Ubisoft’s Gen-AI “Motherbrain” now serves as a “global entity” within Ubisoft

Last week, speculation surfaced on the internet following a series of trademarks linked to the word “Motherbrain” from Ubisoft, and what the company’s next move into GenAI might look like.

Insider Gaming has since learned, since these brands went live, that Ubisoft’s “Motherbrain” isn’t just another fad that follows trends; instead, Motherbrain will serve as a global entity within Ubisoft, implementing GenAI into its games.

A GenAI future for Ubisoft

Multiple sources tell Insider Gaming that Motherbrain is intended to be implemented in as many of Ubisoft’s games as possible and is now considered internally as important as Ubisoft’s core creative houses and services. Motherbrain is said to help “accelerate gameplay innovation” in Ubisoft’s titles.

Xavier Manzanares, a 23-year Ubisoft veteran, will lead Motherbrain and has been the lead producer of games including the Mario + Rabbids series and likely Ubisoft’s canceled Zelda game. However, in recent years, Manzanares has become director of research and development for Ubisoft’s Gen-AI initiatives, including Teammates and Neo NPC.

In an internal announcement within Ubisoft, it was stated that Motherbrain “will now operate as a global entity dedicated to supporting gameplay innovation within the group. The (Motherbrain) team will continue to develop proprietary AI technology and middleware dedicated to generative gameplay, which will serve as a common foundation across all of our studios.”

The announcement comes at a fragile time for Ubisoft, which is still in its “third and final round” of cost-cutting measures, aimed at saving an additional €180 million across the company. As part of these changes, the company announced in September that Massive Entertainment would now run Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon and The Division.

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Ubisoft developers tell me that GenAI has become increasingly common and is used at all stages of game development. Ubisoft’s most recent annual Game Developers Conference (GDC), where Ubisoft developers talk internally about new technologies, lessons learned, and more, was flooded with presentations on AI. In fact, the developers tell me it was refreshing to watch a presentation where GenAI wasn’t front and center or mentioned.

The move by Ubisoft comes as game studios are increasingly interested in GenAI, primarily because it can reduce game development costs. Capcom recently took the stage at a self-organized tech conference to talk about the future of the company and also to talk about its own future plans for GenAI.

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