Side, a seasoned services provider formerly known as PTW, has entered into a six‑month memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Modl.ai, a Danish artificial‑intelligence startup that has been making waves in the games industry since its 2018 founding and a $1.7 million seed round in 2020. The agreement binds the two companies to collaborate on an AI‑driven quality‑assurance (QA) platform that aims to reshape how video‑game bugs are detected, reported, and ultimately fixed.
Martin McBride, Side’s chief commercial officer, describes the partnership as a marriage of complementary strengths. “The MOU effectively brings together the best of what Side offers and the best of what Modl.ai brings to the table in a truly unique solution,” he says.
“One of the crown‑jewel, holy‑grail experiences for the games industry right now is using AI to augment QA services. No one has cracked a great solution for that yet.
We think we have.” Historically, AI‑enabled QA tools required developers to ship full builds—or even source code—to external testing firms, where an integration‑based plugin or SDK would analyze the game. Modl.ai’s earlier approach demanded deep access to a game’s internals, creating friction and scalability problems, according to founder Christoffer Holmgard. The new system abandons that model entirely. Holmgard explains that the updated workflow treats the game exactly as a human tester would receive it: a finished build placed on a device that mimics the end‑user environment.
The AI runs the game, watches the screen, simulates key inputs, and records every observable event. A second AI layer then reviews the generated data, flags potential defects, and escalates them to human reviewers for final judgment. The first phase of the process is what Modl.ai calls "building game knowledge." Developers upload assets, design documents, screenshots, and any other relevant material, then converse with the AI in natural language to teach it the context and mechanics of their title. "All of this is in natural language," Holmgard notes.
"We just chat with the system about our game, but we also add images, upload design docs, and so on." Once the AI has a foundational understanding, developers specify what they want to test. Test cases can range from classic, scripted scenarios to novel, AI‑friendly explorations that leverage the system’s generative capabilities. Here, human expertise remains crucial: testers must craft prompts and guide the AI so it performs the right actions.
"You need some human expertise to adapt the prompting and language to the AI agent to make it do the right things," Holmgard says. During a test run, the AI records textual logs, video snippets (referred to as "evidence"), and comprehensive telemetry. These artifacts are packaged into a bug report and handed to a human QA specialist.
The specialist reviews the findings, decides whether each item is a genuine defect, a feature, or a false positive, and then feeds that feedback back into the system. Over time, the AI becomes attuned to the nuances of the particular game and the studio’s quality standards.
One persistent challenge in automated testing is distinguishing a bug from an intentional feature. Holmgard emphasizes that continuous feedback from human testers is essential for teaching the AI these subtle distinctions. "Some of it comes from the prompting, some from the game knowledge you built beforehand, and a good part comes from feedback over time from human testers," he explains. "They tell the AI, ‘this was a bug, this was not a bug, and here’s why,’ and the system learns." Side envisions a broader strategic shift: as AI takes over repetitive, low‑value tasks, QA staff can evolve into AI engineers and data‑science specialists.
This upward mobility could reverse the off‑shoring trend that has seen QA jobs migrate to low‑cost regions. "One of the cool parts about programs like this is that we get to move our people up the value chain," McBride says. "Instead of a career that ends at senior tester, they can become AI engineers, earn higher salaries, and even bring jobs back to countries where they previously disappeared." McBride adds that AI frees testers to focus on higher‑order analysis, strategic thinking, and creative exploration of gameplay.
"The tool reduces the burden of repetitive tests," he notes. "Smoke tests, verification steps, and other routine checks can be automated, allowing our people to think more strategically, conduct deeper analysis, and grow their careers." Benedikte Mikkelsen, Modl.ai’s chief product officer, echoes this sentiment: "There are very tedious tests that testers are performing right now. You don’t need a human doing the same flow over and over again. That person could be assessing gameplay itself or doing more creative kinds of testing.
That, I think, is the value proposition of using AI." Both leaders stress that AI is not a replacement for human QA workers but a catalyst for upskilling. McBride points out that testing price points remain low in certain regions, making a complete AI takeover impractical.
By equipping testers with AI‑enhanced tools, Side can extend careers, improve job satisfaction, and retain talent longer. The partnership also reflects Side’s broader philosophy that AI operates on a "sliding scale"—always with a human in the loop.
"That’s our ethos," McBride says. "The tool lets us harness the best of AI while reducing the tedious workload and human error. It lifts the overall quality of the process." When asked about the types of games the solution can handle today, 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 remain a longer‑term goal. "We’re focusing on titles that are appropriate for the current stage. Clients willing to join us on this journey will see how the tech evolves," he explains. In summary, the Side‑Modl.ai MOU represents a forward‑looking experiment in blending AI automation with human expertise to make game QA faster, cheaper, and more rewarding for the people who do it.
By automating the grunt work, the partnership aims to free testers to become analysts, engineers, and creative contributors—ultimately raising the bar for quality across the gaming industry.