Microsoft has announced that its AI assistant program, Copilot, will be coming to current-gen consoles. The feature has previously been available in beta on PC, mobile, and the ROG Xbox Ally.
Announced at a panel at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), as reported by GamesRadar, the feature is planned to arrive sometime “later this year,” and Sonia Yadav, Xbox’s gaming AI partner group product manager, stated the company wants to “continue to bring it to more services that players are playing.”
Yadav only mentions current-generation consoles, but that would presumably include the Xbox Series X|S. The current version of Copilot allows players to ask guide-like questions if they are stuck in a game or need a reminder about something specific. The example used by the official site is the question, “Can you remind me what materials I need to craft a sword in Minecraft?”
It goes without saying, however, that Copilot has yet to make much of an impact in the gaming space. We have not really seen whether AI assistance is something players will be interested in using, compared with traditional guides and help.
But it seems like Sony and PlayStation are also experimenting with the idea: earlier this year, in January, the company patented an AI-assist feature that can demonstrate how to progress if you get stuck, or even take over control fully.
In related news, Microsoft also announced at GDCC that “Xbox Mode” will roll out to all Windows 11 PCs in April. This is a full-screen Xbox experience that first debuted in the ROG Ally, similar to Steam’s Big Picture mode. It’s supposed to bring a “controller optimized experience,” where players can browse their library, launch games, use the Game Bar to switch between apps, and more. It’s an interesting wrinkle, considering the company is currently removing all mention of its “This is an Xbox” campaign from the web.
Xbox also announced the name of its next-generation console, Project Helix, and plans to start sending dev kits to developers next year.
