NetDragon says AI systems it calls “AI employees” accounted for approximately 35–40% of workload contribution during the first half of 2026. The gaming company says those systems are now deployed across 269 roles and can scale in real time based on task volume.
The figure was disclosed alongside NetDragon’s 2026 interim financial results. Where the company also reported lower operating and R&D expenses across its gaming and application services business. NetDragon specifically connects wider use of its AI Employee Matrix with improved efficiency, although it doesn’t say AI alone caused those cost reductions.
It’s an unusually high workload figure for a major gaming company to put publicly against its AI deployment. But NetDragon is talking about workload contribution, not the percentage of its workforce that has been replaced by AI.
NetDragon Expands Its AI Employee Matrix Across Gaming
NetDragon says its AI Employee Matrix is now being used across research and development, operations and maintenance.
The company describes the technology as a system of AI employees that can be assigned across different roles and scaled depending on how much work needs to be completed. During the first half of 2026, NetDragon says those systems were deployed across 269 roles.
NetDragon is also using AI to increase the amount of game content it can produce. Its AI Content Factory is expected to support several additional language editions of Eudemons and Heroes Evolved by the end of 2026. Along with new versions of Eudemons and Conquer.
That gives the 35–40% workload figure more context than a standalone productivity statistic. NetDragon is already using the systems across everyday game development and operations, and it plans to expand their role in producing and localizing game content.
Gaming Costs Fall as Revenue Improves From the Previous Half
NetDragon’s gaming and application services revenue reached RMB1.6 billion during the first half of 2026. That was down 8.8% YoY but up 3.1% HoH.
Gaming revenue specifically increased 2.3% HoH.
At the same time, segmental operating expenses fell 14.4% YoY and 10.5% HoH. R&D expenses were down 23.4% YoY and 13.0% HoH.
NetDragon says the broader deployment of its AI Employee Matrix helped reduce operating expenses across the gaming business. The company also points to its wider AI+ strategy and other efficiency measures. So it would be inaccurate to attribute the full expense decline to AI alone.
Core segmental profit reached RMB461 million, an increase of 10.3% HoH. Compared with the first half of 2025, it remained down 12.0%.
The 35–40% Figure Isn’t a Workforce Number
The wording NetDragon uses around its AI employees is important because the headline number is easy to misread. NetDragon says AI employee workload contribution reached 35–40%. It doesn’t say AI represents 35–40% of its employees or that the systems eliminated an equivalent amount of human work.
The same applies to the 269 roles. NetDragon says AI employees have been deployed across those roles. It doesn’t say 269 people were replaced, laid off or removed from those positions. There also isn’t enough information in the interim results to convert workload contribution into human work hours. NetDragon hasn’t published a formula showing how it calculates the 35–40% figure.
What is clear is that AI has moved beyond experimentation inside NetDragon’s gaming business. The company is using its AI Employee Matrix across hundreds of roles, tying it to lower costs and expanding the technology into game development, localization and operations.
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