Ubisoft Teammates puts AI squad control on your mic

Table of Content

Ubisoft has presented Teammates – a playable generative AI research project that builds on the company’s earlier Neo NPC work shown at GDC 2024. The prototype explores natural speech as a core input, letting players guide AI squadmates and consult an AI assistant in real time. It is framed as a short first-person shooter scenario set in a dystopian future. Ubisoft says the goal is to test how voice-driven systems can deepen immersion and broaden player agency without replacing human-led narrative design.

What Teammates is testing

Teammates is designed as an experimental, self-contained slice of gameplay. Players act as a resistance operative infiltrating an enemy facility to track the fate of five missing team members by recovering their final memories. Alongside the player are two AI-driven NPC allies – Sofia and Pablo – and an in-world voice assistant called Jaspar. The focus is on how spoken instructions influence moment-to-moment tactics and narrative responses.

Jaspar: the in-game AI assistant

Jaspar functions beyond typical helper roles by reacting to the current context and the player’s intent. Ubisoft highlights several capabilities driven by the experiment’s underlying systems:

• Contextual awareness – identifies enemies or objects within the environment.
• Story and lore support – surfaces background details tied to the level and world.
• On-the-fly adjustments – can change game settings or even pause on voice command.
• Dynamic responses – interprets input and adapts to player actions in real time.

Voice-led squad tactics in action

The same generative systems underpin Sofia and Pablo. Players can direct teammates via natural speech or converse with them as they would with Jaspar, with the key difference that the squadmates physically execute orders in the world. An early encounter demonstrates the core loop: before acquiring a weapon, the player must instruct Sofia and Pablo to use cover and coordinate an ambush on two patrolling enemies, determining who engages, when to fire, and how to advance. Ubisoft positions the player’s voice as a decisive factor in how engagements unfold.

Read also our article: Emerald Rush returns to Donkey Kong Bananza with preset runs

Design aims and how AI fits the craft

According to the team, the project centers on player-shaped storytelling rather than fixed sequences. Narrative leadership describes a fence-based approach: writers define character motivations and world rules, while AI systems allow controlled improvisation inside those boundaries. Data and AI leadership also notes the delivery of a full end-to-end pipeline for the prototype – from onboarding through to a debrief – to study how players interact with the experience holistically. Ubisoft stresses that the intent is to augment human creativity, not replace it.

What comes next

Teammates has been shared with a few hundred players in a closed playtest, with feedback informing ongoing research. The team plans to continue iterating on the technology and tools, gathering input from players and internal creative groups to refine systems and expand interactions. Ubisoft also plans to release an explainer video about the experiment at a later date.

Key takeaways for players

• Playable research – a hands-on prototype focused on voice-driven AI systems.
• FPS framework – short mission structure with tactical squad control.
• Three AI counterparts – Jaspar (assistant) plus Sofia and Pablo (combat NPCs).
• Focus on immersion – natural speech shapes both tactics and narrative beats.
• Ongoing iteration – closed testing underway; more details to come via an explainer.

Why this experiment matters

Voice-first design could change how players command allies and absorb story, shifting from menu-driven orders to conversational tactics. For those curious about the future of squad-based games, Teammates shows how generative AI might open up more flexible, player-responsive encounters while keeping human-authored worlds and character intent at the center.