Ubisoft Unveils AI-Powered NPCs with Sarcastic GMs, Helpful Teammates, and Hidden Lore

Ubisoft's latest AI showcase, Teammates, focuses on combat and features a group of three personalities trained by an in-house narrative team. This project is the result of an expanded internal team developing in-house middleware that connects external AI models with the company's Snowdrop and Anvil game engines. The company has allowed players to experience Teammates at an event in Paris, and the project is being tested by both internal studios and external testers, with feedback from hundreds of users on the Ubisoft Connect program. Teammates marks a significant change from the team's previous Neo NPC debut, which centered on conversations with AI NPCs that unlocked RPG-style relationship impacts. The new project feels like it could easily fit into a "Tom Clancy's" game, with AI-powered cyborg soldiers that can be commanded through simple encounters with small squads of robots. The soldiers have their own personalities and background lore, which can be discovered through conversation, and are guided by a third AI companion with a more GM-like control over the experience. Players can direct the soldiers using voice commands, which works more effectively than similar systems in the past. The soldiers will periodically volunteer suggestions for plans of attack or abilities, and players can discover their backstories through conversational asides. The AI companion, Jaspar, can provide GM-like insights and has wider control over the game, including highlighting soldiers on the HUD and unlocking achievements. The project aims to create characters that provoke feelings in players, with a focus on extensive preparation, briefing, and training for the AI models. The team sees this as a key differentiator for Ubisoft in a future where AI-powered NPCs become ubiquitous, with a focus on creating a central platform that enables developers to plug AI tools into their games. The goal is to make the system plug-and-play, allowing developers to focus on their game without worrying about the underlying AI technology. The R&D team is focused on rapid iteration, with a new build released in October and monthly updates planned through January. The team will continue to develop samples like Teammates to demonstrate what's possible and expects to add more features, including an emotion system that changes in real-time based on player interactions. While the development of the tool is moving rapidly, its implementation in shipped games will take longer, with the team prioritizing identifying potential use cases and leaving it to internal game development teams to find an application for the technology.