Google announced an experiment called Project Genie, which should use AI technology to create virtual worlds similar to those from video games.
Video game production is not cheap, and many wealthy investors would like to see a future where they don’t have to pay people to develop a game for years. However, it would be safer if the AI could spit out a game that could be invented by anyone in a minute or two.
Well, something like that was announced these days… roughly.
Google has launched a prototype of what it calls an experimental AI tool Project Genius. This tool allows users to create virtual worlds through generative AI. You just describe the kind of world you want, and the AI creates it according to that description. Or even more interesting – you put a picture and he makes a 3D environment from it that you move around; or turn your picture into a model of the main character…
And then when you have “your AI game”, you can play it share with others and they can modify it at will.
It sounds interesting at first, but of course there are limitations. Project Genie for now it is not able to create fully interactive worlds. This means that it is still not possible to create challenging games that use elaborate gameplay mechanics. In translation – these “games” lack everything that makes real video games fun. All we really get with this are virtual landscapes where we can move, jump, fly, sail, drive… without any goal.
And with that, every AI is a generated world limited to 60 seconds, and for access and creation in Google Project Genie, for now, you need to pay $250 per month.
I’m gonna Save Private Ryan! Thank you @GoogleDeepMind !!!! #Genius3 pic.twitter.com/k8osXTo7a6
— TBD (@CatabolicState) January 29, 2026
Anyone who has ever played a game (not counting the creations in Roblox and Fortnite) will know that this is inferior in every way to what classic video games provide. However, you also know that the video game market is not overseen by the people who play video games, so the announcement of Project Genie sent a panicked effect on the value of shares of video game companies.
First Person Harry Potter @GoogleDeepMind #Genius3 pic.twitter.com/Xi9SJEfCl1
— GenMagnetic (@GenMagnetic) January 30, 2026
Everything was in free fall yesterday, and even the largest companies such as Take-Two Interactive, CD Projekt, Roblox and others were not spared. The value of the shares of Take-Two Interactive, which will launch the most anticipated game of all time this year, literally fell by -25% overnight.
Somewhat ironically, some of the first creations on Project Genie were attempts to create existing games in an AI-generated environment, or at least with characters from existing games. It already shows creative bankruptcy at the start and creates the problem of unauthorized use of other people’s content.
OMG! .
This video game seems to have been designed in a few minutes with Google AI #Genius3
It resembles a base of GTA behind, but I don’t know how it was built.
Is it just a filter or is it really a redesign?
It puts an end to all game studios. pic.twitter.com/GtdUouBjQO
— Cyril Dieumegard 🇨🇭 (@CdieumegardX) January 31, 2026
It is also ironic that the stock market was alarmed by the company Google, which only a few years ago experienced a spectacular failure in gaming with its streaming platform Stadia.
Regardless of the irony and current limitations of this experiment, this is a pretty clear indication of how significant an impact AI technology will have on the world of video games. It’s just not yet clear what exactly that impact will be. On the one hand, this can prove to be a useful tool for exploring new ideas and their application in gaming. But on the other hand, this can also end so that video games in the future become the fruits of AI machinery that keeps us in the grip of doomscrooling and where the gameplay is reduced to a superficial experience of something that has no human component or link to human existence.