Four things we learned at this year’s AI and Games Conference, 06/11/2025
Riot’s safety-first approach to AI, Cyberpunk’s police system simplicity, and investment trends dominate the chat
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We pick out the big things we learned from this year’s AI and Games Conference
Saudi esports athletic ambitions rung out to dry by International Olympic Committee
Football Manager returns to fill the book-shaped gap in George’s life
Hello VGIM-ers,
This week’s introduction is written from the second AI and Games Conference, where Anna and I spent the day learning from some of the smartest people in the game biz. We’ll dive into what we learned shortly.
But for now, I wanted to share glad tidings that the VGIM 2nd Birthday Drinks, sponsored by Fifty, Renaissance PR, and The Games Rating Authority, have completely sold out.
If you’ve got a ticket to the event, we’re looking forward to welcoming you to the Craft Beer Pub on Wednesday 26th November.
If you haven’t got a ticket, remember that you can still sign up to the waiting list just in case we have some dropouts. The event details can be found here.
And if you’re heading to today’s Green Games Summit in London, do say hello. I’ll be running proceedings in the morning, before hanging around to watch the Green Game Awards.
The big read - Four things we learned at this year’s AI and Games Conference
Opening spiel: The AI and Games conference returned for a second extended edition in London earlier this week. The event, which is officially about bringing together AI and games practitioners (and unofficially about sticking a middle finger up to AI bandwagon jumpers), saw hundreds of people come together to learn from the brightest minds in the field.
Seamless segway: But what exactly did we learn from the conference? Which games did we get to go under the hood of? And what do developments within games AI tell us about what’s going on in the big wide world of artificial intelligence? Here are four things for your consideration.
Safety-first Riot bots raise questions about AI use across society
Grok-ing all over the world: It’s been hard to keep track of all the ‘artificial intelligence goes rogue’ stories since the generative AI boom began. Whether it’s Elon Musk’s Grok declaring itself as MechaHitler or Mark Sewards MP’s chatbot implying he opposed a policy that he voted in favour of, the deployment of new AI services has felt rushed, ill-considered, and risky.
Steady as it goes: By contrast, the biggest names in the video games industry are much more careful about effectively deploying AI. Wes Kerr of Riot Games gave a talk about the company’s use of reinforcement learning (RL) to train in-game bots for fighting game 2XKO. And the business’s level of due diligence over its use of RL agents is staggeringly detailed in comparison to AI rollout across the wider world.
Copium aplenty: In Kerr’s words, any business relying on “hope or copium” when deploying a technology like RL risks everything. Whether it is racking up enormous costs from compute through to bots displaying ‘degenerate behaviour’ (e.g. spamming one attack in a fighting game to beat human opponents), there is a chance that consumer-facing AI tech does stuff you really don’t want it to.
Proper process: So Riot has a deep, detailed process to use RL in its games which flattens the risk. From a production side, the company’s research team defines and derisks learning agents to get them to the point where production can think about using them. Its central tech team then translates that research into game-ready bots that players can grapple with. Then Riot’s live game teams keep a close eye on how the bots are doing, tweaking them if the meta changes or they start doing weird stuff.
Blended approach: And importantly, these processes are guided by loads of data and shrewd personal design. Kerr showed how Riot mixes together everything from player telemetry data, bespoke design from its AI expert, machine learning technologies, and fresh insights from its research and development team to make its bots kick ass (well, just enough for players to appreciate the fight anyway).
Can’t fail? Don’t ship it: And while Kerr freely admitted that it is still possible to make costly mistakes with all these processes in place, the company’s safety-first policy means that if the team develop a feature that “can’t fail” in the game without potentially ruining the experience then Riot “don’t ship it”. Something for the wider AI community outside of games to learn, me thinks.
George Osborn
Max-tac simplicity of Cyberpunk 2077’s police system shows value of efficiency
Does not need to compute: As Kerr’s presentation showed, one of the big problems that artificial intelligence systems can bump into is using so much resource that the software either becomes inefficient to run (or falls over completely). So it was refreshing to hear from Maciej Celmer, Senior AI Engineer at CD Projekt Red (CDPR), discuss how Cyberpunk 2077’s police system, which was updated for the superb Phantom Liberty DLC, uses AI to excitingly raise the stakes for players without bringing in painful performance issues.
Wagga-wagga: One of the big ways CDPR made its police system run so smoothly was to draw on classic video game chase mechanics that have proven efficient over the course of decades. The game’s five-star heat system, which allows players to know how hard the po-po is going after them, is almost exactly what we’ve seen in Grand Theft Auto VI. Celmer also said that Cyberpunk’s AI team gave the in-game police ‘Pac-Man’ style pursuit patterns, creating the feeling of being chased while allowing players to slip the net.
Calculating a route: But to give the system its own special Cyberpunk spin without sacrificing performance, Celmer demonstrated how the AI team carefully added new dimensions to its chase systems by building on systems already within the game. For example, the team added police roadblocks to Cyberpunk 2077 for any player who hit three stars on the heat system to take advantage of Phantom Liberty’s new vehicle combat systems. And rather than write an entire system from scratch to govern its use, Celmer and Co plugged into existing in-game features that calculated a player’s position in the in-game world, gauged where they were in Night City’s traffic, and guessed where they were going. This allowed roadblocks to drop carefully into the roads that the player was most likely to drive down, increasing their heart rate without crashing the game.
Levelling the playing field: And for those who pushed law enforcement too far, CDPR used a smartly simple system to ‘reward’ them with a dramatic mini-boss battle. Max-Tac, the infamous squad of cyber-psycho SWAT team members, are dropped into battle when the player hits maximum heat. But the game can only deploy them from their hovering techno helicopter when the player is on a flat surface. So the team cleverly coded the in-game AI to work out when a player’s car hits flat road, triggering a ‘freeze’ on the vehicle via Max-Tac’s law enforcement buddies to hold the player in place. This then activates the squad’s arrival, landing the heavily armed, erm, heavies dramatically in front of the player to let them know that they’re in for a world of pain.
Keep it simple, stupid: CDPR’s use of AI inside its police system was simple enough for a schmuck like me to understand it. But that, I think, is kinda the point. In a world where lots of the discussion around AI from some practitioners is really opaque, designers like Celmer favour elegance and efficiency. This puts the person who is enjoying the service first, not the technology they’re using.
GO
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Building AI buddies isn’t just a gimmick, it could be a lifeline (if done responsibly)
AI is my boyfriend. When OpenAI briefly deleted ChatGPT 4 to introduce their latest model, users were outraged. The chatbot they’d come to know, and in some cases love, was gone overnight. Olga Titova, product manager at Wargaming, wasn’t surprised. Drawing on her experience working for Replika (one of the first AI companion apps), as well as her background in cognitive psychology, Titova knew how intensely “real” LLM relationships could become.
The Eliza Effect. In 1966, Weizenbaum created a rudimentary AI, named Eliza, to deliver CBT to patients as a way of proving that human connection was vital to mental health support. To his surprise, patients felt more comfortable opening up to Eliza than to real therapists. By removing one of the biggest barriers to connection – social risk – users are more likely to admit vulnerability to machines.
A difficult balance: More recently, studies show that short-term AI use could reduce loneliness and help mitigate suicidal thoughts. But with other studies showing some chatbots have played a role in encouraging people towards self-harm, Titova made it clear that designers have an active role to play in keeping people safe.
Am I bugging? “AI’s emotional impact isn’t a bug. It’s a feature,” Titova explained, “and we have a responsibility to design it with care.” As such, she laid out a framework for responsible design that builds an ethical framework for their deployment based on consent, healthy attachment, and anchoring users to reality to ensure that anyone who is forming such a relationship does so healthily.
Engagement traps and commercial mishaps: And whereas AI companies can get caught in engagement traps, optimising for in-app time without considering outer-app wellbeing, Titova argues that games, at their best, prioritise meaningful experiences that lead to healthier relationships between players and chatbots. “I believe the goal should not be to create dependence and replace human connection,” Titova mused, “but to use AI as a training ground for emotional engagement and empathy.”
Looking out for the little guy: Ultimately, Titova believes that “AI relationships are already here whether we like it or not.” And whether game designers consider using dynamic functions to power in-game companions, support the design of multiplayer bots, or improve the accessibility of help options, it’ll likely fall to us to create the practices that keep players safe (and, hopefully, the wider world too).
Anna Mahtani
Boring business basics beat bluster in AI and Games investment landscape
Investment game: An investment panel? About AI? Was it all about how much monsloshingushing about the place? Or about the awkward inflating noise we’re all hearing as a seemingly enormous bubble gets close to bursting? Turns out, it was none of those. Instead, it was a speedy jaunt through what investors are actually thinking about opportunities in the space and what your business may need to do to get some of that sweet, sweet cash.
Massive competition: The immediate semi-alarming headline was the number of companies pitching games businesses with an AI spin. Curtis Urbanowicz of Makers Fund estimated that three-quarters of the thousand games projects they’ve seen in the past year have mentioned AI in their pitches. Of those, at least a couple of hundred are dedicated AI plays. Based on our back of the fag packet calculation, that means Urbanowicz is pitched approximately one AI business every working day of the year. Yikes.
Outliers everywhere: So the question is how to make your business stand out in the gold rush. For Urbanowicz, whose perspective is rooted in venture capital, the hunt is on for “outlier outcomes” that’ll deliver major returns. Tools that help developers seem to be less likely to deliver those returns for VCs because game studios and the big engine providers tend to beat businesses to the punch. By contrast, game developers trying to create ‘novel’ experiences that deploy AI in transformative ways have a better chance with VC funds because they could blow up in a way other games simply won’t. Boom or bust it is then.
But, but, but: Other investors see opportunities a little differently. Phil Mansell, an angel investor and former bigwig at Jagex, believes that tools and service providers can deliver long-term returns for smaller investors who are willing to ride short-term pain to generate long-term wins with a carefully considered sales process. And while there was little disagreement over VC firms chasing their white whales, there was a concerted pushback by all panellists against ‘hand wavey pitches’ based totally on unfounded hope (e.g. we’ll prompt a game in three years) or those who leapt straight from the crypto bandwagon to the generative AI one.
Old habits thrive hard: And even though the panel differed in opinion in a handful of places, the group strongly agreed that the best pathway to investment remains doing the basics well. Nick Button-Brown of The Games Angels made it clear that your business’s story matters, meaning you have 30 seconds to get your point acrohaveto buy the rest of the time to tell your story. Sikander Chahal from Transcend Fund said that a company that appears to be ‘directionally correct’ will always be better placed than its rivals to get investment, even if the wheels do come off at some point. And Mansell chucked in the importance of demonstrating you have the right team make-up, both to show you’ve got the right people in the room and the right chemistry to deal with the tough moments when they pop up.
Summed up: So yes, you do need to have an exciting vision on how your business will use AI to transform games to grab the interest of investors. But don’t forget that hype is no substitute for good old-fashioned qualities like vision, a great team, and a credible plan to deliver it. Good news for sensible business. Bad news for the hucksters.
GO
News in brief
Off the podium: The International Olympic Committee has ended its partnership with Saudi Arabia’s National Olympic Committee and the Esports World Cup Foundation to bring the first Esports Olympics to Riyadh. The news was confirmed in a stodgily worded statement that went to great lengths not to say “it’s stuffed, lads.” But it looks like, at least for now, an end to Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to fold the Olympic movement into its wider sporting agenda.
Eager Assurances: In other Saudi sports news, Electronic Arts has claimed that it will retain its “creative control” after its acquisition by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. In an updated version of its internal Frequently Asked Questions document, EA employees have been told that the company’s “track record of creative freedom and player-first values will remain intact.” The fact that those values are being co-opted by the Saudi state to change its perception on the global stage was, curiously, ignored.
Stop Stop Killing Games: The UK government has taken the wind out of the Stop Killing Games campaign following a debate in Parliament earlier this week. Stephanie Peacock, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department of Media, Culture, and Sport, said that while the Government recognises the “strength of feeling” behind the campaign (and amongst supportive MPs), it also recognised video games companies’ concerns that pesky things like law, technology, and commercial realities meant that its requests were broadly unworkable.
Sora point: Japanese games publishers Square Enix, Bandai Namco, and Kadokawa have joined a Japanese government-backed coalition calling on OpenAI to stop scraping its works for its generative AI tool Sora 2. GI Biz reports that Square Enix, Bandai Namco, and Kadokawa are supporting a call from the Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) for the West Coast AI business to stop training on copyrighted content as part of a wider push to protect the country’s intellectual property.
Fight, Fight, Fight: And finally, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has claimed that over 30 members of staff have been fired by Rockstar as part of an en masse union-busting effort. The staff, based in the UK and Canada, were reportedly all members of a Discord group discussing the possibility of unionising. Rockstar disputed the IWGB’s claims, suggesting that they were all sacked for gross misconduct instead.
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Moving on
Robert Saunders is the new Senior Director, Territory Communication at Rockstar Games…Kerry Rizzo is Comms and PR Manager at Playing for the Planet…Kat May has been appointed as Influencer Relations Manager at Secret Mode…Alvin Hussey has been promoted to Business Development Director at Super Awesome Games…And Oliver Greenwood has been appointed by Blizzard as Director of Product Management…
Jobs ahoy
Twitch is hunting for an International Comms Lead…Take Two Interactive wants a new Director & Counsel, International Employment…Nvidia is looking for a Senior Developer Relations Manager - Gaming Ecosystem in Santa Clara…Fortis Games is snapping up a Director, Communications in Canada…And NetEase Games has an opening for a Senior Platform Relations expert in the UK…
Events and conferences
Pocket Gamer Connects Aqaba, Aqaba - 8th-9th November
Gamesbeat Summit Next, San Francisco - 12th-13th November
Unite, Barcelona - 19th-20th November
AdventureX, London - 22nd-23rd November
VGIM 2nd Birthday Drinks - 26th November (Waiting list only)
Games of the week
Football Manager 26 - Prepare for George to have a mysterious leave of absence for the next three to four months, as Football Manager finally returns to PC and Console.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment - Battle hordes of Hyrulean beasts as Princess Zelda in this pastel-filled prequel to Tears of the Kingdom.
Unbeatable - Join a band on the run in this breakneck rhythm game where music is illegal. Do crimes, rock out, and always, always, stay on beat.
Before you go…
How did one game shape the future of an entire industry?
Keith Stuart of The Guardian explores the bloody impact Mortal Kombat had on the games industry, sparking moral panic, regulatory scrutiny, and a culture shock that’s hung around the industry for nearly three decades.
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