AI NPCs and short video boom
Social chatter is pointing to a huge spike in machine‑learning use for NPCs and AI content in games — one thread claims a 9,700% growth metric for ML‑driven NPC work — while vertical short‑form video formats now drive roughly 37% of player interactions in gaming posts (x.com) (x.com). That combination is changing how studios show and test game systems: more AI in NPCs, and more vertical clips shaping discovery and feedback (x.com).
Game studios are testing two bets at once: more artificial intelligence inside non-player characters, and more vertical video outside the game to find players. (gdconf.com) A non-player character is a computer-controlled character, like a shopkeeper or squadmate. New systems use language, speech, memory, and animation models so those characters can answer in plain language instead of picking from a fixed dialogue tree. (developer.nvidia.com) NVIDIA says its ACE for Games tools are built for “knowledgeable, actionable and conversational” characters, with models for speech, intelligence, and animation that can run in the cloud or on-device. The company’s examples now include KRAFTON’s PUBG co-player characters, inZOI’s “Smart Zois,” and an in-game advisor for Total War: PHARAOH. (developer.nvidia.com) Ubisoft put that idea in front of developers on March 19, 2024, when it unveiled its “NEO NPCs” prototype at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Ubisoft said the demo used unscripted dialogue, memory, contextual awareness, real-time emotion, and voice-to-chat so players could change scenes through conversation. (ubisoft.com) The same shift is showing up in studio workflows. In the 2025 State of the Game Industry survey, based on more than 3,000 developers, 52% said they work at companies that have implemented generative artificial intelligence tools, and 36% said they personally use them. (gdconf.com) That adoption is not the same as consensus. The same survey found 30% of developers said generative artificial intelligence is having a negative impact on games, up 12 percentage points from the prior year, with complaints centered on intellectual property, energy use, bias, regulation, and lower-quality output. (gdconf.com) On the marketing side, studios are moving toward shorter social formats because discovery is getting harder. Bastion’s 2025 video games marketing survey said 31% of respondents expected discoverability to be their top challenge, while influencer partnerships were rated the most effective launch tactic. (cdn.prod.website-files.com) Platform data points in the same direction. ListenFirst said TikTok was the only major platform in its 2024 video game social analysis to grow across engagements, video views, and response rate, and that average response rate for video posts on TikTok topped 15%. (listenfirstmedia.com) Bain said in its 2025 gaming report that younger players are driving success in top games and care more about social and creative elements than graphics. That helps explain why studios are cutting mechanics into phone-sized clips and using comment sections as a live feedback loop before and after launch. (bain.com) Some of the loudest numbers circulating online, including claims of a 9,700% jump in machine-learning NPC work and a 37% share of gaming-post interactions for vertical video, could not be verified in public primary-source reports reviewed for this story. What is verifiable is the direction: more studios are deploying artificial intelligence tools, and more game marketing is being shaped by short video platforms. (gdconf.com)
