At the beginning of this year, Microsoft announced the advent of its “era of the Xbox” with the presentation of Muse, a new artificial intelligence model capable of generating gameplay. Initially perceived as a preliminary search project by Microsoft, Muse is now accessible to Copilot users through a version of Quake II entirely generated by artificial intelligence. This technical demonstration is part of Microsoft’s “Copilot for Gaming” initiative and has a replica of Quake II created via IA, which can be used directly via browser. The proposed quake II level is deliberately basic, characterized by enemies and interactions with a limited definition. In addition, Microsoft has imposed a temporal restriction on the use of this technological demo.
Although the initial demonstration of the Muse model had highlighted performance of 10 frames per second and a resolution of 300 x 180 pixels, this new implementation offers an acceptable fluidity of play and a slightly higher resolution, equal to 640 x 360 pixels. However, the experience remains limited and is configured more as an anticipation of potential future applications. Microsoft continues to present Muses as an artificial intelligence model capable of supporting video games developers in prototyping. At the same time as Muse’s presentation in February, Microsoft had mentioned the exploration of how this model could contribute to the improvement of classic games, such as Quake II, and their transposition on modern hardware.
“You could imagine a future in which, starting from gameplay and video data, a model can learn the functioning of old games and make them actually portable on any platform in which these models can be performed,” said Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, in February. “We have always considered the preservation of video games as an important activity for us, and these models, with their ability to completely learn the functioning of a game without the need for the original engine running on the original hardware, open a myriad of opportunities.” Microsoft is currently training Muses on a greater number of titles, and it is assumed that further short interactive game experiences generated by IA will be made available within Copilot Labs in the near future. In parallel, Microsoft is working to transform Copilot into a real “coach” for video games, allowing the assistant based on IA to analyze the user’s game activity and provide relevant suggestions and guides. Part of this feature will soon be accessible to Windows Insider users via Copilot Vision.