Microsoft and Inworld team up to create AI game dev tools

An ex-Rockstar Games employee has revealed new details of cancelled games at the studio, before being contacted by Rockstar and prompted to shut the entire thing down.

Following a surprise ouster, OpenAI co-founder and former CEO Sam Altman joined Microsoft as the head of artificial intelligence research along with the ChatGPT maker's former President Greg Brockman and other staff. The developments come less than a year after OpenAI kicked off the generative AI frenzy with the launch of viral chatbot ChatGPT and bagged Microsoft as an investor, among other big names. 

Microsoft Corp. said that Sam Altman will lead the software developer's new in-house artificial intelligence team after the OpenAI co-founder was ousted from his startup last week, a bid to shore up Microsoft's AI plans and reassure investors.

After Sam Altman’s Interim CEO replacement was announced, Microsoft’s Chief Executive Satya Nadella came in with a surprise on X, stating that while the software giant and OpenAI will continue to have a strong working relationship, there are other changes that will happen at the company, starting with the formation of an advanced AI research team. Along with a few other colleagues, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, both co-founders of OpenAI, have joined Microsoft to lead this team, securing quick employment after their abrupt departure from one of the world’s fastest-growing technology companies.

In a shocking turn of events on November 17, OpenAI fired its CEO Sam Altman, who was also the face of the company. The ChatGPT creator sacked Altman saying that he has not been “consistently candid in his communications with the board”. Following this abrupt announcement, Greg Brockman, the president of the company, also resigned from his post. However, things did not bode well for OpenAI as reports claimed that its investors, namely, the Satya Nadella-led Microsoft, weren't happy with Altman's sacking, and asked the board to bring him back. To make matters worse, the company's employees also threatened a mass exodus if Altman and Brockman weren't brought back before 5:00 PM PT, but the deadline has long passed.

Another month, another batch of fresh games set to hit Xbox Game Pass. This time around, you can expect new games like Persona 5 Tactica and the console version of Dune: Spice Wars, as well as DLC and updates, and more. And, per usual, some games are leaving Xbox Game Pass this month. Let's break it all down below. 

Bethesda has launched Starfield’s next big update, which features DLSS support, in Steam beta.

World of Warcraft: The War Within is the next expansion set to release for the decades-long-running MMORPG. Touted as during the BlizzCon 2023 Opening Ceremony part of the culmination of nearly twenty years of Warcraft history, The War Within is the first of three chapters that will see the resolution to narrative threads that have been dangling for years. And like any expansion, it will feature new areas for players to discover, along with more than a handful of dungeons and encounters they can tackle at varying difficulties.

Microsoft is teaming up with Inworld AI to create game development tools for Xbox, enabling developers to create characters, generate entire scripts and quests, and more. The multi-year deal brings an AI design copilot and an AI character runtime engine to the forefront, both of them being totally optional to use and to varying degrees. Of course, the use of AI in art has been criticised by many for simply lacking originality, in addition to running the risk of fewer jobs for artists — a growing fear among many considering the alarming number of layoffs seen at game studios this year in an attempt to cut costs.

Last month, Morgan Stanley analysts predicted that Microsoft and Sony could benefit from the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in video games, stating that both companies will be “the most clear-cut beneficiaries of AI adoption in the game industry”. As development costs increase and product prices remain stagnant, more and more developers are adopting AI tools, which could help cut costs by 15 percent. Microsoft has now announced that it is partnering with Character Engine for AI NPCs called Inworld AI to develop AI tools. Let us take a closer look.

. The use of artificial intelligence in the entertainment industry is controversial. However, Microsoft presents it as simply a new tool for game developers.

Xbox and Inworld AI have announced a multi-year deal to develop AI game dialogue and narrative tools.