Artificial intelligence (AI) is confirmed as one of 2023’s key trends in gaming, with the number of investors targeting companies developing AI tools rising throughout the year. In Q3 2023, 12 companies focused on AI were targeted by investors, up by 50% from eight in Q2 2023.

Practical applications of AI provide simple solutions to notoriously complex challenges within the games industry, including moderation. For example, Roblox announced its intent to bring voice chat to Roblox in September 2021, though as of September 2023 the feature is yet to be fully implemented. In a step towards this, the company acquired Speechly – a real-time AI voice moderation startup – for an undisclosed sum. Also using AI-powered technology, GGWP raised $10m in July 2023 for its multiplayer game moderation tools. The tool uses contextual AI to identify and prioritise disruptive behaviour in real-time across chat, player reports, usernames, and Discord, thereby freeing up human moderators to handle serious or complex reports

Another significant application of AI technology is improving the realism of non-player characters (NPCs). In a round led by LightSpeed Venture Partners, Inworld AI raised $50m for its AI-driven character engine. In this context, the use of AI enhances the realism of NPCs through unscripted dialogue, contextual awareness, and adaptation to a player’s actions. Similarly, NPCx raised $3m for its new product, BehaviourX, which aims to capture and apply real-time player data to create behavioural NPC clones in-game. Through creating more immersive experiences for players, both companies aim to increase player engagement metrics, like stickiness and playtime.

Despite the benefits of AI, there are unanswered questions surrounding the technology, including the use of existing art to train models and the copyright implications of that methodology. These legal jeopardies have impacted adoption, particularly within larger companies. However, the interest from investors is undeniable, suggesting that activity targeting AI will likely continue to increase throughout the year and into 2024.