Indie Games Lead the Way in Unlocking New AI Possibilities — Former PlayStation Head

Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida, speaking at the Osaka Indie Games Summit 2025, discussed how developers are leveraging AI and why the technology is becoming central to the industry.

He pointed out that both small indie teams and major studios are adopting AI across the entire game creation pipeline — from generating early concepts to providing temporary voice work. In large-scale productions, AI is used for testing: tools emulate player behavior to help calibrate balance with greater precision.

Yoshida is especially fascinated by projects that weave AI directly into gameplay. He cited the Japanese visual novel Hanashi no Hanashi, where narrative progression depends on interacting with an AI-driven character. He has encountered indie prototypes in which AI acts as a “suspect” and the player conducts an interrogation, composing questions in their own words. Yoshida noted that these kinds of ideas tend to advance more rapidly in the indie scene.

Among more familiar solutions, he highlighted the bots in Marvel Snap — after a string of losses the game pairs players with an AI opponent designed to help restore a feeling of progress. Yoshida believes that, over time, distinguishing bots from human players will become nearly impossible.

He added that AI is already being integrated into support services and will eventually be able to recommend new games to players and offer walkthrough advice. Yoshida is convinced that indie developers are the first to uncover novel applications for AI, which is why he keeps an eye on the most unconventional projects.

Source: iXBT.games