Why China is embracing AI and "very few" studios refuse to adopt it

AI adoption is not much of a debate in China - it’s already in use across much of the games industry.

Speaking at Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai in association with MyGamez, Amazon Web Services director of games industry solutions architecture Huang Zhuobin discussed how AI is powering the global games sector.

Citing Omdia research, he said 73% of people surveyed said they believe in using AI to maintain their competitiveness.

How studios are using AI

Through his work with AWS, Zhuobin said he engages with “very few who refuse to adopt AI”.

The tech giant has worked with companies including Rovio on how they can adopt AI into their production. Rovio previously spoke at Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco about how the Angry Birds developer has adapted generative AI for marketing, with strict rules on the output for its IP.

Other examples of AI use included ZenJoy, which harnessed the tech to support balancing in match-3. Meanwhile, Zhuobin highlighted Roblox’s work with AWS to build up its own AI platform to enable players to build virtual worlds using natural language, rather than coding.

Willingness to experiment

In the next talk, discussing how Chinese studios are being funded in 2026, Transcend Fund principal Lirui Ding also touched on AI. He said one challenge studios face from the tech right now is how some funding that could have been available to the games industry has now been directed to AI. 

Ding also later said that one of the advantages Chinese studios have is a willingness to explore and adopt new tech.

In China, AI is seen as a way to improve efficiency and potentially create new ways to play in a highly competitive market. In other parts of the world, said Ding, people might see such tools as a threat to their jobs and may boycott it.

“We don’t see that,” he said.