrating AI into games (like the backlash to AI in Call of Duty Black Ops 7) indicates that players will not tolerate AI-generated games. However, there is still a chance that this could become a reality in the future.
Opinion: AI is a deadly threat to gaming and this is a warning sign
While AI certainly has its benefits, namely Nvidia’s DLSS enhancement technology, AI, is quickly proving to be detrimental to gaming.
PC hardware makers are turning their attention to AI companies, which is part of why RAM prices are so high, and now, investors have just given us our first glimpse of what will happen if a competent AI tool for gaming is released, and it’s scary.
Game development from real developers has produced some of the best gaming content the entertainment industry has ever seen, and if an AI tool like Project Genie ever becomes advanced enough to potentially challenge real games, we could be looking at the barrel of a loss of creativity, games without an identity, and, most importantly, more layoffs.
It’s a promising sign to see that gamers are vehemently protesting against such measures, as I firmly believe that AI should not be used for games in this way. Let’s hope it never gets to that point.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and tiktok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
