Artificial intelligence (AI) slop (a new word referring to mass-produced low-quality content) that has taken over YouTube and social media is spreading into the gaming industry.
Agent AI services, which make plans and fix problems based on user requests, are becoming more advanced, making it possible for even non-experts to create decent games with just an idea and a sufficient token cost.
◇ The highest ever for a game released on Steam last year… 1 in 3 companies disclose their use of AI
Signs of this began to appear around 2024, when game development using generative AI began in earnest.
According to SteamDB, an analysis site for the PC game platform Steam, the number of games released on Steam annually increased gently to 11,212 in 2021, 12,237 in 2022, and 14,023 in 2023, then increased significantly to 18,452 in 2024, and reached an all-time high of 21,268 last year.
The number is expected to reach 20,220 as of 2026, surpassing the previous year's figure by the end of the year.
The number of games that announced the use of AI according to Steam policy also increased explosively, from only 165 in 2023 to 2,189 in 2024, 4,682 in 2025, and 7,440 as of 2026.
This means that 36.8%, or more than a third of the games released this year, announced that they used AI.
The same goes for the app market.
According to Apple's App Store Transparency Report, the number of apps reviewed annually by Apple showed a gradual increase to 6.1 million in 2022, 6.89 million in 2023, and 7.77 million in 2024, but increased significantly to 9.1 million last year.
Among these, the number of apps that rejected or refused entry also increased significantly from 1.68 million to 2.09 million over the same period.
As individuals and even companies other than game companies increasingly create and distribute games using AI, games are being poured into the market at an unprecedented level.
The number of games featuring volatile topics such as memes (online trending content) or social issues is also increasing.
◇ The game industry development method is still the same… The review body is already struggling
The domestic gaming industry is also paying attention to the emergence of AI games.
The first company to commercialize AI games in earnest is Nexus.
Nexus recently established a dedicated AI game hall in One Store, a domestic app market that it recently acquired as a subsidiary.
Verse8, which has operated AI game development tools and platforms in partnership with Nexus [205500], also joined the platform.
However, the game release practices of the domestic mainstream game industry still follow the existing grammar.
It is difficult to find attempts to quickly experiment and challenge new genres or game characteristics with generative AI.
Everyone makes similar Korean-style competitive MMORPGs and webtoon-based mobile games, but only shortens the development period with AI.
Of course, it is true that the majority of AI slop games released today are inferior in originality and completeness of gameplay compared to well-made masterpieces.
But what if this technology becomes more sophisticated in the future, making it possible to create more complex games on your own, and if those games start to compete with existing games?
It will not be long before the existing method of developing a blockbuster game, which was quietly made for 3 to 4 years without communication with the user base and then started with alpha and beta testing and launch marketing about a year before release, will be fundamentally challenged.
It is reported that review agencies are also suffering as low-quality games made with AI are pouring into the app market.
Much of the Game Management Committee's own deliberation authority has been transferred to the private sector.
However, it is still within the jurisdiction of the Game Commission to monitor whether self-rating businesses such as app markets are properly categorizing ratings and whether consumer damage is occurring due to illegal activities in distributed games.
An official familiar with the situation of the Game Commission said, "The number of games being uploaded to the app market is increasing, but the number of cases where individuals are distributing games on the web and making money without deliberation is also increasing," and added, "On the other hand, there are limits to recruiting staff for the Game Commission, so institutional improvement is needed."
