SPI Publishes Seventh CoSTAR Creative Technologies International Scan
Olsberg•SPI (SPI) has published the seventh in a series of Creative Technologies International Scans, looking at the adoption of technologies in gaming, television, film, performance and digital entertainment across the globe.
The report provides a comprehensive overview of some of the most significant investments and developments from markets outside of the UK between April and June 2026 (Q2). Topics cover policy and regulation, workforce and skills, facilities and infrastructure, sustainability as well as technological advancements and adoption.
Key Findings:
AI Continues to be Deployed Across Creative Industries Workflows
Renowned filmmakers and major studios are deepening their adoption and public endorsement of generative artificial intelligence (AI), moving the technology beyond experimentation into routine production workflows. First tracked in Scan #1 (2024) and recurring in every edition since, the deployment of generative AI in production has continued to mature, from the early, efficiency-driven experiments of 2024, through the structural embedding seen in Scan #2 (Q1 2025), to the deployable production workflows described in Scan #6 (Q1 2026). A widening group of established directors and studios are increasingly building or acquiring in-house generative capability rather than relying solely on external vendors.
Fully AI-generated films and AI recreations are reaching festivals, markets and audiences, testing established norms of authorship and consent. This trend first emerged in Scan #3 (Q2 2025); in the period since, such work has moved out of online showcases and into established industry events at growing scale, including the recreation of deceased or absent performers under estate consent and emerging guidelines.
Virtual production (VP) and AI tooling are becoming more embedded in infrastructure, from production through to exhibition. VP has moved from showcase stages towards the mainstream capability described in Scan #5 (Q4 2025); it has become further integrated into the production process, and AI adoption is now beginning to extend through to exhibition activities, a newer development for the sector. At the same time, VP and visual effects (VFX) capability is increasingly concentrating among specialist providers and industry platforms.
AI Governance, Disclosure, Authorship and Performer Rights
Disclosure and provenance frameworks for AI are becoming increasingly formalised. In the early editions of the CTIS, the focus was on voluntary principles and the first statutory disclosure requirements. By Scan #4 (Q3 2025), labelling and dataset disclosure were becoming legal requirements through measures such as the EU AI Act. In Scan #5 transparency became a standard compliance expectation, supported by metadata embedding and machine-readable opt-outs. This edition marks a further development: alongside regulation, industry-led governance is becoming more important, with union agreements, voluntary provenance standards and award eligibility criteria establishing shared expectations for transparency. As a result, AI policy is increasingly focused not only on disclosure, but also on who controls AI systems and captures the value they create.
Performer image, voice and likeness rights are being asserted more forcefully as AI actor systems proliferate. Performer-rights protection has been a consistent concern throughout multiple previous scans. These interventions have since intensified: representative bodies are intervening against the unauthorised use of performers’ images and voices, while platforms and legislatures respond with AI actor databases, detection tools and statutory consent requirements.
Fiscal Incentives Sharpen Focus on VFX, Post-Production and Interactive Content
Further jurisdictions are introducing dedicated VFX and post-production credits to capture high-value technical work. This is among the most explicit continuations in the series; as explored in previous scans, further jurisdictions are now using stand-alone incentives and VFX uplifts to separate this mobile, high-value activity from general production credits, often with regional or rural uplifts that spread economic benefit beyond established hubs.
Further production incentives are expanding to cover video games, esports and interactive content. Extending a thread visible in earlier scans, incentive programmes are being adapted to support interactive formats through lower spend thresholds, transferable credits and broader research & development (R&D) relief, signalling intent to build durable domestic capacity while also attracting large productions
Governments are Increasing Strategic Focus on the Growth of Video Games, Animation & Immersive Content
Governments are backing video games and esports strategically as engines of cultural and economic growth. The strategic positioning of video games and esports has recurred across earlier scans, with increased governmental support for video games, XR and immersive content highlighted in Scan #6. That ambition has deepened: national Creative Industries strategies are increasingly combining explicit targets, dedicated funding, flagship events and regulatory frameworks to support economic development and cultural diplomacy, reflecting an ambition to build entire creative ecosystems rather than support individual sectors.
Animation is gaining institutional recognition and dedicated public investment. Animation received only limited attention in earlier editions, with dedicated public investment first appearing explicitly in Scan #3 through South Korea’s multi-year national animation industry plan and fund, and again in Scan #4 as animation was folded into the expansion of incentives across the screen sector value chain. Over the period since, this has broadened into a more sustained pattern, with governments and regions funding permanent animation institutions, summits and studios, directing investment at both established players and emerging talent to build self-sustaining hubs.
Immersive, XR and interactive content are attracting structured public investment and research. Structured public support for immersive and XR work has been visible since Scan #1, with the cultural-inclusion dimension also seen in Scan #5. Public funders are now opening dedicated calls and commissioning prospective studies that treat immersive formats as a distinct category, often linked to cultural inclusion objectives as well as industrial growth.
Platform Regulation, Cultural Sovereignty and New Infrastructure
Governments continue to rely on content quotas and streaming investment mandates to encourage domestic screen sector growth. Cultural sovereignty was framed as a strategic issue in Scan #2, while content regulation, including streaming investment obligations, was revisted in Scan #6. This quarter’s developments extend those trends directly. Investment obligations, quota reviews and state licensing are being used to channel platform spending into national production and to determine market access on cultural sovereignty grounds.
New production, distribution and immersive infrastructure is being built through publicprivate investment and cross-border alliances. Flagship venue and hub investment runs throughout earlier scans, with the cross-border, ecosystem-building dimension highlighted in Scan #5. Flagship immersive venues, digital-network reforms (a newer addition to the picture) and co-production agreements are extending creative-technology infrastructure into new markets, increasingly through international partnerships as well as domestic build-out.
The Digital Content Sector Continues to Expand and Formalise
Dedicated training pipelines and production infrastructure are being built around creators and short-form formats. This continues directly from Scan #5 and Scan #6, which tracked short-form content’s shift from a trend into a formalising industry with dedicated training and infrastructure. That formalisation has widened: academies, courses and adapted facilities such as pre-lit vertical-video stages are professionalising digital-native content, often by repurposing existing industry assets and partnerships rather than building from scratch.
Established media institutions are investing in the creator economy at scale. This is the newest development in this edition. While it builds on the short-form and creator momentum tracked since Scan #5, the flow of institutional capital into the creator economy itself is largely new to this quarter rather than a continuation of an established trend: talent agencies, private equity and legacy media are deploying significant capital to acquire and grow creator businesses, as creator-led films post major box-office results and brands form revenue sharing partnerships.
Sustainability Remains Active Across Parts of the Creative Industries
Industry-led initiatives continue to support awareness, accountability and the adoption of more sustainable practices across the Creative Industries. The sector, particularly in North America, continues to embed sustainability into content and production through events, guides and incentives, with growing attention to the environmental impact of AI tools.
Read previous editions of the Creative Technologies International Scanhere.
Contact: SPI Research Analyst, Peter Cobb, peter@o-spi.com
The Creative Technologies International Scan was prepared by SPI for the CoSTAR Foresight Lab, of which SPI is a delivery partner. The Foresight Lab is researching the adoption, use and impact of new, emergent and convergent technologies in gaming, television, film, performance and digital entertainment.
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About CoSTAR
CoSTAR is a £75.6 million R&D network of laboratories that are developing new technology to maintain the UK’s world-leading position in the Creative Industries. Delivered by the UK Government’s UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council, the programme is supporting new innovations and experiences that will enrich the UK’s creative industries, economy, and culture. The network comprises the National Lab, the Realtime Lab, the Live Lab, the Screen Lab and the Foresight Lab. CoSTAR is funded through UK Research and Innovation’s Infrastructure Fund, which supports the facilities, equipment and resources that are essential for researchers, businesses, and innovators to do groundbreaking work.