Former Nexon CEO Says AAA Games Are In End-of-Days And AI Is About To Rewrite Everything

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Owen Mahoney, a long-time leader in the gaming industry and former CEO of Nexon, predicts a huge shift is coming to video games, driven by artificial intelligence. He points out that AI is already being used in many ways to create and test games, and expects its influence to grow significantly in the future.

In a recent interview with The Game Business, Mahoney described a critical turning point for the AAA game industry. He said costs are rapidly increasing, games are taking longer to develop, and publishers are hesitant to take chances. He also believes the industry often misjudges what players actually value.

When discussing struggling game studios led by well-known figures, Mahoney points out that simply acquiring a company based on a successful game they made years ago is a flawed strategy. He argues that game companies are essentially teams of people, and their future success hinges on understanding what motivates and inspires them creatively, rather than relying on past achievements.

Mahoney points out how well Embark is doing compared to the challenges facing most large game developers. He explains the difficult position CEOs of publicly traded companies are in.

You’re leading a massive company worth $23 billion, and you’re facing a critical decision with a tight deadline. Approving this new project carries significant risk – if it fails, you’ll have to justify a $300 million loss to the board of directors.

He explains that while one mistake can be recovered from, repeating it will lead to serious consequences, and a third instance will likely attract unwanted attention from activist investors. Mahoney believes this pressure causes leaders to only support ideas they already understand, which perpetuates the problem. He concludes that the current state of the AAA industry is unsustainable.

Even with a challenging outlook, Mahoney is hopeful about the potential of AI. He points out that while AI can produce a lot of low-quality results – much like Photoshop can – people will still ultimately prefer and seek out high-quality work. He believes audiences will continue to reject anything less.

Honestly, I’m really excited about AI’s potential in gaming. I think it’s going to let smaller teams create amazing things, speed up how games are made, and even open up completely new ways to play – kind of like how the internet changed everything. I genuinely believe the industry is about to explode, probably tripling in size over the next five to seven years. Every big tech leap has always been good for games, and this feels like another one. It’s changing what games are, and that’s a huge win for us gamers.

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2025-12-02 23:14