Krafton launches beta for AI ally in new PUBG arcade mode
Krafton announced a beta test for the Ally Duo, a new arcade mode for PUBG: Battlegrounds where a human player fights alongside an AI companion. Ally Duo is a new Arcade mode in which players form a two-player team with the AI character, Ella, and play on the Sanhok map. Players can communicate with Ella via voice interaction to collaborate across a range of in-game situations, including movement, item collection, and strategy. This mode allows players to team up with an AI companion, creating a uniquely immersive, cooperative gameplay experience. Krafton originally announced the PUBG Ally back in October 2025, but it took a lot longer to implement than expected. If it works, it could be appealing, as human strangers will often go off on their own during battle royale play, leaving their companions vulnerable to group attacks. Ella is the companion character built on PUBG Ally, Krafton’s AI technology. PUBG Ally is a new type of CPC (Co-Playable Character) designed to play alongside human players. Powered by an on-device small language model built on Nvidia Ace, it is designed to understand players’ voice commands and in-game situations to respond proactively. PUBG Ally uses speech-to-text (STT) and text-to-speech (TTS) technologies to interact with players in real time. Unlike traditional NPCs (Non-Playable Characters) that react based on fixed conditions, PUBG Ally simultaneously processes players’ voice commands and evolving in-game situations to generate appropriate actions and responses. For actions that require split-second responses, such as movement and item collection, PUBG Ally is designed to react with minimal latency. For situations requiring contextual understanding, such as developing strategy, PUBG Ally synthesizes in-game context and conversational flow to make decisions, delivering a cooperative experience that feels more natural and responsive. “Ally Duo is an early step toward exploring how AI companions can create new ways to play,” said Kangwook Lee, Chief AI Officer at Krafton, in a statement. “We’re excited to hear from players during the beta and continue improving the experience based on their feedback.” The beta service will run globally for two weeks, from June 17 to July 1. Ally Duo supports voice interaction in Korean, Chinese, and English. Krafton plans to continue refining the technology based on diverse player experiences and feedback gathered during the beta period. “We believe PUBG Ally can open up new opportunities for creators by enabling different types of gameplay, interactions and storytelling moments,” said SangKyun Kim, Head of PUBG Development. “We will continue to introduce a variety of new modes that deliver new joy to PUBG players.” Krafton said it remains focused on delivering differentiated gameplay experiences using AI. In April, the company unveiled four multimodal AI models under the Raon brand family. Going forward, Krafton plans to fine-tune the Raon models for individual games, using them to create new gameplay experiences. As for the challenges involved in getting the AI character right, the problems included minimizing conversational latency. AI has to respond instantly in the game’s combat situations. Devs also had to make sure the game state was synchronized with the AI’s contextual awareness. The bot needs to process what it sees at the same time it interprets a player’s intent. And the team had to think about stopping the AI from falling into infinite decision loops during erratic battle conditions. The post Krafton launches beta for AI ally in new PUBG arcade mode appeared first on GamesBeat.
Krafton announced a beta test for the Ally Duo, a new arcade mode for PUBG: Battlegrounds where a human player fights alongside an AI companion.
Ally Duo is a new Arcade mode in which players form a two-player team with the AI character, Ella, and play on the Sanhok map. Players can communicate with Ella via voice interaction to collaborate across a range of in-game situations, including movement, item collection, and strategy. This mode allows players to team up with an AI companion, creating a uniquely immersive, cooperative gameplay experience.
Krafton originally announced the PUBG Ally back in October 2025, but it took a lot longer to implement than expected. If it works, it could be appealing, as human strangers will often go off on their own during battle royale play, leaving their companions vulnerable to group attacks.
Ella is the companion character built on PUBG Ally, Krafton’s AI technology. PUBG Ally is a new type of CPC (Co-Playable Character) designed to play alongside human players. Powered by an on-device small language model built on Nvidia Ace, it is designed to understand players’ voice commands and in-game situations to respond proactively.
PUBG Ally uses speech-to-text (STT) and text-to-speech (TTS) technologies to interact with players in real time. Unlike traditional NPCs (Non-Playable Characters) that react based on fixed conditions, PUBG Ally simultaneously processes players’ voice commands and evolving in-game situations to generate appropriate actions and responses.
For actions that require split-second responses, such as movement and item collection, PUBG Ally is designed to react with minimal latency. For situations requiring contextual understanding, such as developing strategy, PUBG Ally synthesizes in-game context and conversational flow to make decisions, delivering a cooperative experience that feels more natural and responsive.
“Ally Duo is an early step toward exploring how AI companions can create new ways to play,” said Kangwook Lee, Chief AI Officer at Krafton, in a statement. “We’re excited to hear from players during the beta and continue improving the experience based on their feedback.”
The beta service will run globally for two weeks, from June 17 to July 1. Ally Duo supports voice interaction in Korean, Chinese, and English. Krafton plans to continue refining the technology based on diverse player experiences and feedback gathered during the beta period.
“We believe PUBG Ally can open up new opportunities for creators by enabling different types of gameplay, interactions and storytelling moments,” said SangKyun Kim, Head of PUBG Development. “We will continue to introduce a variety of new modes that deliver new joy to PUBG players.”
Krafton said it remains focused on delivering differentiated gameplay experiences using AI. In April, the company unveiled four multimodal AI models under the Raon brand family. Going forward, Krafton plans to fine-tune the Raon models for individual games, using them to create new gameplay experiences.
As for the challenges involved in getting the AI character right, the problems included minimizing conversational latency. AI has to respond instantly in the game’s combat situations. Devs also had to make sure the game state was synchronized with the AI’s contextual awareness. The bot needs to process what it sees at the same time it interprets a player’s intent. And the team had to think about stopping the AI from falling into infinite decision loops during erratic battle conditions.
The post Krafton launches beta for AI ally in new PUBG arcade mode appeared first on GamesBeat.
Ally Duo is a new Arcade mode in which players form a two-player team with the AI character, Ella, and play on the Sanhok map. Players can communicate with Ella via voice interaction to collaborate across a range of in-game situations, including movement, item collection, and strategy. This mode allows players to team up with an AI companion, creating a uniquely immersive, cooperative gameplay experience.
Krafton originally announced the PUBG Ally back in October 2025, but it took a lot longer to implement than expected. If it works, it could be appealing, as human strangers will often go off on their own during battle royale play, leaving their companions vulnerable to group attacks.
Ella is the companion character built on PUBG Ally, Krafton’s AI technology. PUBG Ally is a new type of CPC (Co-Playable Character) designed to play alongside human players. Powered by an on-device small language model built on Nvidia Ace, it is designed to understand players’ voice commands and in-game situations to respond proactively.
PUBG Ally uses speech-to-text (STT) and text-to-speech (TTS) technologies to interact with players in real time. Unlike traditional NPCs (Non-Playable Characters) that react based on fixed conditions, PUBG Ally simultaneously processes players’ voice commands and evolving in-game situations to generate appropriate actions and responses.
For actions that require split-second responses, such as movement and item collection, PUBG Ally is designed to react with minimal latency. For situations requiring contextual understanding, such as developing strategy, PUBG Ally synthesizes in-game context and conversational flow to make decisions, delivering a cooperative experience that feels more natural and responsive.
“Ally Duo is an early step toward exploring how AI companions can create new ways to play,” said Kangwook Lee, Chief AI Officer at Krafton, in a statement. “We’re excited to hear from players during the beta and continue improving the experience based on their feedback.”
The beta service will run globally for two weeks, from June 17 to July 1. Ally Duo supports voice interaction in Korean, Chinese, and English. Krafton plans to continue refining the technology based on diverse player experiences and feedback gathered during the beta period.
“We believe PUBG Ally can open up new opportunities for creators by enabling different types of gameplay, interactions and storytelling moments,” said SangKyun Kim, Head of PUBG Development. “We will continue to introduce a variety of new modes that deliver new joy to PUBG players.”
Krafton said it remains focused on delivering differentiated gameplay experiences using AI. In April, the company unveiled four multimodal AI models under the Raon brand family. Going forward, Krafton plans to fine-tune the Raon models for individual games, using them to create new gameplay experiences.
As for the challenges involved in getting the AI character right, the problems included minimizing conversational latency. AI has to respond instantly in the game’s combat situations. Devs also had to make sure the game state was synchronized with the AI’s contextual awareness. The bot needs to process what it sees at the same time it interprets a player’s intent. And the team had to think about stopping the AI from falling into infinite decision loops during erratic battle conditions.
The post Krafton launches beta for AI ally in new PUBG arcade mode appeared first on GamesBeat.
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