Side, a veteran services provider formerly known as PTW, has entered into a six‑month memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Danish artificial‑intelligence specialist Modl.ai. The agreement binds the two companies to co‑develop a quality‑assurance (QA) platform that leverages AI while keeping human oversight at its core.
Modl.ai, a relatively new entrant to the gaming sector, was founded in 2018 and secured $1.7 million in seed financing two years later. Side brings decades of experience in service delivery, while Modl.ai contributes cutting‑edge AI research and a nascent suite of testing tools. "The MOU effectively merges the strongest capabilities of Side and Modl.ai into a unique solution," explains Martin McBride, Side’s chief commercial officer.
"One of the industry's holy‑grail aspirations right now is to use AI to augment QA services. No one has cracked that problem yet, and we believe we have a viable path forward." Earlier AI‑driven QA approaches, including Modl.ai’s previous offerings, required developers to ship entire builds—or even source code—to the testing vendor. Those solutions relied on integration plugins and SDKs, creating friction and, as founder Christoffer Holmgard notes, "became difficult over time." The new system eliminates the need for any internal code access.
Instead, developers hand over a product just as they would to a human tester or eventual consumer. The game runs on a device that mirrors the target platform, while the AI watches the screen, simulates key inputs, records every observable event, and then passes the collected data to a second AI layer that flags potential bugs.
Human QA specialists then review the findings and decide on next steps. The first phase of the workflow is what Modl.ai calls "building game knowledge." Developers upload assets, design documents, screenshots, and other relevant materials, and they converse with the AI in plain language.
"All of this is in natural language," Holmgard says. "We just chat with the system about our game, adding images or design docs as needed." Once the AI has a contextual understanding, developers specify the test objectives. These can range from conventional test cases to novel scenarios that are better suited to AI‑driven exploration.
"Here you need human expertise to craft prompts and guide the AI agent so it performs the right actions," Holmgard explains. The system then executes a "run"—Modl.ai’s term for a testing session—producing bug reports that include textual descriptions, short video clips as evidence, and comprehensive log data. These artifacts are handed to a human QA specialist, who validates each report, determines whether an issue is a genuine defect or an intended feature, and provides feedback. Over time, this feedback loop refines the AI’s judgment.
"Some of the learning comes from prompting, some from the pre‑built game knowledge, and a substantial part comes from human tester feedback," Holmgard notes. "As testers label bugs and non‑bugs, the system becomes attuned to the nuances of game design." Side envisions a future where QA personnel evolve into AI engineers, shifting the value chain upward.
"One of the exciting aspects of this program is that it lets our people move up the value chain," McBride says. "Instead of a linear career from tester to senior tester, they can become AI engineers, earn higher salaries, and open new career paths. This also creates the possibility of bringing jobs back to regions where they have disappeared due to low‑cost labor pressures.
When we elevate the role, we can redeploy talent to those markets." According to McBride, AI will make QA careers at Side more fulfilling by automating repetitive, low‑value tasks. "The tool reduces the burden of repetitive tests, such as smoke tests for every new build," he explains. "When those mundane checks are automated, testers can focus on strategic analysis, gameplay assessment, and creative testing, which leads to a more satisfying professional experience." Benedikte Mikkelsen, Modl.ai’s chief product officer, echoes this sentiment: "There are very tedious tests that testers repeat over and over. You don’t need a human to run the same flow countless times.
That person can instead evaluate gameplay or perform more inventive testing. That’s the core value proposition of AI in QA." Both leaders stress that AI is not a replacement for human testers but a tool that elevates them. "Testing costs are still low in certain regions, making it hard to eliminate human involvement entirely," McBride acknowledges. "By providing our people with AI‑enhanced toolsets, we extend their careers, give them higher‑value work, and keep them engaged longer." Side’s philosophy treats AI as a "sliding scale"—a spectrum where human involvement never disappears.
"There will always be a human in the loop; that’s our ethos," McBride asserts. "The AI reduces tedious work and human error, allowing us to raise the overall quality of the process." When asked about the types of games the solution currently supports, COO Oliver Deslandes admits the technology is best suited for simpler titles—puzzle games, card games, and other experiences with repeatable mechanics. "Fast‑paced 3D open‑world or fighting games are still a ways off," he says.
"We’re focusing on titles where the AI can demonstrate value now, and we’re looking for partners willing to pilot the technology and grow with us." Deslandes concludes that the journey is ongoing: "It’s a progression, and early adopters who run pilots with us will see how the technology matures. The goal is to expand the scope over time, but we have to start with games that match the current capabilities." In summary, the Side‑Modl.ai partnership aims to blend AI efficiency with human judgment, creating a QA ecosystem where repetitive testing is automated, experts become AI engineers, and the overall quality of game releases improves—all while maintaining the essential human oversight that the industry values.