French publisher Ubisoft has revealed an R&D initiative dubbed Teammates, an experimental project that uses generative AI to transform NPCs into what the company describes as “living companions.”

During a closed-door presentation at Ubisoft’s Paris studio attended by Game Developer, the company said the compact experience demonstrates how its teams aim to “pioneer the future of generative play.”

Ubisoft is currently ramping up research into player-facing generative AI. The publisher previously explored the technology through its Neo NPCs—positioned as interactive characters rather than traditional scripted programs—developed in collaboration with Nvidia.

The Neo NPCs prototype was first unveiled in March 2024, and Ubisoft has since leaned further into generative AI to deliver its first playable experience built around the concept.

“From mission briefings to commands on the battlefield, Teammates respond naturally, adapting to player strategies, moods, and even personal slang, creating an experience that feels uniquely responsive. Powered by Ubisoft’s proprietary technology stack, they can read player intent and tone alongside environmental signals to produce fluid, context-aware responses that deepen immersion and player agency.”

According to Ubisoft, Teammates was created by a team of around 80 developers and uses Google Gemini alongside internally developed middleware. By comparison, roughly 25 staff were working on generative AI experiments when Neo NPCs were first shown last year.

The project runs on Ubisoft’s proprietary Snowdrop engine, which underpins many of the company’s AAA titles.

Speaking to the press during the briefing, Ubisoft’s director of generative AI gameplay, Xavier Manzanares, said the team wants to move beyond the “GenAI buzzword” and focus on delivering experiences that meaningfully affect players.

Ubisoft positions Teammates as a proof of concept intended to illustrate the promise of a controversial technology that has often been championed by executives but has yet to fully win over many developers. Central to the experiment is a new in-game companion named Jaspar, a witty personal assistant—somewhat reminiscent of Siri—that players can speak to at the press of a button.

“Jaspar recognizes players by name, assists with onboarding, understands the game’s lore, and can point out threats or important objects in the environment. He can remind players of objectives, recommend next actions, and generally act as a tactical guide when players aren’t sure what to do,” Ubisoft explained.

During hands-on time with Teammates, Jaspar was used to reduce HUD clutter, highlight enemies for easier targeting, summarize mission briefings, and pinpoint objectives—all through casual voice commands.

Teammates also includes two AI-controlled allies, Pablo and Sophia, who can be instructed to help with combat, puzzles, and other tasks. Ubisoft emphasized that its generative AI characters can interpret contextual voice commands without requiring players to phrase instructions with extreme precision.

For example, during a puzzle that required both characters to stand on separate pressure plates, it was enough to tell Pablo to “stand on the plate on the left” and then ask Sophia to “take the other one.” Both commands were correctly understood.

Players could even prompt Pablo and Sophia to congratulate one another after a successful fight, while Jaspar actively attempts to spark quirky, off-topic conversations throughout the experience.

Manzanares said the goal of Teammates wasn’t to ship a full game or even a traditional demo, but to create something players could emotionally connect with, before sharing it internally with creative directors and development teams to demonstrate generative AI’s potential.

“The reason is simple: we want to learn as early as possible what works and what doesn’t. If something would be better done with a controller, we drop it. We don’t invest time. We don’t have time to spend on things that don’t matter.”

While acknowledging that the project is still “rough around the edges,” Manzanares said the priority was building a fresh experience that highlights new forms of interactive gameplay.

Recent remarks from Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot suggest the company is placing significant bets on that potential.

Speaking about Ubisoft’s AI strategy during an earnings call earlier today, Guillemot said the publisher is making major strides in applying generative AI to “high-value use cases that deliver tangible benefits for our players and teams.”

He likened the impact of generative AI on games to the industry’s shift to 3D graphics and confirmed Ubisoft’s ambition to become a leader in the space.

“On the player experience side, we’re continuing to advance groundbreaking player-facing generative AI applications, building on our Neo NPCs announcements from 2024. We’ve already moved from prototypes to real player experiences, and we’re excited to share more before the end of the year,” he said.

“On the production side, teams across all our studios and offices are embracing this technology and actively exploring new use cases in programming, art, and overall game quality.”