Under pressure, Big Walk studio reveals it used generative AI "sparingly" while making its hit 2026 game

House House, the studio behind the 2026 game Big Walk, has disclosed that it used generative AI for what it describes as under 0.1% of the game's code. The disclosure comes in the wake of a controversy connected to voting at the Independent Games Festival, where the studio's practices became the focus of industry discussion. The figure is the central detail in Game Informer's coverage, which frames the disclosure as a response to pressure surrounding the studio's development process. Kotaku, meanwhile, has turned its attention to the fallout itself, with a Big Talk breaking down how Big Walk's AI controversy unfolded.

The two outlets are approaching the story from related but distinct angles. Game Informer reports the specific claim about the share of code written with generative AI assistance and ties that disclosure directly to the IGF voting controversy. Kotaku's Big Talk examines the wider fallout, indicating sustained discussion beyond the technical breakdown of the studio's own statement.

The disclosure matters because it arrives after House House had already become associated with a contested IGF vote. The IGF, or Independent Games Festival, is the awards event referenced in the coverage, and the voting controversy placed the studio in the unusual position of defending how it made a game while also drawing attention to how the game was considered by the people voting on it.

What to watch next is whether House House provides any further detail about how generative AI was used across the development of Big Walk, beyond the under 0.1% code figure it has already put forward. The IGF voting controversy is also likely to remain part of the story, given that both Game Informer and Kotaku have connected their coverage to it. Kotaku's Big Talk suggests the fallout is still being processed publicly, and further coverage may focus on the voting dispute itself, on the studio's development practices, or on how the disclosure changes perceptions of Big Walk. Coverage does not yet specify what generative AI was used for, who raised the original objections, or what the IGF vote concerned in detail.