Xbox forms team to explore AI game modding and cross-platform play
Microsoft is creating Xbox Labs, a small team to explore how AI and new tools are changing game modding and where games can be played. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma says the group will build experiments in the open and share its tools and lessons with developers, seeing opportunities to make games more accessible and let more people create.
Recent projects have adapted Windows games to Apple Silicon and web browsers, and mixed elements of different games; the article says browser support for WebAssembly and WebGPU is approaching 90% worldwide. Sharma cited more than 72 billion hours spent playing Xbox games each year, around five times the estimated time spent writing code globally. Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment on unauthorised use of its intellectual property.
- Microsoft is setting up Xbox Labs to explore AI-powered game modding.
- Experiments are bringing games to browsers and hardware they were not built for.
- The company sees creative potential, alongside questions about intellectual property.
New here? Start with this
Video game modding is when players or developers change a game, for example by adding features or adapting it to run on different devices. Cross-platform play can mean making a game available across different kinds of hardware, or allowing players on those systems to play together.
Microsoft owns Xbox, a gaming brand that includes consoles, games and online services. Xbox Labs is intended to explore how artificial intelligence and other tools might help people create or adapt games, and to share experiments with developers.
These changes could affect who can make games and where people can play them. They also raise questions about how game makers’ intellectual property is used when others adapt their work.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Exploring AI modding and cross-platform tools could help more people create, adapt and access games, including players whose devices or needs are not well served by current releases. Sharing experiments and lessons with developers may spread useful techniques and encourage innovation across the industry.
The case against
These tools could make it easier to reuse game content or alter games without permission, raising concerns about intellectual property, creator control and compensation. Experiments that move games across platforms may also create compatibility, security or quality problems, so the team should consider how to protect rights holders and players as it develops them.
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Originally published by The Verge as “Xbox is officially embracing the chaos of AI-powered game ports”.