Metal Gear and Silent Hill series developer Konami Group recently published its Integrated Report for the fiscal year ending March 2026. The report goes over several different topics, from Konami’s corporate values and history to a consolidated financial summary and the business strategies for the various fields of entertainment the company is active in.
As spotted by Dengeki Online, in the Digital Entertainment Business section of the report, Hideki Hayakawa, the president of Konami Digital Entertainment, addressed the rapidly evolving generative AI technology and discussed its potential impact on the industry.
While the general consensus is that generative AI will significantly lower the entry barrier to game development, making it easier for anyone to make their own games, Hayakawa believes that this will not bring a significant change to the market environment. One reason for this is that “entry barriers have already been lowered by the advancements of generic game engines and the spread of UGC (user generated content),” he explains.
“Even if AI use does lead to improvements in production efficiency, I believe that the most important factors in producing entertaining and innovative video games are people and creators,” Hayakawa says.
Games are very often developed in teams, where creators of various backgrounds get to exchange their ideas – and Hayakawa explains that the blending of those ideas is precisely what opens up the doors for creating new kinds of gameplay. “That kind of chemical reaction is not something that can be easily replaced.”
On the other hand, Hayakawa also says that he views technological advancements, which have long influenced how games are developed, as a significant opportunity for creating new kinds of experiences. “Even when it comes to epoch-making technological innovations, Konami provides systematic support so that creators can get a grasp of new technologies, properly assess the risks they may bring, and safely apply them to game development.”
