In Concept art & 2D assets, ChatGPT ranks #7 and Runway ranks #8. No independent quality tests found. Ranked on game-dev fit: commercial use allowed; no engine integration stated; API.
Commercial use: both commercial use allowed (ChatGPT terms; Runway terms).
Free plan: ChatGPT: free plan (Free plan with limited image creation and limited Codex access) pricing. Runway: free trial or credits only (125 one-time credits) pricing.
Shipping free-plan output in a paid game: both allow it, per their published terms.
API and MCP: ChatGPT: public API, MCP not stated by vendor. Runway: public API, official MCP server.
Engine integrations stated by the vendor: both: none stated (standard file export).
OpenAI's general-purpose assistant: chat, image creation and Codex coding help on the web, desktop and mobile; usable for concept images, placeholder art and gameplay code.
AI video, image and audio generation (Runway Gen-4.5 plus third-party models), usable for trailer shots, teasers and marketing material.
Verdict
For concept images and coding help on one subscription; OpenAI's terms assign Output to you on every plan, including Free, but similar output can go to other users.
For generating trailer and teaser shots; the terms don't restrict commercial use of outputs, but Runway may train on your inputs and outputs.
Tasks●
Concept art & 2D assets, Coding assistants
Trailers & marketing, Concept art & 2D assets
Engines
Any (standard file export / engine-agnostic)
Any (standard file export / engine-agnostic)
Free plan●
Free plan Free plan with limited image creation and limited Codex access
Free trial or credits only 125 one-time credits
Pricing
Free $0. Plus US$20/month. Pro: three monthly plans at US$100, US$200 or US$500. Go, Business and Enterprise: USD prices not stated on the pages we could read. USD figures from OpenAI's help centre. source
Free $0 (125 one-time credits). Standard US$12/month, Pro US$28/month and Max US$76/month, billed annually (US$15, US$35 and US$95 billed monthly). Gen-4.5 uses 12 credits per second of video. source
Export formats
Not stated by vendor
Not stated by vendor
Commercial use
Commercial use allowed Terms of Use (effective 1 January 2026; cover ChatGPT, DALL·E and OpenAI's other services for individuals): you own the Output, and OpenAI assigns to you all its right, title and interest, if any, in Output. Output may not be unique: other users may receive similar output, and the assignment doesn't extend to their output. source
Commercial use allowed Terms of Use 4.4: Runway does not claim ownership of Inputs or Outputs and does not restrict your commercial use of Outputs. Inputs and Outputs may be used to train its models. source
Revenue share / caps
Not stated by vendor
Not stated by vendor
API
Available. The OpenAI API is a separate product, billed independently of ChatGPT plans source
Rows marked ● differ between the two tools. Licence badges: green = commercial use allowed (including any free plan or trial), amber = paid plans only, restricted, or allowed but with no free plan, red = not allowed, grey = not stated by vendor or not applicable. Read the vendor's current terms before you ship.
