Xbox announces partnership with AI company Inworld

Microsoft has entered into a multiyear collaboration with AI specialist company Inworld. This partnership is expected to ease the integration of AI in game development, specifically for enhancing mission, dialogue, and story design across multiplatform titles.

Inworld's technology could enable innovative features such as an "AI copilot" that assists developers in transforming ideas into comprehensive scripts, dialogues, and missions. Furthermore, it holds the potential to add dynamically generated stories, missions, and dialogues to existing games.

The AI technology from Inworld was showcased in the Sentient Streets mod for Grand Theft Auto 5, which allowed players to engage in conversations with random NPCs. However, the mod was taken down after multiple warnings from the game's publisher, Take-Two Interactive. The use of AI in game development has been under intense scrutiny, especially following discussions in Hollywood related to an actors' and writers' strike where the utilization of AI was a major topic.

Recent debates within the gaming industry, including from the SAG-AFTRA union, highlight the controversies surrounding AI's role in game development. The Finals, a shooter game that held a successful beta, faced criticism over its use of AI for voice acting.

The partnership between Microsoft and Inworld signifies an investment in the future of AI in games, potentially revolutionizing the way narratives and gameplay are crafted.