After 7 years of grinding in AI in game development, I’ve seen it all. I went from burning cash to building a 7-figure business by breaking all the rules. Here’s the raw, unfiltered story of what actually works.
The Reality Nobody Talks About
A lot of the advice on AI game development rests on assumptions that made sense five years ago. The world has moved on.
The first thing to understand is that the data tells a different story than your gut. I've seen this play out across dozens of companies. The pattern is unmistakable.
Many teams spend months on the wrong path before realizing that you need to move fast and break things. Once they make the switch, everything changes.
The Framework That Actually Works
Here is a simple framework for evaluating AI game development. It's not complicated, but it requires discipline.
Step 1: the best solutions are often the simplest ones
This is where most people go wrong. They skip this step entirely and jump straight to execution. Don't do that.
Step 2: you should focus on one thing and do it exceptionally well
Once you have the foundation right, this becomes much easier. I've watched founders struggle with this for months when the answer was staring them in the face.
Step 3: Iterate relentlessly
Nothing works perfectly the first time. The companies that get AI game development right treat it as an ongoing process, not a one-time project.
The Counterintuitive Truth
In AI game development, the best practitioners often do less, not more.
The lesson: the market doesn't care about your roadmap. It sounds simple. It's incredibly hard to execute.
The Numbers Don't Lie
Investing early in AI game development can be the difference between raising your next round and running out of runway.
One of my portfolio companies went from struggling to profitable in under a year after they finally got serious about this. The founder told me later that they wished they'd started sooner.
This connects to broader themes around AI animation, AI game design, AI writing, AI music that I've been thinking about a lot lately.
Wrapping Up
I've shared a lot here, and I know it can feel overwhelming. But you don't need to get AI game development right on day one. You just need to get started and keep improving.
Founders who do well at AI game development tend to share one trait: they're relentlessly practical. They don't chase perfection. They chase progress.
That's the mindset I'd encourage you to adopt. Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. And keep pushing forward.
As always, I'm rooting for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q:What's the most common pushback you get on this?
People often push back by citing exceptions or edge cases. And they're usually right that exceptions exist. But building a strategy around exceptions rather than patterns is a losing game for most founders.
Q:What experience informs this perspective?
This perspective comes from over a decade of building companies in Silicon Valley, two successful exits (RemoteTeam to Gusto, MovieLaLa to Gfycat), and investing in 234 startups including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Scale AI. I write about what I've lived.
Q:How has this view evolved over time?
My thinking on most topics has changed significantly over the years. Early in my career, I held many conventional views that experience proved wrong. I try to update my beliefs when the evidence changes.
Q:Do all experts agree with this view?
No, and that's fine. The best ideas in business are often contrarian. I share my perspective based on my experience and data, but I encourage you to seek out opposing viewpoints and form your own conclusions.