At the CES 2025 exhibition, KRAFTON, well-known for the PUBG series, has unveiled a new character type for co-op gameplay, developed in cooperation with NVIDIA. These characters are called Co-Playable Characters, or CPC for short, and utilize NVIDIA ACE technology for interactive interaction with players.

What are Co-Playable Characters (CPC)?

The CPCs are AI companions that can interact with and collaborate with players, understand, and react to game situations much like humans. They come equipped with SLMs for gaming and, thus, are able to perceive, plan, and act like human players. Such characters are able to communicate using game-specific terminology, provide strategic advice, find and share loot, drive vehicles, and engage in combat.

Implementation in PUBG

In PUBG, for example, gamers will be able to team up with "PUBG Ally"-the world's first Co-Playable Character (CPC)-an AI gaming companion that can help voice game-specific terms, provide real-time strategic suggestions, find and share loot, drive vehicles, and engage other players using an array of combat options.

Expansion to Other Games

Meanwhile, CPC tech will be available in more KRAFTON titles later. An example includes the release of "AI Teammate" in Naraka: Bladepoint-mobile in March 2025 and for PC in 2025, acting to support players in combative behavior, locating necessities, exchanging gear, advising on skill usage, and taking victory-end.

Impact on the Industry

The introduction of the CPCs, designed on the back of NVIDIA ACE, opens new horizons for interactive and dynamic gameplay. Such AI companions can substantially enrich players' experiences by providing more realistic and personalized interactions with them within a game. Thus, the collaboration by KRAFTON and NVIDIA at CES 2025 became another important milestone in the history of developing AI technologies for video games and opened for players absolutely new perspectives of interaction and collaboration with AI companions.