Microsoft made a shocking announcement in the world of gaming; they fully AI-generated a remake of Quake II, which was playable in a web browser. No downloads, no installations—just pure craziness from AI. As it happens, this could not be any less crazy!
A Microsoft tweet announcing the project stated that the game was called “every frame created on the fly by an AI world model.” This means that, unlike traditional game design where the world assets and recording were pre-rendered, textures, and gameplay were being generated in real-time—every sec! You will never get the same experience twice.
But how does it work? The AI shunned loading sets of conventional game files. Instead, the AI created the environment in real-time based on user input. Dreamworld would be an apt metaphor: As you walk through it, the environment comes into view. It is still a rough project; some textures go weird, and sometimes, the physics fall apart and glitch randomly. And this proposal goes way beyond imagination.
The implications are huge—If the AI had managed Quake II in the spare time, what could it possibly dream up for entirely different experiences? Picture having the game boot up with, “AI, make me a cyberpunk horror shooter with rogue-like elements,” and the AI does it. That is still a long way from actualization, but it was certainly a giant step in that direction.
So, it’s more a tech demo than an actual game. Controlling movement feels a bit floaty and the enemies behave in ways that would make speedrunners weep. But honestly? That’s part of the charm. Raw, experimental, and a bit janky—the way all the first mods used to be.
You should give it a try right away! Click the link from Microsoft’s tweet, and bam! You are in! No sign-ups, no paywalls—just pure nostalgia powered by AI from back in the day.
So, what else are they cooking up? With Microsoft keeping the tech rolling, AI-generated levels could become a thing in regular games, or perhaps even fully functional independent games developed using neural networks. The line separating developers from algorithms has been fading fast.
What we can be sure of is that no one had expected Quake II to become this weird. For now, excuse me while I go frag some AI-generated demons.
