At ChinaJoy, Shanghai’s premier annual digital entertainment expo, tech giants like Tencent, Microsoft, and Amazon showcased their latest artificial intelligence (AI) tools to Chinese video game developers. These advancements aim to transform the gaming industry by streamlining game development processes with cutting-edge AI technologies.
Tencent Holdings, based in Shenzhen, stands as a global leader in the video gaming market. During the expo, Tencent Cloud’s Internet Industry General Manager, Chen Liang, discussed the company’s extensive AI services, covering the entire game development cycle. Chen noted that AI has been a part of video games since the 1990s, but the recent surge in generative AI (GenAI) has significantly raised market expectations.
Large language models, such as those used in GenAI services like ChatGPT, have accelerated content creation in video games. “Our plans include using AI for character production, scene creation, and developing intelligent bots,” said Chen.
Tencent Cloud has been working with Kuro Games on “Wuthering Waves,” a popular mobile action role-playing game. According to an IDC report cited by Tencent, the company captured 42.9% of cloud service adoption in China’s gaming sector in the latter half of 2023. The report also highlighted that over 90% of China’s top gaming companies, including Perfect World and 37Games, use Tencent Cloud’s solutions.
| Company | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Tencent Cloud | 42.9 |
| Other Providers | 57.1 |
Cloud computing technology allows companies to distribute, manage, and process software and digital resources over the internet as on-demand services, similar to electricity from a power grid. These resources are stored in data centers, where AI systems are trained.
Microsoft, despite a recent global outage of its cloud services, continues to support local video gaming firms through its AI platform. The company’s Azure OpenAI platform assists Beijing-based Perfect World in creating non-player characters and digital humans. Johnny Tian, Vice President at Microsoft Greater China Region, stressed that their AI system will support Chinese game developers in expanding internationally.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is also making significant strides in supporting Chinese video gaming studios. Through its Amazon Bedrock service, AWS enhances workflow efficiency for various studios. This includes analyzing user comments for ByteDance-owned Moonton Technology and managing operations at Shanghai-based Lilith Games. Zhang Xiaofeng, Gaming Principal Architect at AWS, compared the rise of generative AI to the invention of the steam engine, suggesting it could lead to a major shift in the gaming industry.
Despite the excitement around GenAI advancements, China’s video gaming market experienced slow growth in the first half of the year. A report by the Game Publishing Committee of the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association indicated that total sales rose by 2.1% year-on-year to 147.3 billion yuan (US$20.3 million). However, the industry saw a 2.4% revenue drop in the first half of 2023, despite a previous full-year growth rate of 14%.
Tencent Cloud’s Chen remains positive about the future of AI in gaming, acknowledging that the industry is still in the early stages of exploring AI applications. He highlighted the importance of balancing high-quality AI applications with managing the costs of computing power consumption.
Featured Image courtesy of Pico