Korean gaming giant Krafton, best known as the company behind PUBG: Battlegrounds, unveiled its new artificial intelligence-powered interactive game character developed in collaboration with US chip giant Nvidia, Tuesday at CES 2025 in Las Vegas.
The new technology, called "Co-Playable Character," analyzes players' actions to engage in dynamic conversations and interactions, allowing a more immersive and realistic gaming experience. This compares to conventional nonplayer characters in games that passively repeat predesignated actions and dialogue.
“We plan to closely collaborate with Nvidia to drive the transformation of the user experience with AI-powered innovation built with Nvidia ACE, such as 'Co-Playable Character,' that’s poised to redefine the future of gaming,” said Krafton CEO Kim Chang-han.
Krafton plans to introduce the new AI-powered characters in its life simulation game inZOI, set to launch in early access in March, as well as in services using the intellectual property of its flagship title PUBG, with plans to gradually expand the technology across its gaming portfolio.
The latest announcement is the outcome of Krafton's years-long research effots to integrate AI technology into its games. Since 2021, the company has invested over 100 billion won ($69 million) in acquiring AI talent and core technologies, as stated in its performance release in November.
Nvidia’s ACE technology, an AI model foundry service that generates game characters and interactive avatars, has been utilized to create the new character. Built on the “On-device Small Language Model,” a compact AI model designed to perform natural language processing tasks, this technology enables game characters to quickly interpret players’ actions and deliver dynamic reactions.
“AI is transforming the way games are created and played. By bringing our innovative AI technology, such as Nvidia ACE, to a range of their live games, Krafton is unlocking co-playable characters for new, unique experiences,” said Keita Iida, vice president of developer relations at Nvidia.
By Lim Jae-seong (forestjs@heraldcorp.com)
