Ubisoft presented an experimental game called Teammates that is powered by generative AI.
Players interact with an in-game AI assistant via voice commands, and dynamic dialogue is generated in real time.
Many game developers have spoken out against generative AI due to job fears and creative concerns.
Ubisoft, the gaming giant behind franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Just Dance, has unveiled its first playable game powered by generative AI, called Teammates.
Next Ubisoft’s Neo NPC experiment from last year, this project aims to deepen player immersion through natural voice interactions, using generative AI to drive real-time voice commands that the company says allow for more dynamic gameplay.
Set in a dystopian future, players navigate a first-person shooter scenario as a resistance member searching for five missing teammates in an enemy base. The experimental level features three AI-powered characters: Jaspar, an AI voice assistant, and two NPC team members, Sofia and Pablo.
Today we’re unveiling Teammates, an AI-driven research project exploring how new technology can deepen the player experience.
This brand new experiment adds more than just talking to the gameplay, going beyond AI chatbots and turning NPCs into real teammates. More information:… pic.twitter.com/SyISwjJ5af
Jaspar functions not only as a basic assistant: he can highlight enemies, provide details, adjust game settings and pause the game via natural voice commands. Sofia and Pablo operate similarly, but physically exist in the game world, taking orders and having conversations with players.
Ubisoft says the technology processes environmental information and contextual cues and adapts to the player’s voice input and actions in real time. An early scenario demonstrates this by requiring players to verbally command their armed teammates to take cover and attack patrolling enemies before receiving their own weapon.
“Our initial experiments showed that players quickly connected with the AI-controlled NPCs and voice assistant concept,” said Gameplay Director Xavier Manzanares in a blog post. “Jaspar helped players when they were lost or unsure of what to do. He could access menus and settings and tell players more about the world and story. We really started to like Jaspar and saw how a system like this could be interesting for many different types of games.”
A screenshot of Ubisoft’s experimental game Teammates. Image: Ubisoft
After testing with hundreds of players in closed playtests, the team plans to refine the technology based on feedback. Their goal is to expand interaction possibilities and create richer storytelling experiences, while keeping human creativity and ingenuity at the core of game development.
Ubisoft’s announcement post directly addressed that last point, as the rapidly growing use of generative AI among gaming giants – with companies like EA and Krafton among those making big recent moves – has led to widespread criticism from developers, who fear that generative AI will only accelerate industry layoffs and suck the human element out of game design.
“At first I had the same concerns as many others,” says Narrative Director Virginie Mosser. “But I found that this is the exact opposite of removing the human from the process. I still write the story and character personalities, but instead of solid lines, we create these kinds of fences that allow NPCs to improvise in the world, but stay within the boundaries of the knowledge and motivations we’ve given them.”
“They can improvise,” she added, “but we still set the rules and direct the story and the characters.”
