AI-powered characters in games can hold dynamic conversations, tell jokes, and mock players, demonstrating AI's potential beyond scripted lines. Recent machine learning and generative AI advances enable studios to speed production and increase immersion. Fifty-two percent of developers work at companies using generative AI tools. Large studios use machine learning to accelerate development, automate repetitive tasks, and free developers to focus on core game elements. Companies are experimenting with GenAI-driven NPCs to improve in-game conversations. Indie developers pursue AI-native games built around large language models, while studios evaluate costs and consider fair, engaging uses of AI for makers and players. Ubisoft uses FaceShifter to generate 3D character heads from scanned datasets.
The Game Developer Conference's 2025 State of the Game Industry report found 52% of surveyed developers work at companies that use generative AI tools. At large video game companies, like Ubisoft, machine learning is helping accelerate development, automate laborious tasks, and free up developers and artists to focus on the most important game elements and characters. These companies are also experimenting with new game features, such as non-player characters that use GenAI to have better in-game conversations with players.
So recent advancements in machine learning and generative AI have led studios to use the tech to speed up production and make gameplay more immersive. At Ubisoft, machine learning is already working behind the scenes to speed up the creation process. For the action-adventure game "Assassin's Creed Shadows," the 3D creation tool, FaceShifter, has helped artists generate and model heads for secondary characters. The tool uses a proprietary dataset of 3D-scanned heads to design new models with different characteristics.
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