Microsoft is looking to expand its AI endeavors into its gaming arm, as it announced today it is partnering with Inworld AI to create game development tools for Xbox that will allow developers to create AI-enhanced characters and more.
Today, we announced a partnership with @Xbox.
— Inworld AI (@inworld_ai) November 6, 2023
With the advent of generative AI, there’s an opportunity to leverage cutting-edge innovations to foster limitless creativity and unparalleled immersion.#AI #gamedev #indiedevhttps://t.co/fHp56zghEJ
Spotted by The Verge, this multiyear partnership will allow Xbox developers leverage artificial intelligence as part of their game development. Specifically, Inworld AI will leverage this partnership to prioritize development on an AI design copilot as well as the AI character runtime engine, which can be used to create new storylines, among other things.
Inworld AI's character engine should sound familiar to some, as veteran modder Bloc told us in an interview in August that he used the Inworld Character Engine tool to create the AI-powered GTA 5 story mod Sentient Streets before Take-Two shut it down.
"Together, we aim to deliver an accessible, responsibly designed multi-platform AI toolset to assist and empower creators in dialogue, story, and quest design. As with all creator tools at Xbox, our goal is to deliver state-of-the-art AI for game developers of any size, anywhere in the world, and on every platform where players want to play," Xbox General Manager of Gaming AI Haiyan Zhang wrote. "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."
To be clear, these development tools are optional for game developers. Yet, the use of AI in game development has been a hot topic for discussion. Developers such as Assassin's Creed maker Ubisoft and The Finals developer Embark Studios use AI in some capacity as part of their game development. Using AI in industries such as games and entertainment is a polarizing decision.
Xbox's parent company has been dabbling increasingly with AI this year, with the tech giant announcing in January it made a multi-million dollar investment into OpenAI. In February, Microsoft announced new versions of its Bing and Edge search engines, which use the same AI technology foundation that OpenAI's chatbot, ChatGPT, uses.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
