Microsoft has put its focus for 2023 squarely on generative AI for features like Bing Chat, Bing Image Creator, and Copilot for Windows and Microsoft 365. However, it has not really talked a lot about how AI will be used in games and game development, which is definitely becoming a bigger part of Microsoft. Now that may be changing with an interesting partner announcement.
Today, Inworld AI, a startup company founded in 2021, announced a partnership with Microsoft. The two companies plans to team up to create game development tools that will use generative AI to help make and expand upon character and narrative elements in games.
The press release stated:
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 partnership will at first concentrate on two specific game development tools. One will be an AI design copilot that will help game designers and narrative creators to type in text prompts that can be generated into scripts, game quests, and more.
The other development tool will be an AI character runtime engine that will be integrated into games. Inworld claims it will let gamers encounter in-game characters that will react to the player's actions in real-time rather than stick to hard-coded scripted events. Inworld stated:
Orchestrating multiple AI models at runtime allows our character engine to power character expressions, gestures, dialogue, and actions that are dynamic and responsive.
Today's announcement did not reveal any financial information on this new partnership between Inworld and Microsoft. There's also no word on what these new generative AI game development tools will cost or when they will become available.
