Dwarf Fortress creator says the industry's in shambles over AI and layoff-happy CEOs: 'Everyone I know, their bosses are slowly getting psychosis'

Dwarf Fortress creator says the industry's in shambles over AI and layoff-happy CEOs: 'Everyone I know, their bosses are slowly getting psychosis' "They're trying to have a CEO press a button that makes a game." The game industry is—to use the lightest possible language—in an interesting spot. While videogames are as profitable as ever on paper, we've had a few consecutive years of brutal layoffs and studio closures, as well as all of the knock-on impacts that the advent of generative AI (and the subsequent and boneheaded insistence that it's the future) has had. Which, once more, has exhausted Dwarf Fortress' creator Tarn Adams, who spoke to PC Gamer's Joshua Wolens during Gamescom 2026: "They're trying to have a CEO press a button that makes a game, and then everyone else somehow buys it without a job. It's dwarf behavior, and they misbehave sometimes." 2026 games: All the upcoming games Best PC games: Our all-time favorites Free PC games: Freebie fest Best FPS games: Finest gunplay Best RPGs: Grand adventures Best co-op games: Better together Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia.