Microsoft’s AI-Powered ‘Quake 2’ Demo Gets Mixed Reactions Online
Microsoft recently launched a special version of the classic video game Quake 2, but this version is different — it’s powered completely by generative AI. While it’s a big technical step forward, many gamers and fans online haven’t reacted well to it.
The new Quake 2 demo uses Microsoft’s AI system called Muse. According to Microsoft, Muse can create “game visuals, controller actions, or both,” which means it tries to guess and simulate how a game like Quake 2 would look and play.
You can try out this version of Quake 2 directly in your web browser on Microsoft’s website. The goal is to show what Muse can do, but Microsoft made it clear that this version is not meant to fully replace the experience of actually playing the real Quake 2 game.
“Whilst we feel it is incredibly fun to play a simulated version of the game inside the model, there are of course limitations and shortcomings of our current approach,” Microsoft explained.
Right now, Muse’s memory is very short — it can only remember 0.9 seconds of gameplay, which equals 9 frames at 10 frames per second. This means if something, like an enemy or an object, goes off-screen for too long, the AI forgets it was there. The enemies also look blurry and don’t move very well.
Even though some people think it’s a cool tech experiment, a lot of people online are not happy. Many replied to a post on X by Game Awards host Geoff Keighley to criticize the project.
The concern many people have is that generative AI could hurt real game developers. Some fear it might lead to job losses or result in copying other people’s work without giving credit.
Still, some leaders in the industry have different opinions. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is very excited about Muse and said back in February that it gave him a similar “wow” feeling as when he first saw other AI tools like ChatGPT.
Nadella also said Microsoft wants to build a whole catalog of games that use this new AI model.
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