As generative artificial intelligence (AI) advances, restructuring is intensifying and hiring is becoming more competitive. However, for AI talent, the situation is markedly different. With more gaming companies integrating AI into their operations, there is a growing demand for new talent capable of applying AI to solve real-world problems.
According to the gaming industry on October 16, Krafton has recently initiated a large-scale recruitment drive, seeking over 100 new hires. This marks the largest public recruitment in Krafton's history, conducted through a hiring-linked internship program. The company aims to secure and nurture 'AI Native' talent across all departments, focusing on individuals who can leverage AI to address challenges.
The recruitment spans six job categories, not limited to AI research, including tech, support, business, and game development. The emphasis on AI Native hiring is not restricted to specialists in AI technology; rather, it evaluates candidates based on their ability to utilize AI in their respective roles to solve problems.
This large-scale recruitment comes about a year after Krafton declared its transition to an 'AI First' company in October 2025. The AI First strategy prioritizes the use of AI as a primary tool for problem-solving across all operations. Following this shift, Krafton temporarily implemented a voluntary resignation program for employees seeking new career paths, aligning organizational and personnel management with its AI-focused business direction.
Krafton is also expanding its AI-related organizations and projects. The company is considering deploying new hires based on the needs of its studios and departments. An AI transformation organization is in place to support company-wide AI utilization, and Krafton is exploring new business opportunities and commercialization strategies leveraging AI technologies developed during the game creation process.
A Krafton representative stated, "In the process of setting our business direction around AI, we determined that we actually need more personnel, leading us to regularize new hiring."
Nexon is also incorporating AI capabilities into its developer recruitment. Through its six-year-old internship program, 'NexTorial,' the company is selecting a double-digit number of interns this year. Notably, this year’s recruitment focuses on game programmers, actively assessing their ability to utilize AI in real work scenarios during the evaluation process.
Pearl Abyss, on the other hand, prioritizes job-specific expertise over AI utilization skills in its hiring process. The company does not set AI capability as a core evaluation criterion, instead focusing on the development skills and expertise required for each position.
The changes in workforce composition and hiring methods due to AI advancements are also evident among smaller gaming companies. Some are reducing new hires while operating with existing staff familiar with AI, while others are increasingly utilizing new talent capable of quickly adapting to new work methods.
The shift in game development processes and the evolving roles of developers due to AI advancements are also being observed in the global gaming industry. Recently, Epic Games postponed the development of a new project in collaboration with Disney. This delay is interpreted as a restructuring of the production system to heavily incorporate generative AI, leading to adjustments in the release schedule.
According to Bloomberg, the project is set to be developed around Anthropic's generative AI, Claude. In this process, the development team will adjust roles to manage and oversee tasks performed by AI.
Kim Hyun-kyu, vice president of the Korea Mobile Game Association, noted, "While situations vary by company, many small developers are operating with existing staff familiar with AI and reducing new hires. Some are downsizing to alleviate fixed costs like labor, while others are increasing the hiring of new talent familiar with AI due to their ability to quickly adapt to new work methods."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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