Shocking Stats Reveal The Real Impact AI Is Having On Video Game Sales

Artificial intelligence is everywhere in 2026, and when it's not taking jobs or threatening an environmental crisis as it guzzles gallons of water to cool its servers, there are genuine fears that there's going to be a robotic uprising akin to the Terminator movies. Still, with some of the biggest companies in the world throwing billions at AI, it's hard to avoid.

Even in the world of gaming, we've seen something of an AI boom. Microsoft notably invested $13 billion for a 27% stake in OpenAI, while it's also committed $190 billion to help build out its data centres.

The gaming giant has been called out for this new AI approach amid mass layoffs of its human workforce, but it's not just Microsoft jumping on the AI bandwagon. As well as the PlayStation 5 Pro utilising custom AI upscaling, the PS Store is under fire for allowing 'AI slop' to infiltrate it, and Sony has just reaffirmed its own AI-centric strategy going forward. Nintendo seems to be avoiding the AI race (for now), but while its rivals go all in on this new tech, gamers could be voting with their wallets.

New Research Suggests AI Games Remain Unpopular

SEGA

Research published by Ross Burton, PhD, head of product and data at Game Oracle, suggests that titles confirming the presence of AI are still being given a wide berth by gamers. Somewhat alarming statistics claimed that 21% of all games released on Steam in 2025 included a disclosure confirming the use of some sort of AI. We imagine it's a number that has soared since then.

While Burton admits that it's hard to pin down sales compared to reviews, his methodology looked at reviews left within a month of launch and pulled a correlation between this and someone being most likely to leave a review just after purchase.

The numbers speak for themselves, as games that confirmed the use of AI earned around 53% less reviews than non-AI games. Almost 20% of AI-assisted games got no reviews at all, suggesting that fewer people were buying them.

Burton explained that the backlash seems to be against bigger games, adding: "Our data suggests that for low-quality games, AI makes no difference. But for high-potential games, the 'AI Stigma' is real and severely punishes developers who otherwise would have succeeded."

AI And The Future Of Video Games

Frontier Developments

We'd say the AI stigma argument doesn't work every time. After all, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was dubbed Game of the Year by many despite its own AI scandal. Burton acknowledged that The Finals was open about its AI usage and was a hit at launch, although it's since dipped significantly. There's also the recent drama surrounding Crazy Taxi: World Tour and the fact that it grabbed headlines mainly for its use of generative AI instead of the game itself.

Importantly, Burton doesn't suggest that AI is the end of the video game industry, but instead, the report is here to "highlight the nuance around how AI is used...AI can be used well, or it can be sloppy, and that matters."

He mentioned similar backlash against Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Jurassic World Evolution 3, backing up the idea that the bigger the game, the more likely angry villagers are to sharpen their pitchforks in rage.

Offering a somewhat optimistic look at where things could go, Burton concluded: "Would you avoid using a hammer to build a shed? No, of course not. Just don't go around hitting everything with it."

READ MORE: Assassin's Creed Spiritual Successor Free Demo Criticised For Accidental 'AI Slop' Inclusion