The Harsh Truth About AI Cost Reduction: Why Should Your Game Survive in the AI Era?
The Chilling Number in Gaming: 1%
In the gaming industry, one figure sends shivers down the spines of many professionals: 1%.
This is the current estimated profit margin increase AI can bring to a commercial game. Upon seeing it, most people feel let down — AI seems overhyped and underdelivering, even dismissed by some as a scam.
At the 43 Talks offline salon — organized by 43 College, Yilun AI, and Mospace — guest speaker and AI game investor Xiao Ning tackled this reality head-on. With frontline game development experience (think all-nighters and emergency art fixes), she calmly dissected this “cruel” 1%, revealing the honest numbers behind it.
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Where Does That 1% Come From?
Premise:
- Applies to mid-to-large companies developing long-term commercial mobile games
- Focus: R&D phase only
In mature commercial models, R&D typically accounts for just 10–15% of total revenue.
Within the R&D “Iron Triangle” — art, programming, design:
- Art remains highly human-driven; senior artists are crucial for high-quality 3D modeling and emotionally rich character animation.
- AI’s current role: An assistant, improving requirement organization and facilitating smoother coordination between roles.
The math:
- AI handles the long-tail work (≈80% of tasks worth only ≈20% of total cost).
- Even if efficiency doubles, savings only modestly reduce overall budgets.
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Why That 1% Is Actually Encouraging
This number highlights that the heart of game creation — aesthetics, emotional depth, and human artistic intuition — cannot be easily replaced by computation.
Think of AI as a diligent apprentice:
- Takes care of repetitive, low-value tasks
- Frees producers and lead artists to focus on core assets — the game’s soul
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Why 2024 Is “Year One” of AI in Gaming
Given the small percentage gain, why all the buzz?
Because the season has changed.
If 2023 was AI gaming’s “late frost,” then 2024–2025 marks a new sowing period.
Two Key Shifts:
- Cost Barriers Are Melting
- Token prices are falling fast
- AI usage costs are now at mass-market levels
- Building an AI-native game is commercially viable
- A New Project Cycle Is Starting
- Older games (pre-2021) are limited to AI “patches”
- New cycles (2024–2025) can embed AI from the start
This marks the transition from patching craftsman to AI architect.
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Searching for the “Angry Birds” Moment
Beyond incremental efficiency gains, what can AI truly bring?
Think back to the touchscreen era before Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja. Gestures were seen as mildly more convenient than buttons — until game designers made the interface the gameplay itself.
Today, AI is at that same threshold.
Seeds for New Game Types:
- NPCs with memory, emotional understanding, and genuine conversation
- Worlds that evolve dynamically based on your decisions
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Platforms Powering AI-Native Creativity
Open ecosystems like AiToEarn官网 offer infrastructure for:
- AI content generation
- Cross-platform publishing (Douyin, Kwai, WeChat, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, X/Twitter)
- Analytics and model ranking
Such tools help scale creativity globally and turn core assets into revenue.
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The True Value: Connection
This shift isn’t just about cost savings — it’s about human connection.
When players converse with AI characters that have memory and emotional intelligence, they experience a unique sense of understanding and companionship.
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Be a Long-Term Thinker
Adopt cautious optimism:
- Short term: Don’t overestimate AI’s abilities
- Long term: Don’t underestimate its disruptive potential
Ultimately, the value of technology in games lies in surpassing player expectations.
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A Final Word to Game Developers
Don’t be trapped by that 1% figure — it explains the past, not the future.
Technology’s purpose isn’t to turn people into machines — it’s to free us from mechanical labor, enabling us to pursue unfiltered joy.
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Further Insights
For more on AI in gaming, listen to Xiao Ning’s podcast “405 Game Bureau”:
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As AI integrates deeper into creative industries, tools like AiToEarn官网 make it possible to create, publish, and monetize AI-powered content seamlessly across platforms.
Its ecosystem merges:
- AI content generation
- Cross-platform delivery
- Analytics
- AI model ranking
Creators can explore its blog or review the model rankings to turn AI creativity into sustainable value.
