Xbox Getting AI-Generated Characters, Quests, and Stories

Microsoft is betting everything on AI, Wired reported earlier this year. And now we know those bets includes gaming. On November 6, the company announced a new business deal to bring AI-generated non-player characters and more to the platform. The tools will be optional for developers. I’m sure this will all go perfectly. Remember Microsoft’s Bing showing Kirby doing 9/11? Me neither.

Microsoft announced a partnership with startup Inworld AI over on its website, stating that the deal would help it build tools for AI-generated dialogue and narrative “at scale.” One of these tools is an AI design copilot that will let developers type in prompts and have these “creative ideas” turned into “detailed scripts, dialogue trees, quests and more.” The second tool is an AI character runtime engine that is integrated directly into the game client to generate “stories, quests, and dialogue” completely on the fly.

“We want to help make it easier for developers to realize their visions, try new things, push the boundaries of gaming today and experiment to improve gameplay, player connection and more,” wrote Xbox gaming AI general manager Haiyan Zhang. “We will collaborate and innovate with game creators inside Xbox studios as well as third-party studios as we develop the tools that meet their needs and inspire new possibilities for future games.”

Inworld AI is one of the big beneficiaries of Silicon Valley’s current obsession with ChatGPT and related large language model (LLM) tools. It boasts a proprietary character engine that it promises will “bring games to life” with believable NPCs that respond organically to players’ actions. “Craft characters with distinct personalities and contextual awareness that stay in-world,” the company claims. “Seamlessly integrate into real-time applications, with optimization for scale and performance built-in.”

Despite no major game yet shipping with the tools, backers are already “valuing” the startup at $700 million. Inworld AI has mostly been used for mods so far, with players experimenting with the tools in games like Stardew Valley and Skyrim. A Grand Theft Auto V mod was mysteriously nuked from the internet earlier this year by publisher Take-Two, seemingly over for its inclusion of NPCs using Inworld AI’s tech. Microsoft seems less worried about the potential creative and legal minefield for companies shipping entire games using the tools.