Krafton and Nvidia Unveil AI-Powered 'Co-Playable Characters' for PUBG and inZOI

Krafton and Nvidia team up to create smarter AI characters for PUBG and inZOI

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Nvidia and Krafton unveiled a groundbreaking on-device AI that will enable smarter AI characters for PUBG and inZoi. The companies have built a Small Language Model (SLM) built specifically for video games. This technology will first be introduced in the PUBG franchise, which has sold more than 80 million copies, and the upcoming life simulator, inZOI. The AI language model is on device, meaning it stays on your local computer and isn't linked to the cloud. For gaming, this language model will bring unprecedented levels of immersion in games, creating for the first time Co-Playable Characters (CPC), that enhance the traditional role of a Non-Playable Character (NPC), said Kang-Wook Lee, head of Krafton's deep learning division, in an interview with GamesBeat during CES 2025. In a video, Krafton showed how an NPC can help carry a human player to victory in a game of battle royale. You can see in that video embedded in this story how the NPC can dance and converse with the player, and help with tactics as the pair hope to win a chicken dinner against other humans. Lee thinks this innovation is the kind of thing that can help PUBG grow its audience, considering the game is eight years old. Why This Matters Krafton said CPCs can communicate naturally and verbally with players and with each other, unlocking immersive experiences never before possible. This technology represents a significant leap in immersive gaming and redefines the role of AI in the future of entertainment. How this comes to life specifically in the PUBG Franchise and inZOI: PUBG franchise: CPCs will introduce a new SLM powered companion that can communicate verbally and team up with the player. Players can converse and strategize with their AI powered CPC companion just like they would a human teammate, greatly enhancing gameplay. inZOI: Players will experience a simulation where they explore not just their character's life, but the lives of everyone in a full-scale simulation, where citizens, known as "Zois," interact and make choices based on their free will and life experiences in real time. Zois will follow fashion trends, spread rumors, develop reputations and more, powered by the SLM. Critically, this technology runs 100% locally on a user's device, with no need to communicate with a data center, improving data privacy, responsiveness, and eliminating the need for subscription fees. inZOI video game trailer description In inZOI, each of the 300 characters (called 'Zois') in the city is driven by approximately 600 varying mental data points, forming the foundation of the game's Realistic Life Simulation (RLS) experience. While traditional rule-based systems can produce varied outcomes, they ultimately fall short in effectively utilizing a Zoi's traits to generate context-appropriate behaviors. To address this, Krafton introduced 'Smart Zoi' using its on-device language model, making Zois more dynamic by incorporating traits like age, personality, and current situations. This enables them to not only perform calculated tasks but also adapt their behavior when faced with unexpected scenarios, much like real human beings. At the end of each day, a Zoi analyzes their experiences, shaping their actions for the next day and fueling continuous growth into a truly unique and personalized character. This dynamic interplay fosters a vibrantly diverse city, filled with unexpected events that create a deeply immersive simulation experience. "We wanted to build something that is really different from NPCs. Why do we call this CPC? Because it's a character that you can actually build on your own. The first example is PUBG CPC," Lee said. In PUBG, you can play with in a duo, competing against other human players to be the sole survivors of a PUBG match. "It is based on the whole language model, text model, text-to-speech model, all together basically is able to think about what they have to be able to actually hear," Lee said. "There are so many things you can do. For instance, you can have some strategic descriptions. Hey, I want to play in a different way. Every action sequence is made by language model inference. At the end of the day, you can reflect on what the next day will be like. Planning is also done by language model inferences and so forth." Krafton has a team of about 80 people working on developing the technology for the AI characters. It's a little crude in some ways, but the character essentially behaves like a human player. Players will be able to take the tech and create their on characters. "Of course, they are not 100% natural humans yet, but this is the first AI character where you will hear the responses within 1.5 seconds," said Lee. Lee said he is an optimist about AI in games. "I'm pretty sure AI will change almost everything we've been doing for years," he said. "For the gaming industry and gamers, I'm extremely optimistic about it. I see 2025 as the biggest year of the AI world, and I would say InZOI is going to be a critical milestone in gaming." InZOI, the life simulaiton game, is launching in March. Lee said Krafton is also using AI tools to speed up the pace at which it creates. Lee thought in the past that smart NPCs would show up in games in 2024. But it looks like 2025 is going to be the big year for that. "Some of the AI models are perfect. Whenever they make a small mistake, even with one in million chance, someone will be hurt. But for AI for gaming, our species will not be at risk. When these characters make mistakes, it's funny," Lee said. "They make some stupid jokes sometimes and they say random things. But they're fun."

PUBG and inZOI are getting AI companion characters, courtesy of Nvidia

CES 2025 Read and watch our complete CES coverage here Updated less than 1 minute ago Nvidia and Krafton debuted "co-playable characters," also called CPCs, at CES 2025. Nvidia Ace is used to create these AI-driven companions that players can interact with in-game and who will learn from their actions. We will first see these CPCs in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and inZOI. Battle royale PUBG is calling its system PUBG Ally, and it will allow solo players to drop into a match with an AI companion who they can ask for help. The CPC will look for specific pickups or vehicles the player asks for and dynamically fight alongside them in a gunfight. It will even speak back to the player with an AI-generated voice. Nvidia released a video showing off the PUBG Ally in action, which will give you a better idea of how this all works in-game. NVIDIA ACE | Introducing PUBG Ally - First Co-Playable Character Meanwhile, inZOI is a life simulator like The Sims, so it will let players create CPCs called "Smart Zoi." A Smart Zoi will dynamically react to what's going on around them in the game world more than a standard NPC would. A video shows how a Smart Zoi could feed a hungry NPC, help a lost one, and encourage a street performer all on its own. It will give AI-generated reasonings for each of its actions and, while sleeping, will analyze its actions the previous day to refine its behavior the next day. NVIDIA ACE | inZOI - Create Simulated Cities with Co-Playable Characters These CPCs will function through the use of an on-device small language model, which Krafton created using Nvidia Ace. Krafton CEO CH Kim said in a press release that his company wants "to closely collaborate with Nvidia to drive the transformation of the user experience with AI-powered innovation built with Nvidia Ace, such as CPC, that's poised to redefine the future of gaming." Recommended Videos While inZOI launches for Steam on March 28, PUBG: Battlegrounds is already available for free across PC and consoles. We've asked Krafton if it has more specific release windows for when CPCs will be implemented into these games, and will update this article when we hear back.

PUBG and inZoi Are Getting AI Companions Called Co-Playable Characters (CPCs) You Can Talk to In-Game - IGN

PUBG and inZoi are getting AI companions described as Co-Playable Characters (CPCs). Krafton, the South Korean company behind both games, announced it was working with Nvidia to bring these AI teammates into each title. A CPC is an AI companion that can interact with gamers, enabled by an on-device SLM (Small Language Model) built with Nvidia's Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE) technology, Krafton said. "Unlike traditional NPCs (non-player characters), CPCs are equipped with the ability to interact and cooperate with users, as they understand and respond to game situations in a human-like manner," the company continued. Krafton said they can be instructed to coordinate and cooperate with players by using the language model built with ACE. Specifically in PUBG, CPCs will introduce a new SLM-powered companion called "Ally" that can communicate verbally and team up with the player. "Players can converse and strategize with their AI-powered CPC companion just like they would a human teammate, greatly enhancing gameplay," Krafton said. In a video showing off the tech, the PUBG player uses voice comms to ask their Ally to keep an eye out for a vest and ammo. The Ally finds both and lets their human teammate know via voiced dialogue and a ping. The Ally also tells their human teammate that they've spotted an enemy and are providing covering fire. Later, the player asks if there's a vehicle nearby, and the Ally announces they've found one and will "come to you." The player asks their Ally to flank in a firefight and they oblige, again using voice comms to communicate. The Ally will even engage in a spot of banter upon victory. The idea, clearly, is to replicate a human teammate as realistically as possible with AI speech, fuelled by the SLM. We've seen AI teammates help humans out in many video games in the past, and they'll do similar things to what's on show here. The difference now is you get some slightly stilted speech from your companion to simulate in-game voice comms. It works different in inZoi, Krafton's The Sims competitor. Here, citizens, known as "Zois," interact and make choices based on their "free will and life experiences" in real-time. "Zois will follow fashion trends, spread rumors, develop reputations and more, powered by the SLM," Krafton said. These developments come as little surprise given Krafton established a Deep Learning Division of its own in 2022, and has secured various core AI technologies in recent years. It's going all-in on AI when it comes to video game development amid the various ethical and environmental concerns around the tech and its well-documented impact on jobs. But it's far from alone in this. Microsoft, EA, and Ubisoft have all invested heavily in generative AI, with the latter showing off its "Neo NPCs," a prototype for player-facing generative AI that essentially makes it so you can talk to NPCs in a video game, last year.

PUBG unveils chatty co-op buddy powered by generative AI that's designed to play and talk like a human teammate

PUBG maker Krafton has unveiled what it's calling Co-Playable Characters (CPCs) - essentially, AI companions that are designed to move, shoot and talk like a human teammate. The technology is powered by an on-device small language model (SLM) and Nvidia ACE technology, which uses generative AI to chat and react to your voice commands. In essence, it's a smart AI partner with the functionality of a chatbot built in. Nvidia says its ACE technology allows for "companions that comprehend and support player goals, and enemies that adapt dynamically to player tactics". It's powered by a language model that's "capable of planning at human-like frequencies required for realistic decision making", Nvidia continues, as well as "multi-modal SLMs for vision and audio that allow AI characters to hear audio cues and perceive their environment". How will this work in PUBG? As seen in the video above from Krafton, players will be able to team up with a "PUBG Ally" who responds to your commands - such as finding a specific armour item, or running to your side. There's even the suggestion your PUBG Ally will undertake in a bit of banter. "I carry for a living," the robotic voice says. Bit creepy. As yet there's no word on when PUBG Ally will go live in-game, but further CPCs are also on the way. Krafton's upcoming Sims-like life simulation game inZoi will also use the technology, with Co-Playable Characters named "Smart Zoi" that will essentially act as human-like NPCs within the experience, designed to support your own character.

PUBG teammates not good enough? Nvidia's new generative AI-led 'Co-Playable Character' aims to offer you an alternative

Nvidia has announced a partnership with a handful of developers to create AI teammates, which is informed by Nvidia's own generative and responsive AI. This is to say that the AI teammates here are a little more intelligent than those you may have come across before. AI that is used to dictate what NPCs do and what paths they take is generally fairly different to the AI used in creating images with six fingers and generating documents. However, Nvidia is combining the two, alongside PUBG publisher Krafton to make PUBG Ally. This new AI system allows you to chat with an AI-led teammate, who can take orders and fire at enemies. In the YouTube clip (via The Verge) showing it off, the player asks for some ammo and a better piece of armour, and the bot not only finds it and pings it, but says it has done so. So far, so good. It is already more communicative than the average player I come across in PUBG. As well as this, the AI teammate spotted an enemy, let the player know, and laid down covering fire. Of course, this is just a proof of concept and highly scripted so we don't know how it will shape out in actual games but this could be a genuinely good use for AI in games. Just last year, Ubisoft announced the potential use of generative AI for NPCs in singleplayer games and I've always thought this feels like a gimmick, replacing the bespoke experience of talking to scripted NPCs with something I'd get bored of very quickly. However, being able to dynamically communicate with a bot could be good for when my friends are offline and I just want one more game. And adding a multiplayer chatbot doesn't run the risk of pushing artists out of games like other uses of generative AI. However, we don't quite know how that will affect ranked mode and similar competitive play as having a teammate who is literally designed by AI to do everything you want it to could result in complaints of cheating. In the blog post for this new tech, Nvidia announced it would also be used for battle royale game Naraka: Bladepoint, AI characters in Sims-like Inzoi, and as smart enemies in MIR5. Nvidia ACE, first announced at Computex 2023, is also powering conversational AI, like that in the Ubisoft post earlier on in the murder mystery game Dead Meat, AI People, a sandbox game, and ZooPunk, the follow-up to F.I.S.T: Forged in Shadow Torch. Generative AI is worming its way into many facets of gaming and, though I rather dislike the prospect of AI-generated dialogue and art, slapping a chatbot onto multiplayer bots feels like it could work with some finetuning. Though Bladepoint's AI companions are set to launch in March this year, we don't yet have word on the rest. We'll need to test out this tech for ourselves to see if its gets close to the chaos of playing with a few buddies.

AI teammates in PUBG? Nvidia's new generative AI co-playable character could be your new best friend

In the latest twist of gaming evolution, Nvidia is teaming up with Krafton to introduce the world to a new kind of teammate in PUBG. The co-playable character or AI-led teammate isn't just an NPC with a mind of its own -- it's one that can respond to your commands, shoot at enemies, and even find better gear for you. If you've ever been stuck with a squad member who's a bit too AFK for your taste, this new AI could be your ticket to victory. The AI teammate in action even goes beyond basic commands. Players can ask for ammo or armor, and the bot not only retrieves the items but also pings them back to the team. Sure, it's still in the experimental phase, but it's already showing more personality and responsiveness than some players we've teamed up with. If nothing else, it's a nice change from the usual "random teammate who goes rogue" situation. This innovation isn't just a one-off either -- Nvidia's generative AI is making waves across other titles too, including Naraka: Bladepoint and the upcoming ZooPunk. However, there's still a question mark about how AI teammates will affect competitive play. If these bots are designed to follow your every command, could that feel like cheating in ranked matches? What do you think -- could AI teammates be the future of gaming, or will they just be another gimmick?

Nvidia's AI NPCs are no longer chatbots -- they're your new PUBG teammate

Nvidia has spent the last two years showing off its digital "ACE" characters that can have in-game conversations with you using generative AI. But at CES 2025, the company is taking the ACE characters a step further by showing how they can be "autonomous game characters" -- including, sometime this year, a teammate to help you get a chicken dinner in PUBG. Nvidia says that ACE characters can use AI to "perceive, plan, and act like human players," per a blog post. "Powered by generative AI, ACE will enable living, dynamic game worlds with companions that comprehend and support player goals, and enemies that adapt dynamically to player tactics." The characters are powered by "small language models (SLMs)" that are "capable of planning at human-like frequencies required for realistic decision making" as well as "multi-modal SLMs for vision and audio that allow AI characters to hear audio cues and perceive their environment."