Microsoft is bringing AI characters to Xbox
By Tom Warren, a senior editor covering Microsoft, PC gaming, console, and tech. He founded WinRumors, a site dedicated to Microsoft news, before joining The Verge in 2012.
Microsoft is partnering with Inworld AI to develop Xbox tools that will allow developers to create AI-powered characters, stories, and quests. The multiyear partnership will include an “AI design copilot” system that Xbox developers can use to create detailed scripts, dialogue trees, quest lines, and more.
“At Xbox, we believe that with better tools, creators can make even more extraordinary games,” explains Haiyan Zhang, general manager of gaming AI at Xbox. “This partnership will bring together: Inworld’s expertise in working with generative AI models for character development, Microsoft’s cutting-edge cloud-based AI solutions including Azure OpenAI Service, Microsoft Research’s technical insights into the future of play, and Team Xbox’s strengths in revolutionizing accessible and responsible creator tools for all developers.”
The multiplatform AI toolset will include the AI design copilot for scripts and dialogue, and an AI character engine that can be integrated into games and used to dynamically generate stories, quests, and dialogue.
Inworld has been working on AI NPCs that react to questions from a player, much like how ChatGPT or Bing Chat responds to natural language queries. These AI NPCs can respond in unique voices and can include complex dialogue trees or personalized dynamic storylines within a game. Inworld’s technology can also be used for narration, so companions in top-down RPGs can warn of groups of enemies or players up ahead.
“AI has long been an integral part of game development, with applications ranging from enemy AI to
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