Long before generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini started dominating the tech world, gamers had been interacting with AI companions and opponents for decades. Non-player characters (NPCs) appear in nearly every game, whether it is a monster trying to kill you or a civilian that needs saving. However, according to Nvidia, intelligent language models have primed game AI for “a truly intelligent overhaul” in the months ahead.
At CES 2025, Nvidia pulled back the curtain on its NVIDIA ACE autonomous game characters. These game characters use generative AI “to perceive, plan, and act like human players.” Your teammates will be more capable of understanding what you’re trying to accomplish, while your opponents will adapt more dynamically to your tactics in order to survive.
“Enabling these autonomous characters are new ACE small language models (SLMs),” explains the GeForce team behind the new tech, “capable of planning at human-like frequencies required for realistic decision making, and multi-modal SLMs for vision and audio that allow AI characters to hear audio cues and perceive their environment.”
Many games will take advantage of the new technology, including the battle royale title PUBG, which is introducing Co-Playable Character (CPC) with PUBG Ally. Powered by a Mistral small language model, these AI teammates will be able to use game-specific lingo, provide real-time strategic recommendations, find and share loot, drive vehicles, and fight other players.
You can see the new AI-powered CPCs in action in PUBG in the video below:
And PUBG is just the tip of the iceberg for Nvidia’s autonomous game characters. Krafton’s The Sims rival inZOI will also use Co-Playable Characters to fill out its cities, NetEase’s battle royale game Naraka: Bladepoint is releasing AI teammates later this year, and Wemade Next’s MMO MIR5 “will use NVIDIA ACE to power boss encounters.”
Here are a few more videos to give you a taste of these GenAI-powered NPCs:
