Side, a seasoned services provider formerly known as PTW, has entered into a six‑month memorandum of understanding with Denmark‑based artificial‑intelligence specialist Modl.ai. The agreement commits the two companies to co‑develop an AI‑powered quality‑assurance (QA) platform that blends Side’s deep testing expertise with Modl.ai’s cutting‑edge machine‑learning capabilities.
Modl.ai, a relatively new player in the gaming sector, was founded in 2018 and secured $1.7 million in seed capital two years later. While the firm has already experimented with AI‑enhanced QA tools, earlier versions required developers to hand over entire builds—or even source code—through a plugin and SDK integration. This approach proved cumbersome, creating friction for studios and limiting scalability, according to founder Christoffer Holmgard. The new solution eliminates the need for internal access.
"We treat the product exactly as you would hand it to a QA tester or eventually to the consumer," Holmgard explains. "You load it onto a comparable device, our system runs the game by watching the screen, simulating inputs, and recording every action. A second AI then analyses that data, flags potential bugs, and escalates them to a human reviewer for final judgement." The process begins with what Modl.ai calls building "game knowledge." Developers upload assets, design documents, screenshots, or any other relevant material and converse with the AI in plain language. This dialogue helps the system form a contextual model of the game’s mechanics, narrative, and visual style.
Once the AI has a solid grasp, the development team defines the test scope—ranging from traditional test cases to novel scenarios that play to the strengths of the AI engine. Human insight remains essential at this stage.
"You need experienced testers to craft prompts and guide the AI so it performs the right actions," Holmgard notes. After the AI executes a testing session—referred to as a "run"—it produces comprehensive bug reports that include textual descriptions, video snippets as evidence, and detailed log files.
These artefacts are handed to a senior QA specialist, who validates the findings and decides the appropriate next steps in the production pipeline. One of the perennial challenges in game QA is distinguishing a genuine defect from an intentional feature.
Holmgard says the system learns from continual feedback: "When testers label a report as a bug, not a bug, or a design choice, the AI refines its understanding over time, becoming more attuned to the nuances of each title." Side sees this collaboration as a catalyst for career evolution within its workforce. Chief Commercial Officer Martin McBride envisions QA staff transitioning into AI engineers, thereby moving up the value chain. "Instead of a linear path from junior tester to senior tester, our people can become AI specialists, command higher salaries, and open new career trajectories," he asserts.
This shift could also reverse the off‑shoring trend that has seen many testing jobs migrate to low‑cost regions; by upskilling employees, Side hopes to repatriate roles to markets where they previously disappeared. McBride emphasizes that AI is not a replacement for human testers but a tool that lifts them away from repetitive, monotonous tasks.
"Smoke tests, regression checks, and countless verification steps bog down analysts and stifle strategic thinking. Automating those chores lets our team focus on higher‑order analysis, creative testing, and gameplay assessment," he says. This aligns with the perspective of Modl.ai’s Chief Product Officer Benedikte Mikkelsen, who adds that eliminating tedious loops frees testers to evaluate core gameplay experiences and devise innovative test scenarios. The partnership also acknowledges the current technical limits of AI in gaming.
Side’s Chief Operating Officer Oliver Deslandes clarifies that the system presently excels with simpler titles—puzzle games, card games, and other experiences featuring repeatable mechanics—rather than fast‑paced 3D open‑world or fighting games. "We are targeting projects that are manageable for the AI at this stage, and we’re looking for partners willing to pilot the technology and grow with us," Deslandes explains.
Both companies stress that the AI‑assisted QA journey is iterative. Early adopters will help shape the platform’s capabilities, and as the model matures, it could eventually handle more complex, high‑velocity genres. "It’s a roadmap, not a finished product," McBride concludes. "With each pilot, we learn, improve, and expand the scope of what AI can achieve in quality assurance, always keeping a human in the loop as our guiding principle." In summary, the Side‑Modl.ai MOU aims to fuse seasoned testing methodology with advanced AI analytics, creating a hybrid workflow where machines handle the grunt work and humans provide the critical judgment that only experience can deliver.
The collaboration promises to elevate QA professionals, streamline testing pipelines, and gradually broaden the range of games that can benefit from intelligent, data‑driven quality assurance.