Razer's chief executive has expressed confidence that the gaming community's current scepticism toward artificial intelligence in game development will gradually shift as the technology demonstrates its potential to enhance quality and efficiency.
Current Controversy Surrounding AI in Gaming
Artificial intelligence has become a contentious topic within the gaming world in recent months, particularly as more developers acknowledge using AI tools during the creation of new titles. The debate intensified last month when Larian Studios faced significant backlash after CEO Swen Vincke revealed generative AI had been employed for early-stage concept art development.
Although Vincke later moderated his statements, the prevailing sentiment among many gamers remains that AI involvement in game development is generally undesirable. This resistance stems from concerns about creativity, quality control, and the ethical implications of training data sources.
Razer's Perspective on AI Adoption
Speaking on The Verge's Decoder podcast during CES 2026, Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan offered a nuanced perspective on the controversy. He acknowledged that gamers, including himself, strongly oppose what he termed "gen AI slop"—content churned out through simple prompts that results in poor quality character models, shoddy storylines, and technical flaws.
"Like any gamer, when I play a game, I want to be engaged, I want to be immersed, I want to be able to be competitive," Tan explained. "I don't want to be served character models with extra fingers and stuff like that, or poorly written storylines."
The Potential Benefits of AI Tools
However, Tan believes the conversation will evolve as AI demonstrates practical benefits for game development. He specifically highlighted how AI could assist with quality assurance processes, bug detection, and proofreading tasks that currently consume significant development resources.
"If we've got AI tools that can help game developers QA their games faster, better, and weed out the bugs, I think, along the way, we're all aligned, and we would love that," Tan stated. "If we could get game developers to have the opportunity to create better, to check through typos and things like that, to create better games, I think we all want that."
Developer Experiences and Practical Challenges
Despite these potential advantages, Tan acknowledges that efficiency gains from AI remain unrealised in many practical applications. Discussions on platforms like the r/GameDev subreddit reveal mixed experiences among developers working on commercial products.
One developer noted that coding speed is rarely the primary bottleneck in large companies, stating: "My experience coding in software teams for large companies is that the speed at which one could code was usually not the bottleneck—it was organisational and AI doesn't fix that."
Another contributor warned about the limitations of current AI tools: "AI speeds up everything, right until the point it can no longer handle additional context. You're then left with a confusing pile of AI spaghetti slop you neither have the knowledge or inclination to clean up."
Hardware Price Implications
The AI discussion extends beyond software development to hardware economics. Tan expressed concern about skyrocketing component prices driven by AI server farms consuming supply chain capacity, potentially pricing many PC and console gamers out of the market.
"We haven't announced the prices for the next round of laptops, for example, and this is something that concerns me because the RAM prices are going up," Tan explained. "We want to be able to make sure our laptops remain affordable and within the reach of gamers out there."
Accepted AI Applications and Future Outlook
Not all AI applications face equal resistance. Nvidia's DLSS technology represents a widely accepted use case, employing machine learning to upscale game visuals from lower to higher resolutions while delivering significant performance improvements. This acceptance largely stems from Nvidia training algorithms on proprietary datasets, providing purely performance-based benefits without interfering with creative processes.
With Razer preparing to launch a product featuring an AI "companion" for gamers' desks, Tan's comments appear strategically timed to address community concerns. The company clearly recognises the need to build trust around AI implementations that enhance rather than diminish the gaming experience.
For now, AI in gaming remains a complex and nuanced topic with valid arguments on multiple sides. As technology evolves and demonstrates clearer benefits for game quality and development efficiency, industry leaders like Tan anticipate gradual shifts in gamer perceptions—though this transition will likely unfold over an extended period rather than occurring overnight.
