Microsoft thinks Xbox's new generative AI could save classic games, future-proof game libraries

Microsoft hopes to use its new AI technology to preserve older games, potentially future-proofing backwards compatibility.

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Microsoft is all-in on artificial intelligence, and Xbox has briefly discussed its AI plans. First, Xbox signed a multi-year deal with Inworld to use its generative AI for narrative/quest design in games. Now, Microsoft has announced Muse, its own tech that is able to generate gameplay sequences. Muse was trained using real-world inputs from players in Ninja Theory's Bleeding Edge game.

The implications for Muse are unclear, and Microsoft tells developers they don't have to use generative AI for their games (Ninja Theory has already opted out, for instance). The announcement page, blog post, and accompanying YouTube video with Phil Spencer only go so far. What can we expect Muse to be used for?

The written posts have some interesting theoretical applications, especially given Microsoft's business model. It's possible that Microsoft could use Muse to basically preserve its old games; train the AI with the game and it might be able to just...recreate the game itself.

This is probably a long ways down the line, but it's nonetheless compelling. We do have to wonder if this AI technology will impact jobs in an industry that is already being slammed with layoffs.

Here's what Microsoft says about Muse as it pertains to games preservation:

What Muse Means for Gaming

We are already using Muse to develop a real-time playable AI model trained on other first-party games, and we see potential for this work to one day benefit both players and game creators: from allowing us to revive nostalgic games to faster creative ideation.

Today, countless classic games tied to aging hardware are no longer playable by most people.

Thanks to this breakthrough, we are exploring the potential for Muse to take older back catalog games from our studios and optimize them for any device. We believe this could radically change how we preserve and experience classic games in the future and make them accessible to more players.

To imagine that beloved games lost to time and hardware advancement could one day be played on any screen with Xbox is an exciting possibility for us.