AI was a common theme at Gamescom 2025, and while some indie teams say it's invaluable, it remains an ethical nightmare
Gamescom is different from a lot of industry trade shows for a variety of reasons, but one of my favorite is how approachable it is. Even when you put the hundreds of thousands of public attendees to one side and consider only the more sterile business-to-business area, it has always been an easier show to gain access to – which has myriad benefits.
It’s always been a great training ground for younger media that might not have the professional credentials to secure access to more restricted shows like E3, when it ran, or Summer Game Fest now. That’s how it’s worked for me, and teams I’ve always been a part of. The same is true for developers: for indies, there are a number of ways ‘in’ to Gamescom. Chief among these are the international stands, where the trade bodies of countries around the world have booths in the business area designed to promote their country’s gaming wares. Such stands never existed at your E3s and the like. If you’re a very small-scale indie from Spain, Turkey, Britain, or myriad other places you could simply campaign your local body to give you a slot – a little space on their stand to demo your idea.
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These stands have become a favorite of mine for game discovery. I always hold back a few hours of my schedule at Gamescom just so I can breeze through these areas and see if there’s anything that catches my eye. This year was no different, with a smattering of fascinating indies garnering my attention. This year I noticed a surging trend, however – an absolute deluge of AI-generated content, especially artwork.
I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised by this. This has been gradually ticking up the last few years, for a start – but this year presented a dramatic uptick. Everyone is talking about it: all the big-brand earnings calls both inside and outside of games are filled with chatter about how it’s all going to change the world or whatever. I’m writing this very article in an app that has an AI assistant crowbared into it against the wishes of most of its userbase. It’s the current thing, right?
