China is Making an AI-powered AAA Game

Highlights

Heroes of Jin Yong is a massive new AI-powered martial arts game from CreateAI.
Its AI builds a huge world and creates smart characters who remember your actions.
The developer is a former self-driving car company now pioneering AI in gaming.

Highlights

In a sprawling development studio in China, engineers are building what they say will be the most ambitious video game ever created: a martial arts epic where artificial intelligence doesn't just power the graphics or optimize the gameplay, but creates an entire living world that remembers and responds to every player action.CreateAI, whose background in machine learning for autonomous vehicles informs the company's approach to creating dynamic virtual environments, believes its pivot to gaming represents the future of interactive entertainment. The project represents China's boldest attempt yet to challenge Western dominance in the global market for premium video games, according to the South China Morning Post.Set in a 960-square-kilometer virtual world nearly five times larger than "Grand Theft Auto V," the game draws from the beloved martial arts novels of Louis Cha, whose pen name Jin Yong made him one of China's most celebrated storytellers. But size alone isn't what makes "Heroes of Jin Yong" potentially revolutionary.Unlike traditional games where characters follow predetermined scripts, CreateAI's vision relies on advanced artificial intelligence to generate a world where non-player characters form genuine memories, develop relationships and pursue their own goals.The company describes its vision as creating a world that lives and breathes, where every choice has lasting consequences.

Beyond Traditional Game Design

The project comes as China's gaming industry increasingly embraces artificial intelligence. Major developers like NetEase and Tencent have incorporated A.I. elements into titles like "Justice" and "Honor of Kings," while the recent success of "Black Myth: Wukong" demonstrated global appetite for premium Chinese games.

But CreateAI's approach goes further. Rather than using A.I. to supplement traditional game design, the company is betting that machine learning can fundamentally reimagine what a video game can be. The world isn't hand-crafted by human designers but generated by algorithms that create environments, populate them with intelligent characters, and ensure the virtual ecosystem continues evolving.

This technical ambition reflects China's broader push for cultural influence through entertainment. Video games, with their ability to immerse players for dozens of hours, represent a particularly potent medium for projecting Chinese stories globally.

Whether CreateAI can deliver remains unclear. The game is still in development, and previous attempts at truly dynamic, A.I.-powered worlds have often fallen short. But if successful, "Heroes of Jin Yong" could mark a turning point for both Chinese gaming and the medium as a whole.

China is Making an AI-powered AAA Game

Highlights

Highlights

Beyond Traditional Game Design

Krishna Goswami