Last year, Ubisoft showcased the NEO NPC project, focused on creating next-generation non-playable characters using generative AI. Time has passed, and the company has shared new developments in this area. While Ubisoft's earlier work resembled chatbot variations, the initiative called Teammates demonstrates the integration of these technologies directly into gameplay.
Three Core Goals
According to Ubisoft, Teammates creators have three main objectives: evaluate the possibilities and boundaries of interacting with games through direct speech, explore generative AI's potential for creating deep immersion, and test unique mechanics achievable exclusively through this technology. The initiative will "add depth to gameplay" by transforming NPCs into "true teammates."
Experimental Demo Available
Teammates developers warn that the project is primarily experimental and research-focused, though a playable demo exists. Users are placed in a first-person shooter framework and tasked with finding missing allies. The player is assisted by voice AI assistant Jaspar and two NPC operatives — Pablo and Sofia.
Jaspar's Capabilities
Jaspar can highlight enemies and important objects, share lore and story details, change settings on the fly, and even pause the game — all through simple voice commands. More intriguingly, Jaspar "is an active and responsive character within the story," preventing him from feeling like an awkward add-on.
Natural Player Connection
Bot teammates Pablo and Sofia can also respond to voice or text chat commands. They, along with Jaspar, can perceive contextual cues to interpret player commands in real-time and adapt to their actions. VGC journalist tested Teammates and reported that the delay between voice commands and bot actions is quite short — crucial for video games.
Human Creativity Still Central
Those responsible for Teammates acknowledge criticism of AI in games. But they emphasize their goal isn't handing the creative process to machines, but finding ways to improve it by combining technology's advantages with human-crafted creativity and ingenuity. For instance, narrative director Virginie Mosser was brought onto Teammates development to write character sheets for Pablo and Sofia, including their backstories, personalities, and more.
Ongoing Development
So far, only a few hundred players have experienced Teammates through closed testing. Ubisoft will continue testing and developing the technology, "creating tools and gathering important feedback and suggestions from real users and creative teams within the company."
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Erika Adzhaia is a talented writer and journalist with over 11 years of experience in editorial and copywriting. Erika is a wordsmith and a deep video game lover who successfully combines her literary talents with her love of video games.
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