Why expansion packs are set to include AI agents and NPCs

Expansion packs have been a cornerstone of gaming since the 1990s, serving as a way to extend the lifespan of popular titles and provide players with new content between releases to keep them engaged. They’ve also contributed significantly to gaming revenue – helping studios generate additional sales to balance out the growing costs of producing a game. 

According to a 2023 report by Newzoo, in 2022 downloadable content sales, including expansion packs, accounted for 13% of PC revenue and 7% of console revenue in the United States. Downloadable content (DLCs) also boosted monthly active users by over 11% on both PC and console games. However, medium sized games (between 250,000-2 million MAUs) tended to benefit most from expansion packs with such games seeing over 22% month-on-month growth after releasing an expansion pack. 

That boost in engagement greatly benefited the underlying IP. In 2023, a Nielsen Holdings survey found that games that maintained a community presence between releases were 50% better at player retention for the next release than those that didn’t. 

However, expansion packs require significant investment in terms of time, resources, and development costs. Game studios must carefully navigate the economics of expansion development by considering factors such as production costs, market demand, and monetization strategies to ensure their success. They also need to provide gamers with a compelling reason to buy the expansion pack. 

AI agents and AI NPCs might just be the angle studios need to boost the sales of expansion packs – while streamlining their development by making content creation easier and less expensive. According to Inworld's Future of Game Development with AI NPCs report, game developers believe expansion packs are one of the experiences where AI NPCs will be integrated first. While this is mostly because expansions are seen as a perfect testing ground for integrating AI NPCs and non-NPC AI agents into games, it’s likely also because they offer opportunities for innovative and headline-grabbing gameplay that can boost expansion sales.

In this article, we’ll talk about how developers can create expansion packs more easily by leveraging the capabilities of AI agents while creating innovative game narratives, gameplay mechanics, and player experiences.

Benefits of AI agents and AI NPCs in expansion packs

Innovative content and mechanics

AI agents allow developers to explore new creative avenues and introduce innovative and headline-grabbing game mechanics with less risk. Aside from the novelty of voice-to-voice conversations with NPCs, AI NPCs can be used to introduce things like relationship progression mechanics, the ability to experience the world differently depending on your player profile, voice commands to NPCs, and more. Non-NPC AI agents also offer innovative gameplay opportunities like object orchestration via voice commands and things like responsive difficulty settings. 

Game studios interested in pushing the bounds of what’s possible can experiment in expansion packs – and get the media and sales boost that early adopters enjoy. 

Cost-efficient

Integrating AI agents into expansion packs offers a cost-efficient solution for enriching gameplay experiences and testing out a new technology. Unlike creating entirely new game content from scratch, the replayability that AI-driven characters give games within an existing narrative and game world allows developers to deliver more content to fans than they would otherwise be able to – while streamlining production processes, reducing development time, and managing costs with the help of Inworld’s AI development tools.

Extended content lifespan

Expansion packs featuring AI agents offer additional content and higher replayability than traditional expansions in gaming, extending the lifespan of the base game and boosting key player metrics even more than with traditional expansions. For example, an RPG known for having rigid factions would be fun to play multiple times as a character belonging to each of the factions to see how the narrative and NPC interactions change. Similarly, players could try to engage with NPCs differently to see how the game narrative shifts depending on what kinds of relationships they develop with NPCs. 

Developers could also create funny easter egg characters among the bystander NPCs in the expansion pack. This would encourage players to talk to all the NPCs to find the funny characters. Many gameplay innovations made possible by AI agents also create great content opportunities for streamers which could help ensure an expansion attracts more players.

Learn how this indie studio got $300,000 in free publicity from streamers by integrating Inworld.   

Enhanced monetization

AI NPCs aren’t just more likely to increase expansion pack sales because of how different the gameplay would be compared to the base game, they also offer additional monetization opportunities through premium upgrades. For example, an expansion pack could be sold with one or two AI NPCs included but allow the player to purchase additional AI characters or even pay to customize the AI characters.

The expansion could also be used as a way to test out player interest in AI NPCs if a studio is considering offering them via subscriptions in the main game. Or the game expansion could introduce additional AI-driven challenges and rewards as part of a subscription package.

Personalized experiences

AI NPCs can personalize interactions and tailor gameplay experiences to individual player preferences. AI NPCs can remember players over multiple play sessions, react differently to players depending on what’s listed in their player profile, or react in real-time to a player's actions and gameplay decisions. 

Developers can also allow players to create their own companion characters or customize the personality and goals of existing characters. Giving gamers more agency in shaping their experience means they can create the gameplay experiences they’ve always dreamed of. Adding personalization also incentivizes players to create different characters, change their character profile, or alter their actions in subsequent playthroughs to experience the game differently. Studios can even track trends around the kinds of characters that players create as market research for future releases. 

Learn how player agency drives playtime and replayability.

Trial for full-scale integrations

Expansion packs featuring AI agents can serve as a testing ground for full-scale AI integrations. By experimenting with AI-driven characters in expansion packs, developers can learn more about the development process with AI agents, gather player feedback, and refine their AI character design before implementing them in the next release.

Examples of AI agents and AI NPCs in expansion packs

From Shooter games to RPGs, AI characters and AI agents have the potential to revolutionize content and game mechanics in expansions, offering players dynamic and immersive experiences that build on and deepen their relationship with the game world. 

In this section, we’ll delve into ways AI agents could be used in expansion packs in some of the most popular video game genres. In each of these examples, AI agents play a central role in expanding the gameplay experience by enhancing the depth, replayability, and longevity of the underlying titles – while simultaneously streamlining development. These are just a few examples of the many ways AI agents could be used in expansions in these genres and others. 

Role-playing games (RPGs)

AI agents could be integrated into an expansion pack in an RPG as quest-givers, companions, or adversaries – or as agents that can transform how players interact with the environment. Because AI agents are able to dynamically respond to a player’s actions, players can experience wildly different quest outcomes and narrative consequences on each expansion pack playthrough depending on the choices they make, creating gaming experiences with unprecedented player agency and replayability without having to create endless dialogue trees.

• An expansion pack with AI agents could give players the opportunity to play with a fan favorite character as a companion, taunt villains – or finally learn the secret to how a fan favorite character like the Skyrim Guard injured his knee by fighting beside him in the battle where the injury occurred.
• Studios could add Player Profile-driven customization, which allows developers to customize character responses based on player attributes like which faction or house they belong to. Each character in the expansion could react differently to the player based on who the player chooses to play as – creating a number of different ways to play the expansion. 
• Studios could also leverage Relationship-driven progression mechanics which allow players to create unique relationships with NPCs that progress based on trust – allowing players to potentially even turn enemies into friends and allies into enemies.
• Non-NPC AI agents could be used to change how players interact with objects and the environment in the game world by creating voice commands for things like calling the player’s horse or sword to their side or allowing them to generate new weapons or resource assets dynamically within the game. For example, a player might want to try to attack enemies with a shovel rather than a sword and could potentially generate one via an AI agent. 

Streamlining development: Leveraging AI agents can reduce the complexity requirements of dialogue trees by supplementing written content with AI-generated content. AI agents with environmental awareness can also greatly reduce the scripting requirements for NPC actions and behaviors – while allowing for more emergent gameplay that boosts replayability and player agency.

Action adventure games

In an expansion for an action adventure game, AI NPCs could be implemented to add new storylines, introduce new gameplay dynamics, or enable more dynamic interactions with the game’s major characters. Players might have to use stealth and strategy to survive encounters with AI enemies or ally with AI NPCs to survive. Non-NPC agents could be used to create dynamic mini-games or innovative gameplay mechanics. 

• An expansion pack with AI agents could introduce a new storyline that delves into one character’s backstory or where the player embarks on a new adventure where they have to find a secret map or track down a famous outlaw. 
• Studios could add conversation-based triggers via Inworld’s Goals and Actions that require players to ask the right questions or say a secret word in order to learn more about where an artifact or treasure is hidden.
• Studios could also leverage Inworld’s Goals and Actions feature to deploy AI NPCs as companions or guides to help solve more complex two-person puzzles in mini-games similar to the AI Co-Op video above.
• Non-NPC AI agents could be used to generate personalized or fresh mini-game content or to bring the world to life and create new gameplay mechanics like requiring players to say a secret word or ask the right question in order to open a door or secret passageway. 

Streamlining development: Leveraging AI agents can enable dynamic or personalized quests without the need to script or create dialogue trees for them can greatly reduce development time while increasing playtime and player engagement. Using AI agents to dynamically create mini-game content also greatly increases replayability while reducing development costs. 

Strategy games

In a strategy game expansion pack, AI NPCs could introduce far more immersive and realistic social and diplomatic gameplay. They could be added as rival factions or enemy generals jockeying for power. These AI opponents would engage in dynamic diplomacy and warfare and  provide players with new strategic opportunities. Non-NPC AI agents can be leveraged for things like narrators or to create more dynamic strategic gameplay. 

• An expansion pack with AI agents for a strategy game could involve players navigating the diplomacy and subterfuge of war in addition to the game's military campaigns. Expansions could also include AI opponents vying for dominance through alliances and conquests – or AI-controlled civilizations that react more dynamically to the player's military actions and therefore providing a more personalized experience for each player.  
• Studios could add Goals and Actions triggers for dynamic negotiations where the players have to figure out an NPC’s weakness to exploit in order to get the best outcome in strategic negotiations. Or they could be used in interrogations where the player needs to ask the right questions to get the information from a captured enemy. 
• Studios could also leverage Multi-Agent conversations to allow players to spy on opposing factions as they plot their strategy, adding espionage gameplay opportunities. 
• Non-NPC AI agents could be used as game narrators who narrate what’s happening in the strategy game in real-time to elevate the drama in the game. Studios could even allow players to choose from different narrators including versions that narrate the gameplay for maximum humor – or even narrators that heckle the player.   

Streamlining development: Leveraging AI agents in strategy games can provide new gaming experiences without the time it takes to script every aspect of that new gaming experience. AI enables a more responsive and personalized gaming experience while reducing costs and development time. 

Shooter games

In Shooter games, AI NPCs could be introduced as squadmates or enemies in cooperative or story-mode missions. These AI agents would exhibit realistic behavior, introduce new game mechanics, and enable dynamic interactions to enhance the experience. Non-NPC AI agents could be used to provide new kinds of gameplay and tactical elements. 

• An expansion pack could allow players to learn more about some of the iconic characters in popular first-person shooter franchises or be created around story-mode missions played against AI-driven enemies who can dynamically adapt their tactics and strategies.
• Studios could leverage Inworld’s Relationship features to create trust-based progression mechanics where players are required to convince a character to trust them to get access to intel, locked-down locations, additional resources, or tactical support.  
• Studios could also use Goals and Actions to create psychological warfare gameplay mechanics where the player's goal is to provoke opponents in combat in an attempt to intimidate or throw the enemy off their game in order to get them to make mistakes. This could even become its own gameplay mode where a player’s objective is to get as many enemies as possible to surrender through intimidation alone. 
• Non-NPC AI agents and scouts could be used to provide tactical instructions to players going through combat zones with advice on enemy movements and how to defeat them. This new gameplay mechanic would require players to dynamically listen to directions in order to survive. 
• AI merchant or marketplace systems could also be deployed in expansion packs to measure the effectiveness of AI-assisted marketplaces in increasing in-game purchases.  

Streamlining development: AI agents can streamline the creation of barks for scripted games or generate barks in real-time in response to players. Different kinds of AI-assisted gameplay mechanics can make games more replayable and cut down on how many new maps and environments are required in an expansion pack. 

The future of expansion packs 

This is just a glimpse of what the future of expansion packs might look like. Expect studios to come up with even more ways to integrate AI-powered agents powered Inworld’s AI Engines to create novel kinds of gameplay and experiences. 

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