(Yicai) Aug. 3 -- The use of artificial intelligence technologies in the video game industry, from designing promotional materials to assisting with development, has taken center stage at the 23rd China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference, better known as ChinaJoy.

About 86 percent of Chinese gaming companies adopt AI tech, according to data released by Sun Shoushan, chairman of the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association, at the six-day ChinaJoy, which ends today. More than 10,000 games listed on Steam note the use of AI assistance, accounting for over 8 percent of all titles on the leading digital distribution platform.

ChinaJoy is held in Shanghai under the theme "Journey with AI." Visitors can see AI being incorporated almost everywhere, from huge posters at exhibition entrances to keynote speeches at various forums and product launches at game developers' booths.

AI is no longer an optional bonus for Chinese game developers, but a regular infrastructure sustaining the operation of the whole industry, Sun stressed.

"Exhibitors would appear out of touch with the times if they fail to mention AI agents or generative AI," Man Xinru, head of Asia-Pacific marketing at leading mobile app optimization marketing and retargeting platform Liftoff, told Yicai. Many exhibitors used AI to design their promotional posters this year, she added.

"AI has penetrated every link of the industry," Wang Ji, chairman of internet games developer Century Huatong Group, said regarding his impression of this year's ChinaJoy. Chinese gaming firms are no longer merely discussing purchasing tools or accessing AI models, but rather leveraging AI to restructure capabilities and transform employees from executors to creators, he pointed out.

Chinese developers are known for high efficiency and tend to embrace new technologies proactively, Casie Jordan, senior vice president of programmatic and commercial solutions at Liftoff, said to Yicai. As a result, AI tools have rolled out faster in China than in many other markets, he noted.

Century Huatong's investments in AI-related assets over the past several years have laid the groundwork for its future in the gaming industry, Wang said. The investment in graphics processing units developer Moore Threads Technology, AI infrastructure startup Wuwenxinqiong, and Flexiv Robotics "may look like cross-sector moves on the surface, but these firms will form the core infrastructure for the future digital entertainment sector," he noted.

Chip, hardware, and robot manufacturers have also set up booths at this year's ChinaJoy.

The gaming industry has reached a stage where excelling in a single technical field is insufficient, with comprehensive capabilities growing increasingly important, according to Yu Ruichao, VP and editor-in-chief of Tencent Interactive Entertainment.

However, some industry insiders worry that more powerful production tools and improved creative efficiency may flood the market with mediocre products and overshadow high-quality creative titles. The number of playable games added to gaming platform TapTap surged almost 10 times to 5,002 in the first half of this year from a year earlier, more than 4,000 of which were mini-games developed with AI assistance.

The situation is a "blessing and a curse" for the gaming sector, said Huang Yimeng, founder of TapTap. As the player base has not expanded alongside the surge in games, the exposure and downloads for individual products have been severely diluted, Huang stressed.

AI has lowered barriers to game-making, Liu Yi, VP of publishing at Kingsoft World Games, told Yicai, adding that users encounter a greater number of low-quality products. There will likely be a polarization in future game development, where, besides a small batch of high-quality premium titles, many fast-consumption games built with AI tech will emerge, mirroring the development trajectory of the short-video industry, Liu said.

AI tech could unlock CNY53.3 billion to CNY84.6 billion (USD7.4 billion to USD11.7 billion) in new market opportunities for the Chinese gaming sector, driven by emerging formats and a continuous supply of new content, according to a report released by Gamma Data at ChinaJoy.

Chinese gaming firms' net profits from game operations are expected to soar to CNY162.7 billion (USD22.5 billion) by 2030 from about CNY111.4 billion this year, the report said. Improved operational efficiency will mainly stem from AI-driven research and development efficiency gains, optimized operations, and better resource allocation.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev