From scratch: the first fully made AI game is being created in the Russian Federation

A studio from Moscow is creating a new game that is entirely assembled using AI technologies. Neural networks draw all the images, trailers are created using LLM tools, and ChatGPT writes dialogues. At the same time, the project has already received funding from investors from the UAE, who were bribed by the presence of a story about a poor man from Abu Dhabi who managed to get rich thanks to his resourcefulness. What kind of game will turn out and whether it will become popular among users can be found in the Izvestia article.

A game made entirely by AI

The Moscow studio Games for Gamers (G4G) is creating the first domestic video game made entirely using neural networks — from art and video to dialogues and game mechanics. The team received funding from investors from the UAE, the authors told Izvestia.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Lantyukhov

This project is not just a technological experiment, but an attempt to rethink the approach to game development, said Konstantin Sakhnov, head of the studio. The authors use several generations of large language models (LLM) and generative models: ChatGPT and Claude write texts and quests, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion create visuals, Veo 3 and Nana Banana create videos. However, the final content is collected and edited by experts, turning the generated elements into a whole world.

"We don't see AI as a way to replace humans, but as a tool that helps us do our job better," he said. — Copilot accelerates coding, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion help artists, ChatGPT and other models write dialogues. But people remain at the core of everything.

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Developers are embedding neural networks into the game mechanics themselves.

— Imagine you walk into a tavern and meet a character who didn't exist a second ago. His story and appearance are created by AI — and this hero will only be yours. We make sure that innovations serve the gameplay, and not destroy it," Konstantin Sakhnov explained.

To gain the support of UAE investors, the developers have incorporated strong Arab cultural motifs into their project. The key moment was a presentation video created with the help of industrial AI, the story of a poor man from Abu Dhabi who, thanks to his resourcefulness, quickly becomes a sheikh. According to the author, they invested in the project after the first pitch, on the same day.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Alexey Maishev

—AI helps us build worlds faster, but it doesn't make them soulless,— added the studio head. — The team is targeting a mature audience that prefers deep gameplay and philosophical plots, and plans to develop an international community around the projects. Games have long outgrown the entertainment format: they connect people and become a part of life.

At the moment, the game has no official name, and the main plot is kept secret.

Development of the gaming industry

The gaming industry is on the threshold of a new era, where the line between a pre-defined scenario and a dynamically formed world is becoming less tangible, said Mikhail Pimenov, Director of Development of the gaming industry at Synergy University. The first Russian AI game is a logical step in the development of the industry. Gamers are also looking for new forms of interaction, personalization of the experience and the opportunity to interact with a dynamically changing world, he added.

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— Neural networks are now actively used at all stages of development, from pre—production and concept art to in-game content generation. This allows studios to significantly speed up prototyping, visual development and optimize scenario work, thereby reducing costs and saving the budget, the expert believes.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Konkov

Neural networks help developers all over the world, including in Russia, said Alexander Artemov, head of the Rossigrnadzor project and creative director of Navigator of the Gaming World.

— The Institute for Internet Development (IRI) actively encourages such projects with a special competition in support of AI development. The main thing is that neural networks remain an accurate and useful tool in the capable hands of developers, and do not replace the whole idea that games carry in themselves — to entertain, educate, give new emotions and pleasure from the process. If a game using neural networks becomes better, more interesting, cheaper and faster to produce, then everyone will benefit," he added.

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There are already games in which computer-controlled characters can maintain a dialogue with the player through a voice or text interface, remember the context of interactions, and adapt to surrounding events. This qualitatively changes the experience, turning classic game worlds into living ecosystems — each passage becomes unique, and the reactions of the characters are unpredictable, Mikhail Pimenov recalled.

However, not all experts share the optimism. IT developer Kirill Sergeev noted that a large number of random factors and variables can create an unstable ecosystem for gamers. He believes that the "randomization" of the gameplay will lead to a huge number of unplayable situations, bugs and problems that AI alone will not be able to solve.