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  <front>
    <journal-meta />
    <article-meta>
      <title-group>
        <article-title>Exploring the opportunities and risks of generative AI for game development: Insights from the Belgian game industry⋆</article-title>
      </title-group>
      <contrib-group>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <string-name>Rowan Daneels</string-name>
          <email>rowan.daneels@uantwerpen.be</email>
        </contrib>
      </contrib-group>
      <pub-date>
        <year>2025</year>
      </pub-date>
      <abstract>
        <p>Generative AI (GenAI) tools are becoming increasingly prevalent in various industries, including the gaming industry. Some consider GenAI as the future of game development, providing opportunities for improved efficiency and automation of several aspects such as artwork generation, programming, and storytelling. Others are equally concerned with potential risks, including concerns regarding copyright, employment, and the lack of qualitative output. However, research on game industry professionals' perceptions and use of GenAI for game development is scarce, focusing on specific target groups (e.g., student and indie developers) or specific GenAI tools (e.g., image generation tools). The current paper includes exploratory in-depth interviews with 20 Belgian game developers to determine their attitudes and usage of GenAI. While some developers were cautiously optimistic about its future potential, most developers were rather skeptical about GenAI's usefulness. Developers agreed that GenAI was most useful for coding and other technical tasks over creative aspects, as a supporting tool. Moreover, use of GenAI mostly occurred during early development, drawing inspiration for name giving of in-game objects and environments, creating concept art for mood boards, or use GenAI voice lines for early prototypes. Quality concerns were mentioned most frequently, as developers criticized GenAI tools' mediocre storytelling quality, inefficient image generation, but also for providing buggy coding solutions. Employment loss was also a persistent concern, while ethical concerns regarding copyright and IP were less prevalent. Interestingly, they were also concerned about how players' interactions with GenAIcreated content could lead to inappropriate situations that were out of their control. These findings are discussed within current knowledge on the topic, discussing future research opportunities and implications for game developers, educators, and policymakers.</p>
      </abstract>
      <kwd-group>
        <kwd>game development</kwd>
        <kwd>generative AI</kwd>
        <kwd>industry perspective</kwd>
        <kwd>opportunities</kwd>
        <kwd>risks1</kwd>
      </kwd-group>
    </article-meta>
  </front>
  <body>
    <sec id="sec-1">
      <title>1. Introduction</title>
      <p>
        Generative AI (GenAI) is becoming an indispensable part of daily life. It has the potential to
promote efficiency and innovation in various industries, including the gaming industry. GenAI can
automatize modelling of in-game objects and characters, or provide realistic voice lines and
automatically generate NPC dialogues [
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1">1</xref>
        ]. It might also benefit early game development, by
speeding up conceptual artwork creation through image generation tools, initiate scenario writing,
and accelerate prototype development via GenAI-generated scenarios and game engine coding [
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref2">2</xref>
        ].
While some might consider GenAI to be the future of game development, many are equally
concerned by its drawbacks. These include copyright and intellectual property issues with
GenAIgenerated artwork [
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
        ], the consistent fear of decreasing employment opportunities [
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref4">4</xref>
        ], and
concerns regarding the lack of authenticity and creativity of GenAI-generated storytelling [
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5">5</xref>
        ].
      </p>
      <p>
        Despite GenAI’s recent surge in capabilities and popularity (for game development), research on
the use of and attitudes toward GenAI for game development is still scarce [
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
        ]. This paper proposes
that it is vital to first understand how developers themselves perceive and use GenAI technology
before being able to determine how GenAI impacts game design and how to integrate GenAI in
game development processes in the most effective and ethical ways. Such an understanding
contributes toward the ongoing discussions in both in academia and industry about GenAI’s place
in advancing (or inhibiting) the game development industry, as well as how it transforms
workrelated relationships in this creative and ever-evolving environment. This paper aims to advance
our knowledge of this emergent topic by conducting qualitative exploratory interviews with
Belgian game developers, examining how they perceive and use GenAI tools for game development
in terms of strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and risks.
      </p>
    </sec>
    <sec id="sec-2">
      <title>2. Related Work</title>
      <sec id="sec-2-1">
        <title>2.1. Strengths and Opportunities of Generative AI for Game Development</title>
        <p>
          Traditional AI—one of the core aspects of games, in which predetermined mechanisms and
algorithms ensure that non-player characters (NPCs) and the game world itself respond logically to
player input [7]—is seemingly becoming outdated with the rise of GenAI. This perhaps bold claim is
supported on several strengths and opportunities this emergent technology can offer game
developers. GenAI has the potential to automate several processes allowing developers to focus on
more creative and important aspects. This automation occurs, for example, through GenAI-powered
procedural generation of new and changing game environments [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1">1</xref>
          ], the automatized modelling of
NPCs and other in-game objects, and the provision of realistic and diverse voice lines as well as
automatically generated dialogues for NPCs [8], or at least generated ‘chatter’ as dialogue starters
[9]. The action role-playing game Cygnus Enterprises [10], for instance, is the first full game to include
a GenAI-powered companion character that responds to players in real time. Even AAA game studios
are testing out these opportunities, including Ubisoft, who developed an in-house GenAI tool called
Ghostwriter [11] to support game writers by generating first drafts of basic NPC dialogue.
        </p>
        <p>
          Additionally, GenAI can provide aid during the early phases of the development process [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref2">2</xref>
          ].
Game artists, for example, can use image generation tools like Midjourney [12] or GPT Image 1 [13]
to quickly visualize their creative ideas as (early) conceptual artwork. It can also speed up scenario
writing, or support development of playable game prototypes through tools such as Tabnine [14] or
GitHub Copilot [15] that help developers with game engine coding.
        </p>
        <p>
          Yet another opportunity for the integration of GenAI in game development processes lies in the
promotion stage of the game [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref2">2</xref>
          ], by using GenAI to devise a marketing plan and specific
communication strategies aimed at the game’s targeted player audience. As such, game developers
could “narrow down what kind of game they want to make without the help of marketing or strategy
departments by using market sensing, that is, testing what kind of format, genre, and visuals the
market responds to by sending out feelers made with generative AI” (p. 229).
        </p>
        <p>
          A fourth and final strength, situated on a more abstract level, is that GenAI’s integration in game
development can lead to a more cost-effective game development [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref2">2</xref>
          ][
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5">5</xref>
          ][
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
          ]. For instance,
Panchanadikar et al. [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5">5</xref>
          ] found in their qualitative analysis of online forums dedicated to non-profit
driven indie game developers that a lot of them believed GenAI could “automate mundane and
repetitive tasks that would otherwise consume significant manual effort” (p. 3-4), leaving the ‘fun’
parts of game development for human developers. Similarly, Boucher et al.’s [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
          ] analysis of early
career game developers’ perceptions on GenAI showed that GenAI tools can make repetitive aspects
of their workflow easier. Related to this, the introduction of GenAI tools can also create more
competitive power for smaller, indie studios compared to larger studios. Both industry associations
such as Video Games Europe [16] and recent research [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref2">2</xref>
          ] support the notion that generative AI tools
can foster growth, especially for these smaller-team and indie game studios. By significantly reducing
the cost and time it takes to develop (assets for) games, such developers gain a competitive edge.
However, a certain nuance is needed here: recent studies outside of game development show that
incorporating (Gen)AI into existing workflows creates additional stress and workload [17], and may
even reduce productivity. For example, Becker et al. [18] found that open-source software developers
using AI for coding tasks were slowed down by 19% compared to those not using AI. Nevertheless,
certain GenAI tools could enable more innovative and experimental approaches to game
development, freeing studios from the pressure to create commercially safe, mainstream games for
financial survival [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5">5</xref>
          ]. Additionally, GenAI tools can support the expansion of the indie game
community within the broader game production landscape.
        </p>
        <p>
          Important to note here is that these strengths and opportunities of GenAI tools for game
development have been identified by researchers as context-dependent. For one, the usefulness of
GenAI tools differs significantly between artistic and technical work-related processes. Research has
consistently shown that the introduction of GenAI has made life easier for programmers. The
acceptance of GenAI tools for programming is high [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
          ], using tools such as GitHub Copilot [15] that
contain features like providing auto-complete code suggestions. These tools improve both efficiency
and quality of their work. Additionally, a recent study on general attitudes of game industry artists
found that people performing exclusively artistic tasks were least favorable toward GenAI tools
compared to employees with no artistic (e.g., technical or managerial tasks) or mixed (i.e., both
artistic and non-artistic) tasks [19]. Programmers use GenAI tools primarily to solve specific
workrelated problems, such as coding issues, which are generally less personal compared to the creative
expressions that are embedded into an artist’s work [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
          ]. A second contextual factor is the specific
development stage at which GenAI tools prove most useful. As previously mentioned, developers
perceive GenAI tools as real game changers during the pre-production or early stages of game
development, but less applicable for use in the final production phases [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref2">2</xref>
          ][
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
          ]. Indie developers
mentioned, for instance, that such tools can facilitate ideas by jumpstarting the game development
process [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5">5</xref>
          ]. Image generation tools specifically are often mentioned for early development as they
amplify artists’ visions for the game, enabling them to visualize their creative thoughts to other team
members (often non-artists) without losing them in verbal communication (i.e., visual
communication [20]). The final contextual factor to consider here relates to the usefulness of GenAI
tools for specific types of content and specific GenAI tools themselves. For instance, developers
mentioned that GenAI tools can be beneficial to create more general artwork, but are less relevant
to generate specific assets for a game, as these often show poor quality and inconsistency in terms
of artistic style [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
          ][
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
          ]. Furthermore, developers seem more open to use GenAI tools that have been
trained on open source or voluntarily-provided data (e.g., Adobe Firefly [21]) without having the risk
of running into copyright issues [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
          ]. They are also more open to specialized tools that enhance
developers’ skills and improve their workflow by assisting them with, for instance, in-line coding
suggestions (e.g., GitHub Copilot [15]), rather than using broader conversational agents like
ChatGPT [22].
        </p>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-2-2">
        <title>2.2. Weaknesses and Risks of Generative AI for Game Development</title>
        <p>While some consider GenAI to be the biggest innovation driver in the gaming industry since virtual
and augmented reality technology [23], it's not only (GenAI-generated) sunshine and rainbows.
There are at least four major downsides and potential risks to consider regarding GenAI-powered
game design. First, there are some general concerns regarding GenAI’s environmental impact, as
these large language models (LLMs) require tremendous amounts of computational power in
energyconsuming servers [24]. Given the ongoing debates about making the gaming industry more ‘green’
[25], the growing reliance on GenAI tools could pose potential ecological concerns [26].</p>
        <p>
          Second, the creation of game narratives, characters, dialogues and entire game worlds through
GenAI tools leads to several ethical concerns. One of the main challenges that developers identified
are the potential copyright issues that accompany the usage of GenAI tools [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
          ]. Image generation
tools such as Midjourney [12] are not (only) trained on open-source artwork but use existing data
from artists who are most likely not compensated for the use of their creative work through such
tools. This artwork is protected by copyright, which makes it risky for other artists to use GenAI
tools that likely produce output based on copyrighted material. Sikorski et al. [19] mentioned that
one working point to create a smoother transition for GenAI tools into the game industry is to clarify
this copyright issue. This ethical concern is not just about avoiding lawsuits and prosecution.
Especially early career developers have a sense of ethical commitment to fellow game developers
and artists, as GenAI-based image generation could damage the future of their profession [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
          ] (more
on this below). Additionally, these ethical concerns are not only focused at others’ work: according
to current legislation (e.g., U.S. laws), GenAI-generated content cannot be copyrighted itself as
because it doesn’t originate from a human author [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5">5</xref>
          ]. This leaves content and potentially entire
games created by developers that used GenAI tools without any legal protection and free to use by
other people.
        </p>
        <p>
          Third, career concerns relate to the consistent fear that increased usage of GenAI tools will
eventually lead to less employment opportunities among voice actors, writers, visual artists, and
even game developers [27]. A recent survey among game developers at the Game Developers
Conference [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref4">4</xref>
          ] confirms these concerns, as the results revealed that a large majority (84%) of
developers indicated being quite concerned about the employment and ethical implications of GenAI
in the gaming industry. Academic research discovered similar career growth challenges, as
developers express concerns about losing their jobs or livelihood [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
          ]. Some expressed these concerns
more specifically in relation to game artists, noting that the reuse of artistic assets (or standardized
templates for generating them) could reduce the demand for human artists [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5">5</xref>
          ][19]. Job loss is not the
only career-related concern here. The introduction of GenAI tools is also directly responsible for the
transformation of game developers’ job descriptions [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
          ]. Their roles tend to shift responsibility, going
from a creator to a director or editor to the GenAI tools, which some developers indicate is a
weakness of these tools as they feel somewhat demoted compared to their previous functioning.
        </p>
        <p>
          This fear of employment loss (and transformation) exists despite the notion that GenAI tools are,
at least at this moment, not there yet. For one, they still need human input to create assets, coding or
artwork. GenAI is not able to “replace the essential human creativity, imagination and artistry that
goes into developing new video games” (para. 8) [8] just yet. Furthermore, they still produce many
errors and overall lack basic quality as well as efficiency within existing workflows. These aspects
can be considered as the fourth main risk factor for GenAI’s integration in game development:
practical concerns. Perhaps the most often mentioned concern here is the lack of consistency when
creating artwork through GenAI tools [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
          ]. Disbarring any recent evolutions in GenAI’s ‘memory’
acquisition [28], GenAI tools are currently unable to maintain consistency in terms of idea generation
and artistic style [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
          ], something that is essential when generating artistic assets or storylines that
need to adhere to the defined visual or narrative style of the game [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5">5</xref>
          ]. Besides inconsistency, mostly
game artists identified that, through current interfaces of GenAI tools, they had a hard time finding
the right words or ‘prompts’ to convey certain emotions into generated images [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
          ], as artists are
accustomed to work with other modalities such as visuals or the spoken word [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
          ]. This is not just a
concern for image generation. Developers also mentioned this as a weakness for game writers, given
that GenAI tools often offer a more verbose or literal way of textual or spoken dialogue for a game’s
narrative that differs significantly from more natural, human dialogue [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
          ]. Another practical concern
relates to the efficient integration of GenAI tools in game developers’ workflows. Again, especially
artists were concerned with this, as some argued that it took them longer to use prompts through
GenAI tools like Midjourney [12] to get it exactly right than to just draw the artwork themselves. In
addition, artists often work with multiple layers for in-game animations and require specific
resolution values that most GenAI tools cannot provide at the moment. A final practical weakness
concerns the authenticity of storytelling and NPCs created by Gen AI. As these tools are trained on
existing data, chances exist that using them extensively in game design will create more repetitive
and less original, innovative, and creative games in the long run [26].
        </p>
        <p>
          Overall, these weaknesses and risks surrounding the usage of GenAI tools for game development
concern developers, preventing them from implementing these tools in their daily workflow. A clear
example of this comes from Boucher et al. [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
          ], who found that a majority of interviewed student
developers “were skeptical of the claimed benefits of using GAI in their workflows, and that many
even refused to use GAI tools for any part of the development process despite repeated
encouragement from the program director” (p. 5). It is clear that developers’ perceptions and
adoption rates vary significantly, and that more research is needed to understand the complex
relationships between game developers and GenAI tools.
        </p>
      </sec>
    </sec>
    <sec id="sec-3">
      <title>3. Present Study</title>
      <p>
        Existing literature on generative AI for game development revealed that developers see the most
opportunities for the integration of GenAI tools in early game development and for technical tasks
(i.e., coding, programming [
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
        ]), while especially game artists occupied with creating visual
components for a game are more inclined to have ethical (i.e., copyright, IP) and practical concerns
(i.e., lack of quality, consistency, and efficiency [19]). There is little to nothing known regarding the
attitudes toward and use of GenAI tools for other parts of the game development process, such as
game writing and narrative design, audio and voice design, and game marketing.
      </p>
      <p>
        The few studies that have focused on game developers’ perception and use of GenAI either
focused on specific target groups—student and early career developers [
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
        ] or non-profit driven indie
developers [
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5">5</xref>
        ]—or on specific GenAI tools, like image generation applications [
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
        ]. To support game
developers with this increasingly present technology and create actionable guidelines on how GenAI
tools can be integrated in game development processes in effective and ethical ways, more research
is required to provide detailed insights into how established and upcoming industry professionals
perceive and use GenAI tools for game development. Similar to prior work focusing on the Finnish
[
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
        ] and Polish [19] gaming industry, this paper takes a case study approach by zooming in on the
Belgian game industry. This industry is especially relevant, given that it includes a broad range of
game studios, from innovative start-ups and established indie game studios to internationally
acclaimed studios [29]. As such, we questioned these developers regarding their perception toward
(i.e., strengths, weaknesses) and use of (i.e., opportunities, risks) GenAI tools for game development.
This leads to the following two main research questions:
      </p>
      <p>RQ1: Which strengths and opportunities do Belgian game developers identify regarding the use
of GenAI tools for game development?
RQ2: Which weaknesses and risks/concerns do Belgian game developers identify regarding the
use of GenAI tools for game development?</p>
    </sec>
    <sec id="sec-4">
      <title>4. Methods</title>
      <p>This study employs a qualitative research design to examine how game developers in the Belgian
game industry perceive and use generative AI. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, with
a semi-structured questionnaire allowing for consistency and flexibility across respondents [30].
Compared to quantitative approaches, this qualitative approach allowed for a much deeper and more
detailed underlying reasoning from the industry on how they perceive and use GenAI for game
development.</p>
      <sec id="sec-4-1">
        <title>4.1. Procedure</title>
        <p>Before data collection started, respondents received an informed consent form briefing them
regarding the use of audio recording during the interview, assurances of confidentiality and
anonymity of the interview, and their right to withdraw from the study at any given time.</p>
        <p>The interviews were part of a larger project focused on the intentions, strategies and techniques
game developers have and use to evoke eudaimonic player experiences (EUPX), or experiences that
foster personal growth and help players realize their full human potential [31], which includes
emotionally moving, (self-)reflective, and socially connecting player experiences [32]. Besides asking
about their eudaimonic intentions and development strategies, the interviews also inquired about
recent innovations and technological advancements in the game industry, such as generative AI.
Questions for this particular topic related to the use of GenAI in general and toward the design of
games that provoke EUPX in particular.</p>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-4-2">
        <title>4.2. Sample</title>
        <p>Respondents were recruited using a combination of convenience sampling (i.e., through the author’s
personal network of game developers) and snowball sampling (i.e., recruiting developers from the
network of respondents that were already recruited). The sample of this study consisted of 20 Belgian
game developers. 16 men, two women and two non-binary people were interviewed, with a mean
age of 32 and an average 5.65 years of experience in the gaming industry. The study included both
established members in the Belgian game industry and six game design students, interns, or
developers who just started their first game (studio). Further diversification was made in the different
functions someone can have within a game studio, including CEO’s, founders, or game directors;
artists and creative or art directors; programmers or tools developers; writers/scripters working on
the narrative; and sound designers. An overview of the respondents’ background can be found in
Table 1 (Appendix A).</p>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-4-3">
        <title>4.3. Analysis</title>
        <p>The interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded through NVivo 1.7.2. [33] to organize, structure
and analyze the interview transcripts. Following a thematic analysis approach [34], the transcripts
were first coded openly and inductively—codes were derived from the data itself—to structure and
reduce the data into clear text codes. Conceptually similar codes were then put into overarching
codes or themes, merging codes when they were conceptually identical. After reviewing and
renaming these themes, the final phase of analysis included connecting the identified themes
associated with GenAI to the posed research questions and reporting the findings in the next
section.</p>
      </sec>
    </sec>
    <sec id="sec-5">
      <title>5. Results</title>
      <p>The thematic analysis resulted into two smaller themes (i.e., ‘GenAI and emotion/eudaimonia’ and
‘Specific cases and examples of GenAI use’) and three major themes: ‘General attitudes toward
GenAI,’ ‘Advantages and uses of GenAI,’ and ‘Weaknesses of and concerns toward GenAI’. These
larger themes can be further broken down into 16 subthemes, with three subthemes discussing
general attitudes (e.g., ‘GenAI promising evolution’ and ‘Against AI use’), eight subthemes
addressing strengths and opportunities (e.g., ‘AI images,’ ‘AI for executive/technical tasks’ and ‘AI
as supporting tool’), and five subthemes addressing concerns and risks (e.g., ‘Concerns about quality
GenAI’ and ‘Concerns about employment’). Since this paper does not specifically focus on the
emotional and eudaimonic potential of integrating GenAI into game development processes, and the
results section will provide concrete examples of how respondents use GenAI tools, we will
concentrate on the three main themes and their corresponding subthemes.</p>
      <sec id="sec-5-1">
        <title>5.1. General Attitudes Toward Generative AI for Game Development</title>
        <p>The first theme gathers developers’ overall attitudes toward GenAI for game development. Some
were quite positive about this, calling it “the big trend” of game development (Intw. 12). Others were
cautiously optimistic. One respondent mentioned that it is “complicated too because, as an artist,
[generative] AI is a subject that’s on everyone’s lips. But I’m not 100% against [generative] AI, to be
honest, like it can help in some ways” (Intw. 18). Another developer stated that, while he currently did
not use GenAI that much, he suspected that it is something to keep an eye out for in the future: “I'm
almost certain that with [generative] AI, if that is worked out a little more, that that [providing game
designers with more options to do something cool] can be done” (Intw. 11). Yet others were more
neutral toward GenAI, as they were not yet convinced of its potential:
“We are at the beginning of [generative] AI. So, who knows what’s out there in five years of ten
years, but right now, I don’t see the added value yet for our sector, our industry.” (Intw. 1)
However, and perhaps surprisingly, most voices regarding GenAI tools were rather skeptical or
downright negative of their inclusion in game development processes. Some mention the
contextspecific strength of GenAI tools: “There are certainly useful things about it, but in the creative aspects
I am more of a humanist” (Intw. 13). Others repeated concerns connected to employment risks—“We
say no, sorry, we cannot do that because that was done with generative AI and we are now taking
work away from graphic designers and illustrators” (Intw. 10)—and yet others mentioned more
qualityrelated concerns of GenAI as creating less original and creative content: “You also see that there are
many games that lose a lot of heart and passion because they start using [generative] AI a lot” (Intw.
3). One respondent voiced a clear negative attitude toward GenAI tools, based on ethical concerns
regarding copyright issues:
“I am very, very, very, very hard against it. Generative AI is one of the worst inventions of the last
50 years. (…) Actually making something from scratch based on a prompt (…). Yes, that is just
theft. That is theft.” (Intw. 9)</p>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-5-2">
        <title>5.2. Strengths and Opportunities of Generative AI for Game Development</title>
        <p>In this second theme, developers’ perceived strengths and identified opportunities surrounding the
use of GenAI can be divided into two major categories: strengths and opportunities that relate to
specific game elements or stages of the development process, and more overarching opportunities
for the game development process as a whole.</p>
        <p>In terms of specific strengths, some respondents mentioned they used GenAI tools to draw
inspiration for their game, for example, when needing to come up with names for certain
elements within their game. For their factory automation game, one developer used GenAI to ask
“Now give me 200 names for [factories]. (…) The titles of our factories, you can still have AI extract
[those] now” (Intw. 1). Another respondent mentioned a similar use of GenAI tools:
“Names of places are tricky. So, coming up with place names that are truly unique, some people
give (…) Then you give a description of your area and then ChatGPT [gives you] a list of names
that you can then either continue to create from, namely by linking that list together, or by just
using one of them.” (Intw. 16)</p>
        <p>Next to name giving as a use for GenAI tools, one respondent (Intw. 16) mentioned that he knew
a game company that used GenAI-generated art for the background images (e.g., a city, village, or
forest) of certain cards designed for a board game. However, he was one of the few developers to be
convinced of GenAI’s usefulness to create game environments and other artwork: “Yes, if it’s really
an abstract background. Usually there’s more to it. There are different layers work together” (Intw. 6),
signaling the complexity of working with GenAI tools as (environment or character) artists for
games. This sentiment reflects the strong consensus among the interviewed developers that GenAI
tools hold greater potential for supporting executive and technical tasks in the development
process, rather than creative ones. Providing aid with programming and coding tasks is the number
one strength developers mentioned: “For a coding problem, if there’s something where we totally do
not know how to get started on that, it’s helpful for getting a synopsis or something like that. Or a place
to start looking” (Intw. 11). One respondent (Intw. 17) mentioned using ChatGPT as a tool to create
games, which he argued sometimes helped him with coding tasks, but no other tools were specifically
mentioned. Furthermore, the argument of GenAI tools being able to speed up some processes was
made by another respondent: “if it's to speed up some processes, making things easier for everyone,
make the [generative] AI conduct some tasks that are not fun at all.  That's important” (Intw. 18).</p>
        <p>Another subtheme that several respondents addressed is the impact of GenAI on a game’s
narrative and players’ agency within both that narrative and the larger game world. Some
respondents saw the potential of this, stating that integrating games with LLMs can create “a sort of
player freedom, (…) there’s a fascinating side to that” (Intw. 3) and offer a more dynamic experience
where players can provide input. This is, however, still in a hypothetical stage, as none of the
respondents mentioned they were working on such a game project. They rather talked about this as
a future opportunity for game developers: “[Generative] AI could possibly take over parts of the game.
Games could become bigger, and could also become more reactive” (Intw. 14). Another respondent
talked about this more in detail:
“The big trend of course is [generative] AI. (…) By being able to better track what your player is
doing, you will also be able to respond to that player better and actually craft a very unique path
for your player. (…) What everyone is now full of a Baldur's Gate or a Kingdom Deliverance,
where you can make so many choices, have so much agency. That will only grow exponentially
in the future. That agency. And then especially in the narrative.” (Intw. 12)</p>
        <p>As a final specific strength, some respondents mentioned that audio elements in games could
also benefit from the integration of GenAI tools. However, similar to the narrative elements, they
rather see this as a future innovation than something that is already happening right now. One
respondent further reflected on this: “you feel that you [can] have a smart audio system that allows
you to adjust your audio to what you want your players to feel. Then, you can go very deep in terms of
emotion” (Intw. 12).</p>
        <p>Switching gears to more overarching opportunities developers perceived, the biggest argument a
lot of the interviewees mentioned was that GenAI tools are very useful during early development
stages. Several developers mentioned they use GenAI tools to “get some quick ideas without having
to spend too much time” (Intw. 19). Using these tools in the concept phase, for instance, to visualize
your thoughts and present them to other members of the development team, is frequently mentioned:
“Conceptually, if you're really thinking about having a concept that you can give to an artist. This is
kind of a mood board. This is something we want to create. For that mood board, you can use
AIgenerated images” (Intw. 6). Next to using these tools for mood boards and conceptual art, students
game design also used GenAI to draw inspiration from, as one respondent mentioned:
“They use AI images to get inspiration for their projects. They had to create a murderer, for
example, (…) for a certain course. They listed a series of murderers [using GenAI]. (…) And then
used those images to draw a new design in their sketchbook.” (Intw. 16)</p>
        <p>Another example besides GenAI-generated images comes from a developer who uses
GenAIgenerated voice lines in game prototypes: “if you start using those AI voices yourself to quickly put
something together, so prototyping, (…) I also use those AI voices myself sometimes. And that's okay,
as long as it's not in the final result” (Intw. 8). The final part of this developer’s response is the main
reason why the interviewed developers view GenAI tools are more useful in early development
stages: many of them report on ethical concerns of just copy-pasting GenAI-generated content into
their games, or discuss concerns regarding copyright issues for their final gaming products (more on
this in the next section).</p>
        <p>Related to the notion that GenAI tools have a bigger role to play for programmers and executive
roles in game development, respondents that had a neutral or positive attitude toward GenAI tools
perceived such tools as more supportive, rather than creative, instruments. One respondent
described it as this: “[Generative] AI helps. (…) You have to use it to help your creations, not to create”
(Intw. 15). Interestingly, another developer mentioned that he predicts that the introduction of GenAI
tools will be “more important for production-oriented changes than for changes in games” (Intw. 14),
suggesting that GenAI will have a greater impact on how games are developed than on the games’
actual content.</p>
        <p>Finally, only one respondent mentioned the potential strength of GenAI tools for indie game
developers specifically: “[Generative] AI is still viewed very negatively at the moment, but I think it
could be a good thing for indie companies to shoot above their ballpark” (Intw. 11).</p>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-5-3">
        <title>5.3. Weaknesses of and Concerns Toward Generative AI for Game Development</title>
        <p>This third theme represents the weaknesses and concerns associated with the integration of GenAI
into game design. Five subthemes were found that discuss concerns about quality of
GenAIgenerated output, risks regarding employment, copyright and other ethical concerns, and
experiencing a lack of control with GenAI-generated content.</p>
        <p>The biggest weakness that developers encountered was the lack of quality of current GenAI
tools. These quality concerns exist for multiple roles within game studios—narrative designers, game
artists, and even game programmers. One respondent mentioned that, when trying to develop more
story-driven games with GenAI tools such as ChatGPT, “it’s relatively difficult to tame [generative]
AI. Because they want to go very broad and don’t always have the right intentions when generating
dialogue or storylines” (Intw. 17). GenAI tools are not just hard to ‘steer’ when trying to create
storylines or dialogues. They also provide text that is easy to identify as being GenAI-generated, due
to the perceived lack of storytelling quality:
“While I understand that a game dev, who is not much concerned with story and has a nice idea
for his gameplay, will ask ChatGPT: ‘What are nice environments or stories that I can tell?’ (…)
But I personally find those answers so trite. I have tried it a few times, when I am in a kind of
brainstorming kind of way… Give me ten funny wordplays (…) and they are all so bad. (…) It’s
really just a search for banalities. A search for mediocrity.” (Intw. 9)</p>
        <p>Another respondent mentioned that GenAI tools are “still a bit annoying to use, for example, for
image generation. It’s just faster if we do it ourselves” (Intw. 11). Surprisingly, while GenAI was
perceived as a positive innovation for coding and programming tasks, several respondents suggested
that such tools can also have a negative impact on this type of labor: “for coding, it can sometimes
help, but it can also sometimes be a very junior programmer and introduce sneaky bugs” (Intw. 17).
Another developer connected this specifically to creating emotional experiences and losing control
when trying to program such experiences using GenAI: “I rather stick to ‘human’ programming.
Yes, it can go faster [for] programming. But I think if you really want to evoke specific emotions, you
[can] lose some of that control” (Intw. 7).</p>
        <p>Aside from quality concerns, the second most frequently mentioned risk among the interviewed
developers was the potential threat of employment loss associated with the (mass) introduction of
GenAI in game development processes. One respondent had a clear argument regarding this
concern:
“It shouldn't be at the expense of jobs (…). I think it's a shame that studios, mainly the larger ones,
commit to [generative] AI models based on the work of their employees. So, suppose you are a
good programmer or a good artist. You work for a large company. (…) And at the same time, there
is an [generative] AI model behind the scenes that learns from that. And then a quarter of a year
later, the company says ‘Yes guys, you did a good job, but I'm going to have to fire you.’ Because,
in the meantime, we have created two [generative] AI models that can completely replace you.</p>
        <p>That is a trend, for example. I am very afraid of that.” (Intw. 8)</p>
        <p>Finally, several less frequently mentioned concerns relate to copyright and broader ethical
risks, as well as experiencing a lack of control over GenAI-generated output. One respondent
mentioned that GenAI-generated content cannot be included “into production, because then there are
copyright issues. So, we’re not going to use that in production” (Intw. 1). Another developer shared his
experience using GenAI tools to create mock-ups with AI-generated images. Although the client
liked these exact mock-ups, the developer had to say that these exact images couldn’t be used as they
were generated with GenAI, taking away employment from illustrators and graphic designers. He
emphasized that these are ethical or deontological considerations each developer must take into
account, given the lack of control over copyright and intellectual property. The final concern comes
from a developer who mentioned that “people who are starting to use [and interact with generative]
AI, they have them say and do certain things, giving them completely different meanings [from what
developers intended]. That they start to become very inappropriate” (Intw. 7), suggesting that the
introduction of GenAI tools, especially in character design, might lead to a lack of control from a
developer’s standpoint over how players interact with such GenAI-powered NPCs.</p>
      </sec>
    </sec>
    <sec id="sec-6">
      <title>6. Discussion</title>
      <p>
        The current paper’s objective was to provide a first, exploratory overview of how Belgian game
developers perceive and use generative AI in their daily game development. As prior research
focused only on student game developers [
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
        ] or on specific GenAI tools [
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
        ], this study included both
established and student game developers with a broad range of functions— from CEO’s to artists,
programmers, and narrative designers—with no restrictions toward specific types of GenAI tools.
      </p>
      <p>
        In terms of general attitude toward GenAI’s integration in game development, a variety of
opinions existed, going from positive to downright critical attitudes. Most respondents, both
established developers and newcomers alike, were rather skeptical toward GenAI’s usefulness,
voicing clear concerns about the technology’s impact on quality, employment, and intellectual
property. These findings are not surprising, as they confirm earlier results among student developers
[
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
        ]. This implies that game developers, even more experienced ones, remain critical toward GenAI.
However, some developers expressed cautious optimism about the technology’s future and its
potential benefits. According to them, it is still too early to draw any definitive conclusions about the
strengths and opportunities of GenAI.
      </p>
      <sec id="sec-6-1">
        <title>6.1. Perceived Strengths and Opportunities of GenAI for Game Development</title>
        <p>
          The identified strengths and opportunities of GenAI bare some similarities with prior work. For one,
developers showed a strong consensus toward the notion that GenAI tools are particularly useful for
technical tasks such as programming or coding over creative and artistic tasks [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
          ]. Helping out with
coding issues or speeding up programming was the number one strength for many developers.
        </p>
        <p>
          Another interesting finding was that most of the current use of GenAI tools occurs during early
stages of game development, like gaining inspiration from ChatGPT [22] to give original names to
buildings or areas within the game, creating GenAI-generated artwork for mood boards, or use
GenAI-generated voices in early game prototypes. Using GenAI tools to jumpstart the development
process is an application of these tools that is also mentioned in prior work [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref2">2</xref>
          ][
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
          ][
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5">5</xref>
          ][
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
          ], as they
provide inspiration and exploration possibilities [20]. As such, GenAI tools’ integration in the actual
development stages has not (yet) been a priority for game developers. While there is the strong
argument that the quality of these tools are not yet on par with existing non-GenAI game
development tools [8] (see also the developers’ concerns), another possible explanation could be that,
given the very recent emergence of GenAI in game development, most developers are not yet familiar
and/or trained sufficiently to work with these tools (see Implications). This speculative explanation
is strengthened by the finding that most opportunities the interviewed developers identified, for
instance regarding smart or dynamic audio and narrative systems that reacts to unexpected player
inputs [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1">1</xref>
          ][8], are still ideas for the future, not actual use cases in their current game development
processes.
        </p>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-6-2">
        <title>6.2. Perceived Weaknesses and Concerns of GenAI for Game Development</title>
        <p>
          Regarding the weaknesses and concerns developers have about GenAI tools, the subthemes that were
identified in this study were fairly similar compared to the concerns mentioned in previous work [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
          ]
[
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref4">4</xref>
          ][
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5">5</xref>
          ][
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
          ][19]— ethical concerns regarding copyright and intellectual property, career and
employment concerns, and practical concerns regarding, for example, the output quality of these
tools. Perhaps interestingly is that, compared to the other two main concerns, the interviewed
developers in this study were less occupied with ethical concerns regarding copyright issues. Only
three respondents briefly mentioned these concerns of being at risk of copyright infringements when
using AI-generated content.
        </p>
        <p>
          Furthermore, career-related concerns were exclusively focused on the loss of employment by
fellow developers and artists, similar to prior research [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref4">4</xref>
          ][
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
          ]. One respondent made a clear argument
that (creative) assets originating from human employees can be used to train GenAI models,
potentially making these artists obsolete in the future [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5">5</xref>
          ][19]. While this Belgian developer was
providing a hypothetical example, real-world cases—such as the recent layoffs at gaming studio King,
where level designers and copywriters reportedly lost their jobs after training AI tools meant to
support their workflows but now poised to replace them [35]—show a very concerning trend in the
gaming industry. However, none of the respondents discussed any career-related concerns beyond
employment loss, contrary to prior work indicated that GenAI tools can also transform in developers’
job descriptions and responsibilities [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
          ].
        </p>
        <p>
          Finally, the main concern or weakness discerned about GenAI tools was their outputs’ lack of
quality, mentioned by artists, writers, and even programmers. While prior research showed that
mostly artists find the lack of quality disturbing [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
          ], only some respondents mentioned this as a
weakness of current GenAI tools. Similarly, concerns about the quality for storytelling made in the
current study— GenAI-generated narratives that are trite and just mediocre— resonate with prior
work regarding the negative impact of GenAI on authenticity of storytelling [26]. Contrary to prior
work though, this study also found that some programmers have concerns regarding the quality of
GenAI tools for their coding work. This could be explained by the notion that these respondents used
more ‘general’ GenAI tools, such as ChatGPT [22], compared to more coding-specific tools, like
GitHub Copilot [15].
        </p>
        <p>There are two final findings of this study worth mentioning. First, the environmental impact of
using GenAI was not a concern at all for the interviewed developers: sustainability was only briefly
mentioned by one respondent. Second, concerns about developers’ lack of control over how players
interact with NPCs powered by LLMs—potentially leading to inappropriate situations—have not, to
my knowledge, been addressed in prior research. This last finding deserves additional investigation
in future research.</p>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-6-3">
        <title>6.3. Cross-National Comparison on GenAI for Game Development</title>
        <p>
          Prior research by Vimpari et al. [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
          ] and Sikorski et al. [19] offered insight into how game industry
students and professionals from Finland and Poland, respectively, perceive and adopt GenAI tools,
similar to our case study of the Belgian game industry.
        </p>
        <p>
          Common themes across these industries include a general concern regarding employment loss
due to the increasing integration of GenAI tools in game development workflows, which has also
been identified as a global concern [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref4">4</xref>
          ], and GenAI tools’ potential to support game developers,
especially in early development stages for exploration and inspiration purposes. Both the Polish and
Belgian game developers, for example, agreed that, at this stage of GenAI’s capabilities, these tools
are more beneficial for coding and pre-production tasks than for artistic work during production.
Furthermore, the Finnish and Belgian developers raised concerns about the quality and consistency
of GenAI output, not just for image generation [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
          ][
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
          ], but also for storytelling [26] and even coding
tasks—issues that have also been observed in software development outside the gaming industry
[18].
        </p>
        <p>
          Interestingly, while the Finnish and Polish game developers were generally more positive towards
GenAI tools—perceiving text-to-image-generating (TTIG) systems like DALL-E or Midjourney as
interesting and impressive [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
          ], or developers not occupied with creative or artistic tasks assessing
GenAI tools as useful [19]—Belgian developers overall adopted a more skeptical attitude toward
GenAI. Given the small-scale, exploratory nature of these studies, especially the current one (N = 20)
and the Finnish study (N = 14), this discrepancy may not be representative of the broader Belgian or
Finnish game industries (see also Limitations and Implications). A second difference was found in
how developers have ethical concerns: while half of the Finnish developers mentioned ethical
concerns related to copyright issues and intellectual property when using TTIG tools [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6">6</xref>
          ], the Polish
and Belgian developers did not state ethical concerns as being important. This difference may be
explained by the Finnish study’s exclusive focus on image generation tools, whereas the other two
studies examined GenAI tools more broadly.
        </p>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-6-4">
        <title>6.4. Limitations and Implications</title>
        <p>The current study has several limitations to take into account when interpreting the findings. First,
the choice to use a qualitative research design led to less generalizable findings. Despite respondents
providing detailed and personalized insights into their attitudes toward and experiences with GenAI
tools, the small sample size in this qualitative study is not necessarily representative of the Belgian
game industry. As such, this study does not allow for generalizable conclusions, especially not for
the global gaming industry, where varying contexts and levels of GenAI integration across regions
may lead to different outcomes. Therefore, I would recommend future research on this topic to focus
on conducting a large-scale survey of game developers, focusing on the Belgian industry or an a
more international developer population. Such an endeavor could also compliment the current
study’s bottom-up approach by building on existing theoretical frameworks, such as the Unified
Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT)[36]—a framework previously used to study
the adoption of AI tools in other contexts [37] and which includes factors like performance and effort
expectations, and social influences—to broaden explanatory factors regarding developers’
willingness to integrate GenAI in game development.</p>
        <p>A second limitation relates to the exploratory nature of this study. Being part of a larger project
on emotional or eudaimonic player experiences, examining the perceptions and usage of GenAI tools
in developers’ practices was not the main focus of the interviews. This could explain why developers,
for instance, did not mention the use of specific GenAI tools besides ChatGPT [22] as frequently as
in previous work on this topic: we simply did not ask them to reflect that deeply on this topic.
Similarly, the interview data lacked any clear findings about the use of GenAI for audio design or
game marketing. While this may reflect a genuine absence of the use of such tools for these purposes,
it could also be a result of the study’s exploratory setup. Building on this and previous research,
future studies should therefore start with a clear focus on finding the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats or risks accompanying GenAI integration in game development, for
example, through a practice-based perspective like a SWOT analysis.</p>
        <p>Additionally, future research should examine how GenAI tools, which increasingly offer
automation benefits, affect not only the creation of artistic games— understood as games with
experimental or unconventional narratives, mechanics, and aesthetics [38] that offer meaningful
societal critique and novel storytelling [39]— but also how GenAI-powered game design affects
players’ experiences, such as eudaimonia [32]. This research would address the existing tension
between GenAI's capacity for development automation and the potential risk of diminishing the
originality of and creative expression in artistic games. In doing so, such an approach can provide
valuable insights for game developers, emphasizing a critical and careful approach to leverage its
potential for economic competitiveness while safeguarding creative and artistic expression.</p>
        <p>
          An important implication of the current study is that some identified weaknesses and concerns
could be decreased when game developers are properly trained to work with GenAI tools in the
context of designing games [19]. While the introduction of GenAI for game development has been
met with initial fears of employment reduction [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref4">4</xref>
          ], these tools still need human input. It is therefore
very important to educate game design students and additionally train established game developers
to provide them with the necessary skills in order to stay competitive [16]. This could include
developing prompt engineering skills to use in automatizing several game development stages, such
as the conceptual phase (artwork, scenario’s, scripts), initial game engine coding, but also using
GenAI to aid in the marketing and business side of game development. This training would create a
better understanding of GenAI tools’ inner workings and their potential opportunities, but would
also improve developers’ awareness and criticism of their downsides—building toward more AI
literacy skills. “Knowing when, where and how to use AI, (…) prioritizing which tasks can be
offloaded to an AI to reduce cognitive debt is just as important as understanding which tasks require
genuine creativity and critical thinking.” (para. 26) [40] are additional AI literacy-related skills
relevant for game developers to acquire.
        </p>
      </sec>
    </sec>
    <sec id="sec-7">
      <title>7. Conclusion</title>
      <p>This exploratory qualitative study provides early insights into how generative AI affects game
development in the Belgian gaming industry, revealing how developers perceive GenAI’s advantages
and pitfalls, and how they currently use it in their development practices. Regarding general attitude,
some developers expressed cautious optimism about GenAI’s potential, while most remained
skeptical of its current practical value. GenAI’s strengths were seen in coding and other technical
tasks rather than in creative work. Its opportunities lie mostly in early development stages—for
instance, for generating names of in-game objects or creating images for concept art and mood
boards. Quality concerns surfaced most often: Belgian developers criticized GenAI for mediocre
storytelling, inefficient image generation, and buggy coding outputs. Worries about job displacement
were also persistent, whereas ethical issues like copyright and IP infringement were mentioned less
frequently.</p>
      <p>These findings are relevant for several actors, including game developers, educators,
policymakers, and researchers. They can inform discussions within the game developer community,
advise policymakers in providing much needed legislation surrounding the boundaries of GenAI
(and, for instance, clarifying copyright issues [19]), and may boost future research that contributes
to a better understanding of how GenAI can be integrated in a supportive rather than harmful way
in game development.</p>
    </sec>
    <sec id="sec-8">
      <title>Acknowledgments</title>
      <p>This interview study was part of a larger student research project of 3rd Bachelor students in
Communication Sciences at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. As this was a student project and
thus, part of a teaching assignment, no external funding supported this work. The author would like
to acknowledge and thank students Laura Fransen, Wout Haagdorens, Yannis Ghyselen, and Tenzin
Willaert for their help in setting up the research design, developing the semi-structured interview
questionnaire, contacting the respondents, and for conducting and transcribing the interviews.</p>
    </sec>
    <sec id="sec-9">
      <title>Declaration on Generative AI</title>
      <p>During the preparation of this paper, the author used GPT-3.5 and Gemini 2.5 Flash for
grammar and spelling check, never to generate new sentences, arguments, or academic
sources. After using these tools, the author critically reviewed and edited the generated
content as needed, taking full responsibility for the paper’s final content.
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    </sec>
    <sec id="sec-10">
      <title>Appendix A</title>
      <p>Table 1
Overview of Sample Characteristics
Interview Gender</p>
      <sec id="sec-10-1">
        <title>Intw. 1 Intw. 2 Intw. 3 Intw. 4</title>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-10-2">
        <title>Intw. 5</title>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-10-3">
        <title>Intw. 6</title>
        <p>Intw. 7
Intw. 8</p>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-10-4">
        <title>Male Male Male Non-binary</title>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-10-5">
        <title>Male</title>
        <p>45
37
29
32
49</p>
      </sec>
    </sec>
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