How Artificial Intelligence is changing the online gaming world
The gaming industry has gone through major advancements in the last decade thanks to technological innovations. These innovations increase the demand for gaming even as gamers seek more sophisticated and interactive experiences. According to evaluations by Statista, the global online gaming market was valued at $208.33 billion in 2024.
Now, one of the tech advances running this market is artificial intelligence (AI). From the early days of arcade games, AI has been there. However, it has moved from just helping to make simple decisions in games like Galaga to running complex systems that power large immersive games.
Take for instance, the iGaming industry. AI now helps online casinos to create more dynamic and interactive gaming experiences such as adaptive slot machines and table games. This just works to improve the immersiveness of casino games. Today, online gambling is becoming more like physical casino gaming, thanks to AI.
Now, let’s take time and delve into a number of things that have been changing in the online gaming world as a result of Artificial Intelligence.
More adaptive NPCs
Non-player characters (NPCs) in most video games are usually pre-programmed, meaning that there is nothing outside their programming they can do. They have an automated rules book, and no matter what the players do, the NPC behavior remains the same. However, AI is helping to generate more adaptive and responsive NPCs. Imagine NPCs who respond to the game conditions according to how the game player is playing.
Gaming companies are already working to develop AI-enabled NPCs who are trained by simulating top players. For example, Klang Games, the studio behind the MMO SEED, works with Google Cloud to bring its NPCs to life. By working with Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), Vertex AI and Gemini models, Klang has the ability to give life to thousands of virtual humans (Seedlings). These NPCs will be able to:
- Form relationships.
- Showcase unique personalities.
- Shape emerging societies through natural conversations.
Another company that is having a run at this is Capcom, creator of popular games like Street Fighter, Resident Evil and Monster Hunter. The use of AI not only helps Capcom generate adaptive NPCs but also lowers costs and speeds up the time it takes to come up with new games.
Creating more realistic gaming experiences
Gaming companies are using AI to increase the performance of simulations in online games and make the games feel more natural and realistic. The more realistic a game feels, the higher the chances that people will want to interact with it. And as Marina Krcmar, associate professor of communication at Wake Forest, put it, “Greater realism leads to greater immersion.”
Back in 2010, Marina stated that the realism that was in the new video games was amazing. The quality of the graphics and sounds took the quality of the games to that of using virtual reality. The movements were more realistic, ensuring that players became more involved in the games.
AI is fantastic at coming up with the future of a complex gaming system. Because of that, it is being used to recreate new virtual gaming worlds and environments that have well illuminated scenes. In fact, AI upscaling is a good feature to improve the graphics of online games and change images to real-life-like depictions. A good example of this is Nvidia’s AI-powered upscaling that is used to make images look sharper.
Detecting cheats in multiplayer games
About two decades ago, cheating in online games was very common. Gamers used aimbots, wallhacks and duping items to beat the systems since anti-chat systems were very basic. Today, however, cheating has gone lower. Not to say that it’s been scrapped off, as hackers are also evolving.
However, anti-theft systems have become better. For example, a popular technology is kernel-level anti-cheats in Riot’s Vanguard and Call of Duty Ricochet. This tech can detect even low-level hacks.
Now, even though the systems are evolving, cheaters are also evolving. And that’s where AI comes in.
You see, AI can help in analyzing the behavior of players. For instance, the AI model will watch players in:
- How fast they aim.
- How accurate they shoot.
- How often they get critical shots (i.e, headshots) in comparison to normal players
- How they move around.
If a player is operating too perfectly, then the AI can flag them automatically, regardless of whether the cheat is very subtle. For example, Valorant’s anti-cheat monitors watch out for patterns that look ‘too consistent’ to be human.
The thing about AI anti-cheats is that they are adaptive and update their models constantly. You see, with the older models, they were programmed to detect a particular kind of cheat and flag them off. However, new types of cheats have been coming up, meaning that the program might not be able to detect them. However, with AI, any kind of cheat is detected easily, and even if players try to ‘act human,’ they are eventually caught.
Interestingly, players are also using AI to try to beat AI detectors. It has now become a battle of who can beat the other.
In conclusion
As we wrap up, it’s quite clear that AI is transforming the online gaming world. As we talk about adaptive NPCs and realistic graphics, it's evident that this industry is positioned to ensure enhanced player experiences. Also, the AI detection models are helping combat unlawful players who aim at undercutting the industry.