March 11, 2025 – According to a blog post published today by tech media outlet The Verge, Sony is currently developing AI-driven PlayStation game characters. The report was accompanied by a one-minute video showcasing an AI version of the character Aloy from the game “Horizon Forbidden West.” The video, narrated by Sharwin Raghoebardajal, Software Engineering Director at Sony Interactive Entertainment, demonstrated how Aloy can engage in conversation with players through voice prompts.
Although this technology is still in its prototype phase, it hints at the vast potential of AI in game development. The prototype utilizes OpenAI’s Whisper for speech-to-text conversion, while GPT-4 and Llama 3 are employed for dialogue generation and decision-making. Additionally, Sony has developed its own Emotional Voice Synthesis (EVS) system and Mockingbird technology for voice generation and facial animation, respectively.
Despite the video demonstration being run on a PC, sources claim that Sony has already tested some of these technologies on the PlayStation 5 console with “minimal overhead.” This development aligns with similar efforts from other industry players such as Nvidia and Microsoft. Nvidia’s Ace technology enables players to freely converse with game characters, while Microsoft, in partnership with Inworld AI, plans to introduce AI characters to the Xbox platform.
