Over the weekend, Square Enix announced a collaboration with Google which will see a generative AI-powered “companion” added to Dragon Quest X.

As highlighted in an article by news outlet Sankei Shimbun (thanks, NintendoEverything), Google’s Gemini will be integrated into the Japan-only MMORPG and power a conversational companion known as “Chatty Slimey”. A beta test is planned for this new feature, which devs say is focused on newcomers to the 13-year-old online game who may get lost and benefit from a guiding hand.

“New players won’t feel alone wondering where to start; they’ll have a personal companion,” said current DQX director Takashi Anzai. The AI will reportedly analyse what’s happening onscreen and “may initiate conversations when a powerful enemy is defeated or a rare item is obtained,” according to Sankei (via Google Translate).

Chance would be a fine thing for players in the West, of course; while it has launched in some form on the Wii, Wii U, 3DS, and Switch in Japan, Square Enix hasn’t localised DQX for other regions and the tenth game in the RPG series remains a Japan-only release.

Google Cloud’s Jack Buser was keen to emphasise the impact he believes AI will have on gaming in general back at GDC. “I’ll predict that within three to five years we’re going to see every major genre completely transformed because of AI, and we’re going to see entirely new genres that we can’t even predict as we sit here today.”

The Final Fantasy company has jumped on the AI bandwagon in recent times and hopes to have automated 70% of its Quality Assurance using generative AI by 2027.

Last year, controversy surrounding OpenAI’s Sora 2 tool suggested that publishers were still wary of generative AI when it comes to copyright infringement, and the Darth Vader/Fortnite implementation highlighted potential issues that can arise when players are left to chat with AI-powered characters.

Elsewhere in the Japanese gamedev sphere, Capcom recently answered an investor question stating emphatically that the company “does not implement assets generated by generative AI into game content” (thanks, @Genki_JPN). However, as you’d expect at this stage, the Resident Evil firm is exploring ways it can be applied in other aspects of game production.

Here’s the full text, via Google Translate:

Please explain your approach to using generative AI in game development.
Our company does not implement assets generated by generative AI into game content.

However, we plan to actively utilize it as a technology that contributes to increased efficiency and productivity in the game development process. Therefore, we are currently exploring its application in various departments, including graphics, sound, and programming.

So, another day, another couple of examples of gaming firms dipping their toes into the genAI pool to varying degrees.

Does this sound like an application of generative AI you’d be interested in? A disaster waiting to happen? Let us know your thoughts below.