Why Most Game Engines Die, and How AI Builds "Living Worlds"

Andrew Bowell, CEO of Iconic, who spent 15 years at Havok and a decade at Unity, discusses the future of game development, AI integration, and the challenges of building new game engines. He shares insights on technological shifts, AI's role in creating immersive worlds, and why his company is building an engine to “craft intelligent, living worlds”.

https://iconicgames.io/

02:10— The shift toward dynamic, emergent, personalized gameplay

04:39— Why Iconic won’t end up in the “engine graveyard”

10:13— “Intelligent living worlds” explained

16:12— Dogfooding and building the engine through its own game

19:35— Deterministic vs open-ended gameplay

23:11— What Unity got right about AI

26:52— The real paradigm shift in gaming

37:59— Player-first, not technology-first

46:26— Where AI adoption in games stops today

51:56— Remote vs hybrid culture at Iconic