As gaming and animation increasingly share tools, talent, and creative vision, a new space is emerging where innovation thrives. At a panel titled “The New Production Pipeline: How Game Engines Are Reshaping Animation” held at Rome’s MIA on 9 October, industry experts discussed how real-time production, interactive storytelling, and cross-platform IP strategies are reshaping the animation business.

Moderated by producer Cristian Jezdic, the session brought together Zoltán Bathó, a researcher and educator in virtual production and real-time workflows; Davide Tromba, CEO of Animoka; and Serena Tripepi, director at Maga Animation Studio. Jezdic framed the discussion by highlighting the industry’s current challenges: rising production costs, audience fragmentation, and the disruptive arrival of AI. The panel’s focus, however, was on the first of these transformations—the real-time revolution enabled by game engines.

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Bathó described the “new production pipeline” not as a simple upgrade to rendering speed, but as a potential paradigm shift in how studios create and monetise content. He warned that using real-time engines solely as new render tools could create frustration with minimal benefits. For those willing to embrace the full potential of these systems, however, the reward is a collaborative, circular workflow where creative teams work together from pre-visualisation to final delivery. Assets, he noted, can be reused in ways previously impossible, and physics-driven realism is increasingly achievable in real-time environments.

Drawing on his experience, Bathó explained that he has been experimenting with real-time tools for over a decade, initially in virtual reality. Today, he claimed, studios can reproduce up to 95% of pre-rendered visual quality within engines such as Unreal.

For producers like Tromba, the motivation to adopt this pipeline was partly business-driven. Animoka had long produced pre-rendered series with limited lighting options, and Tromba saw an opportunity to create more immersive, three-dimensional worlds. By building a full city within a single island environment, the studio could develop procedural geometry that would serve not only linear animation but also interactive projects. The goal, he said, was to develop assets that could feed seamlessly into game engines, paving the way for future cross-platform initiatives.

Transitioning the studio was far from straightforward. Tromba admitted that the team initially struggled to acquire the “muscle memory” for new software. Some elements of the pipeline remained in traditional tools such as Maya, while Python scripts handled other processes. The dual system persisted for about two years before the real-time workflow became fully efficient.

Tripepi approached real-time production from a creative perspective. For her studio, the adoption was driven less by necessity than curiosity, building on nearly a decade of collaboration with video game companies. She emphasised that real-time tools allow directors and artists to visualise concepts instantly, make adjustments on the fly, and integrate pre-production with production in a fluid, iterative process. The immediacy of this workflow, she argued, empowers creativity and fosters a collaborative environment where team members can contribute beyond narrowly defined roles.

The discussion turned to the practical benefits of the new pipeline. Tromba observed that while Unreal initially lacked certain features for cartoon animation, the real advantage lay in daily visibility of results and the flexibility to adjust lighting, camera angles, and compositing in real time. Tripepi added that the workflow enabled her team to develop a virtual pop star for a music video project, Nora, integrating animation, fashion, and merchandising within a single coherent universe—a feat that would have been far more cumbersome in a traditional pipeline.

On the role of AI, panellists agreed it is an important but nuanced tool. Tromba underscored that generative AI raises IP and cost considerations, and his studio prioritises artistic control, using AI primarily to accelerate internal processes such as workflow automation and asset management. Bathó echoed this, suggesting AI is best deployed for mundane tasks like UV mapping, topology, or automated quality checking, rather than replacing human creativity. Both stressed that the human element must remain central, particularly in creative decision-making and ethical oversight.

The panel also explored technical enablers of real-time production, including the Universal Scene Description (USD) framework, which allows assets to be exchanged across platforms, and emerging AI-assisted engines that can predict occluded geometry, upscaling, and ray-tracing effects. Tromba described experiments in converting sketches into fully animatable 3D assets and rendering complex scenes with minimal camera setups, while Bathó highlighted the growing availability of marketplace assets and plugins that reduce the need for custom development.

Both Bathó and Tripepi advised studios to begin experimentation early. Bathó recommended that teams with downtime use it to explore short projects in Unreal or other engines, emphasising that such exercises often yield unexpected creative results. Tripepi stressed the importance of mastering AI responsibly, using it to support rather than dictate creative choices. The panel repeatedly returned to a central message: innovation in animation depends on embracing both technological tools and human ingenuity.

Jezdic concluded by asking each panellist for a practical takeaway. Bathó suggested treating AI as a tireless junior assistant and leveraging it for tasks that do not require creativity. Tripepi urged studios to keep humans at the centre of the creative process, noting that a tightly knit, multi-talented team can achieve more in real-time workflows than a larger, traditionally structured crew. Tromba remarked the value of maintaining control over proprietary creative data and designing projects from the outset for multi-platform scalability.