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Non-player characters or NPCs have been a part of gaming for almost as long as video gaming itself. Often mocked as they just stand idly around waiting for any kind of interaction, gawping into space like an attention-seeking Labrador but sometimes stepping out into the absurd such as Kelvin from Sons of the Forest. Rendered deaf-mute in the helicopter crash that starts the game, and doubtless as a method of studio cost-cutting, Kelvin became the subject of meme after meme when the game launched. There has to be a better solution?
The advent of AI and ChatGPT instantly hinted at the potential for a new host of gaming companions who, unscripted, could chat about their day, riddle the conversation with historical inaccuracies, and hallucinate hugely offensive racial tropes accidentally. The future seemed to be here.
2024 saw a bit of a kickback from gamers who didn’t want any of this new-fangled tech getting in the way of proper words written by proper people and spoken by largely jobbing actors trying to earn a crust. Out came the Steam Review Bombing as soon as there was a hint of AI, but all the while, companies such as Square Enix ignored the noise and said they were using AI to improve their output (boardroom code for sacking people and doing it cheaper).
I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow in the knee
As the dust settles a bit and we move into 2025, Krafton, they of PUBG, and the upcoming could-be-amazing INZOI have announced a partnership with Nvidia to make sure we never have to suffer another Kelvin again. Say goodbye to NPCs such as the guards in Skyrim. and welcome the age of the CPC – co-playable characters which in the words of Krafton’s announcement at CES 2025 in Las Vegas is as follows:
“A CPC is an AI companion that can interact with gamers, enabled by an on-device SLM (Small Language Model) for gaming, built with NVIDIA ACE technology. 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.”
Krafton is now aiming to unleash this CPC technology in INZOI and PUBG in the coming months.
CH Kim, CEO of Krafton, said, “CES 2025 marks a significant milestone for Krafton as we work to unveil AI technology that will revolutionize the gaming industry.” He continued, “We plan 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.”
Krafton, which is headquartered in South Korea, established its own Deep Learning Division in 2022 and has since presented several papers at international AI conferences which seems a more advanced effort than me asking ChatGPT for cocktail recipes from a list of booze I have remaining from Christmas.
We will have to wait and see how gamers react and indeed change their habits when faced with computerized characters they can interact with on a more natural level. It doesn’t sound like something that will end well in many cases
