AI Software That’s Revolutionising The Gaming Industry

Turning developers’ wildest dreams into reality

Our new friend AI just hit the headlines (again) when two of the biggest names in the gaming industry made head-turning announcements.

Numero uno is, of course, Unity. Whilst most of us only took any notice of AI learning about five minutes ago, Unity recently revealed that it’s been working for years, both internally and with partners, to explore how AI can be used in simulation, content creation, and game optimization.

That was in May. Only a month later, the software giant announced the release of Unity Sentis and Unity Muse. And as one of the most widely used game development tool kits – 1.8 million developers regularly use its products – people really listen when it says that “every aspect of the creative process, from systems to objects to pixels, will be impacted by AI – and so will all of the resulting runtime characters, worlds, and experiences.”

CEO John Riccitiello is optimistic that the impact of AI on gaming “may be bigger and faster” than the expansion driven by earlier technological shifts such as PC graphics cards and mobile apps.

And if you think that’s just Unity blowing its own trumpet, then ponder this: the FT reported that investor enthusiasm about Muse and Sentis sent Unity’s share price up by about 15 per cent in June immediately after the launch.

At the same time, the FT’s big gaming investor story also included news about NetEase’s latest launch, Justice Mobile. As a premier market leader in Asia’s gaming industry, NetEase needs no introduction. And you don’t need to speak one of the many Chinese dialects to appreciate the beauty and artistry on offer in the official Justice Mobile trailer, so sit back and immerse yourself.

Seeing is believing, so it’s merely a slight shock that more than 40 million players signed up for the martial arts-themed game, set during the mediaeval Song dynasty, before it was even released.

Justice Mobile was the first mass-market test of generative AI’s application in a game, and was an instant hit for NetEase, making its $140 million spend gratifyingly worth it. Those megabucks produced AI-induced “autonomous” non-player characters which are far “more lifelike” as they chat and respond to players, as well as “developing their own personality traits rather than relying on scripted interactions as in-game personas have traditionally done.”

So, what do the new AI products actually do? Well, Unity Muse is the expansive platform for AI-driven assistance during creation, and Unity Sentis allows game developers and creatives to embed neural networks into builds which “enable previously unimaginable real-time experiences.”

Sentis is also the “first and only cross-platform solution for embedding AI models into a real-time 3D engine”, enabling creators to build once and embed their models to run on multiple platforms, from mobile to PC and web to popular game consoles like Nintendo Switch™ and Sony PlayStation®.

Back to Unity’s Riccitiello, who’s also keen to underline that “AI will make a creator — whether they’re an artist or a coder or a level designer or a lighting person or any of the other specialities in 3D creation – a great deal more productive.”

And in an industry where the biggest games have previously relieved their makers of hundreds of millions of dollars in development fees, this will not only bring those eye-watering costs down, but also allow more newbies into the market. On the periphery, other companies such as Ubisoft and Roblox are eager to follow the lead with projects in development, although are yet to catch up with Unity and NetEase’s huge strides forwards.

As you probably suspect, the curtain hasn’t fallen on this story by a long chalk, but all we can do for now is to watch and wait. And enjoy all the new surprises around the corner.

In the meantime, take a quick gander at what you could be doing with this AI-epicentred explosion in gaming possibilities.

So, are you revolutionising the gaming industry?

If you’ve got ideas that’ll have half of Europe signing up for your latest release, then the MustardFX  team wants to speak to you.  We constantly have brilliant jobs in the gaming industry landing on our desks, so hit your dialling pad now – the digits you require are 0117 929 6060.