NCSoft to release new game featuring AI-powered characters

Lee Yeon-su, Head of Research Division

South Korean game major NCSoft Corp. plans to release a new game featuring autonomous non-player characters (NPCs) powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology in 2025.

“While existing NPCs are limited to guiding users like one-way chatbots, the upcoming AI NPCs will be enhanced to understand a variety of information, including users’ emotions and behavior patterns, and will be capable of engaging in conversations in real-time,” Lee Yeon-su, head of research at NCSoft, said during a recent interview with Maeil Business Newspaper.

NPCs are characters that provide related information to users based on a pre-set script tied to the game’s story, or simply act as background figures. But the AI NPCs being developed by NCSoft will be able to communicate directly with users, providing a higher level of immersion by allowing players to receive hints about acquiring game items and leveling up through real-time dialogue.

Lee noted that the company plans to unveil its first massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) featuring AI NPCs in 2025.

“As we have already completed the core technology, we intend to diversify game genres to expand its application range,” she said.

As AI NPCs learn from data related to characters, worldviews, and game systems, Lee said that players will be able to experience progressively developed autonomous NPCs that will be showcased at the time of the game’s release.

In relation to this, NCSoft is currently preparing new projects targeting a release in 2025, including the MMORPG “Aion 2,” its first real-time strategy game “Tactan: Knights of the Gods,” and the massively multiplayer online shooting game “LLL.”

Lee also noted that based on its core AI voice synthesis technology, NCSoft aims to create voices for 100-character types.

“We have currently developed over 60 AI voices,” she noted.