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Ubisoft's AI Teammates: Revolutionizing NPCs in Gaming

Ubisoft's AI Teammates: Revolutionizing NPCs in Gaming
Ubisoft's AI Teammates experiment in a dystopian FPS game setting

Ubisoft has officially unveiled "Teammates," an ambitious and playable AI experiment poised to profoundly change the gaming landscape. Described as "more than just talk," this research project aims to revolutionize the player experience by transforming traditional non-player characters (NPCs) into genuine, interactive teammates, pushing far beyond the limitations of mere AI chatbots. This groundbreaking announcement follows CEO Yves Guillemot's recent declaration to investors that generative AI has been seamlessly integrated across the entire company, heralding it as a "revolution" for video games on par with the historic leap from 2D to 3D graphics.

The Teammates Experiment: A New Horizon for FPS Gaming

At its core, "Teammates" is an experimental first-person shooter (FPS) set in a gritty dystopian future. Players assume the role of a resistance member, navigating a hostile enemy base with the critical objective of locating five missing team members. The short, playable level challenges players to recover the final memories of those who preceded them, all while fending off relentless enemy squads.

Accompanying the player are two advanced NPC squad members, Pablo and Sofia, alongside a sophisticated AI voice assistant named Jaspar. These AI companions showcase Ubisoft's advanced capabilities, promising an unprecedented level of interaction and tactical depth within the game world.

Beyond Chatbots: Dynamic AI & Real-Time Interaction

Jaspar, the AI voice assistant, stands out with its dynamic and responsive nature. Through natural vocal instructions, players can command Jaspar to perform a variety of crucial tasks:

  • Highlight enemies or important objects in the environment.
  • Provide rich story and lore details on demand.
  • Alter game settings "on the fly" for seamless customization.
  • Even pause the game instantly.

"More than this, he is a dynamic and responsive character within the story," Ubisoft emphasizes, highlighting Jaspar's ability to process environmental information and contextual cues, adapting intelligently to player vocal input and actions. This real-time understanding aims to make Jaspar feel like a truly integrated, intelligent companion.

The innovation extends to your human-like NPC teammates, Sofia and Pablo, with whom players can directly command or "chat." Xavier Manzanares, Director of GenAI Gameplay, notes, "Our early experiments showed players were quickly connecting with the AI-driven NPCs and the voice assistant concept." He believes this system holds immense potential for "many different kinds of games." Rémi Labory, Director of Data & AI, added, "Player input shapes character reactions in real time, something traditional development can’t achieve. We’re also delivering a full pipeline, with the experience taking players from onboarding to debrief, which is a first."

Addressing AI Concerns: Human Creativity Remains Paramount

Ubisoft is keenly "aware of the criticisms around AI in games" and has been proactive in addressing these concerns. The company firmly states that the goal of "Teammates" and its broader AI integration "is not to replace creatives, but rather to find ways to enhance it by combining the strengths of the technology and the human creativity and ingenuity that are crucial to making games."

Narrative Director Virginie Mosser, initially sharing common reservations, now believes the technology does the "exact opposite of removing the human from the process." She explains, "I still write the story and character personalities, but instead of fixed lines, we create these kinds of fences that let NPCs improvise within the world but stay within the boundaries of the lore and motivations we have given them." This approach ensures that while AI characters can improvise, "we still set the rules and direct the story and characters."

"Teammates" has already undergone closed playtests with several hundred players, providing invaluable feedback. Ubisoft plans to continue rigorous testing and development, refining the technology and gathering crucial insights from both real players and its internal creative teams, all guided by a philosophy centered on "human creativity, ingenuity, and curiosity."