It turns out the gaming industry is leading the charge in generative AI adoption, outpacing every other sector in the content sphere.

On October 1st, the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) released two new reports: 'Q2 2025 Content Industry Trend Analysis' and 'CONTENT with AI: AI Usage Trends and Job Market Shifts in the Content Industry.'

The trend report breaks down the current state of generative AI usage among domestic content firms. Meanwhile, the 'CONTENT with AI' report digs into real-world use cases and the shifting landscape of employment, offering policy and industrial recommendations for the looming AI-driven era.

The study surveyed 2,513 businesses face-to-face. The verdict? The generative AI adoption rate for the first half of 2025 hit 20%, a 7.1%p jump compared to the latter half of 2024.

Gaming stands out with a 41.7% adoption rate, leaving other sectors in the dust. Of the game studios already tinkering with AI, 43.8% have implemented it across the entire company—a figure that, alongside comics, shows a higher commitment than most other fields.

In the game industry, 71.2% of AI usage is dedicated to production and editing, while 56.2% is used for initial creative ideation. As for the tools of the trade, 94.5% are relying on chat-based AI like ChatGPT and Gemini, with 64.4% using image generators like Midjourney.

A prime example of this tech in action is Krafton’s Co-Playable-Character (CPC), developed with Nvidia. Unlike traditional NPCs, these characters use AI to chat, cooperate, and interact with players in real-time. Studios are also utilizing AI for automated storylines, personalized difficulty adjustment, and real-time translation and voice synthesis.

Every company surveyed that has used generative AI—including those in gaming, comics, music, animation, broadcasting, characters, and content solutions—vowed to continue using it. Even small businesses with 1-9 employees were unanimous in their commitment.

Among the holdouts, 58.8% of game studios expressed an interest in adopting AI, which is significantly higher than other industries. For those not using AI, 66.7% cited skepticism about the quality of the output, while 62.7% pointed to data regulations and 48% to the complexity of the algorithms as major hurdles.

The KOCCA report suggests that because creative production is the lifeblood of this industry, reliance on generative AI remains relatively low compared to other sectors. It also posits that it’s not so much a case of jobs vanishing, but rather traditional roles evolving as staff learn to wield AI effectively.

For gaming, demand for mid-level developers and testers is expected to decrease, while the need for data analysts and AI specialists will likely surge. Interestingly, full-time employment numbers did not show any significant shifts following AI integration.

The report highlights that as generative AI matures, the industry’s appetite for it is growing. It stresses the need to address adoption barriers and support requirements proactively.

To achieve this, the report calls for a multi-faceted approach: better AI ethics education, robust talent development systems, and tailor-made support schemes for each content sector.

Yoo Hyun-seok, Acting President of KOCCA, remarked, "In the content industry, AI is a catalyst, helping creators and businesses realize new visions and sharpening our competitive edge. We are committed to strengthening policy research and support—from awareness building to talent cultivation—to meet the real-world needs of the industry."

The full report is available on the official KOCCA website.