NVIDIA has just put a layer back on its system at CES 2025 ACE (Avatar Cloud Engine), which I already told you about and believe me, it will completely make you forget about Skyrim’s scripted NPCs (non-player characters) who always repeat the same phrase!
You’re starting a game of PUBG, you’re solo and you’d like some support… Well, very soon you will be able to team up with a AI-powered teammate who will perfectly understand your voice instructions and act like a real player.
For this NVIDIA has created what they call the first CPC (Co-Playable Character) in the world. It’s not just a bot that follows predefined rules, but a real gaming partner capable of communicating naturally with specific game jargon, giving strategic advice in real time, searching and sharing valuable loot , drive vehicles intelligently, fight tactically against other human players or even perceive and understand dynamic events around them in order to execute orders autonomously without additional instructions.
The secret behind these impressive performances is the SLM (Small Language Models). These specialized AI models allow ACE characters to analyze their environment in real time via vision and audio systems and therefore plan their actions strategically. It’s as if each NPC had its own little brain that runs locally on your gaming PC equipped with an RTX card!
But NVIDIA does not stop there since ACE technology will also transform enemies and the boss AI-controlled opponents will continually learn from your behavior and tactics, forcing you to adapt your playstyle rather than simply memorizing attack patterns. Games will finally become difficult again like in the 90s!!! (trolllll). For example, in the game MIR5 for example, bosses will adapt in real time to your fighting style using intelligent counter-strategies. Other games like Naraka: Bladepoint Mobile et inZOI with its “Smart Zoi” will integrate ACE.
Besides, devs can integrate ACE in several ways… Either directly in the cloud for all connected games, locally on Gaming PCs equipped with an RTX, and all this using the IGI SDK (In-Game Inferencing) or through Unreal Engine 5 plugins.
Rest assured, NVIDIA has provided several mechanisms to guarantee a balanced gaming experience such as automatic adjustment of the skill level, filters for appropriate language (dommaaaaaage….), of course respect for the rules of the game and everything that is behavior consistent with the universe. In short, in theory, you will only be entitled to generate relevant and contextual responses.
But that’s the theory because from experience, with this kind of AI, I can tell you that at one point, it’s going to go to shit. We’ll see if I’m right or not ^^.
There you have it, this technology is gradually arriving in our favorite games and if you want to test it quickly, keep an eye on PUBG which will be among the first to integrate an ACE teammate this year. And for developers who would like to get their hands dirty, NVIDIA already offers development tools via its developer.nvidia.com/ace platform.
In any case, I can’t wait to see how this technology will transform our solo gaming sessions.
Source
