Microsoft's "Copilot for Gaming" Beta Trial Available Now on Mobile Platforms

[T0@st]

At Xbox, we want to help you spend more time playing the games you love, to be there when you need some help—and out of the way when you don't. Copilot for Gaming (Beta) is designed to do just that, and starting today, you can begin testing this new feature as it starts rolling out to the beta version of the Xbox app for mobile devices.

Copilot for Gaming is the ultimate gaming sidekick, making gaming with Xbox more seamless and personalized. In this early version of the feature for mobile, you'll be able to access Copilot for Gaming on a second screen, without distracting you from your core gameplay experience. The companion knows what game you're playing and understands your Xbox activity, so it can answer any questions about the games you're interested in, provide links to more information when its response includes web sources, or answer questions based on your account, play history and achievements.




If you're not sure where to begin, here are a few suggestions to get you started - and remember, you can type your prompts in chat or speak directly with Copilot using voice:
Ask questions about a specific game or the game you're currently playing, such as when you get stuck or need tips.

• "Hey Copilot, can you remind me what materials I need to craft a sword in Minecraft?"
• (While playing South by Midnight) "I'm stuck on Rougarou right now. Can you give me some tips on how to beat this boss?"
• "What's my gamerscore and can you give me some tips to raise it?

Ask for game recommendations. If you're new to Xbox, tell Copilot about your favorite game or entertainment genres and let it recommend new games to play. If you're a seasoned player, ask for recommendations on what game to play next based on your gaming history.

• "Hey Copilot, what should I play tonight?"
• "I love horror movies. Any suggestions for what game I should play?"
• "I'm looking for a new RPG. Can you recommend something that came out on Xbox recently?

Ask about your play history or account, such as Xbox Achievements or subscriptions.

• "Hey Copilot, what's the rarest achievement you can get in Avowed?"
• "What was the last achievement I got in Starfield?"
• "When does my Game Pass subscription renew?"

When you ask Copilot a question, it sources your player activity on Xbox alongside public sources of information from the Bing search engine for its response. We're working hard to bring deeper personalization, richer game assistance such as proactive coaching, and many more features to Copilot for Gaming (Beta) at a later date.

How to Try Copilot for Gaming (Beta)
This early preview of Copilot for Gaming in the beta version of the Xbox app for mobile is available in English for players aged 18 and older in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, and other regions. You can view the full list of regions where early testing is available here. We plan to release Copilot for Gaming (Beta) in additional regions at a later date.



As we explore new ideas and continue to experiment, we'll be bringing new features like Copilot for Gaming to the community early and often. Your feedback will be critical in helping us shape these experiences and ensuring that they're truly aligned with player needs and preferences.

Players who already have the beta version of the Xbox app for mobile downloaded on their iOS or Android device can begin providing feedback on Copilot for Gaming (Beta) directly by selecting "Give Feedback" under "More Options" in the top left corner of the app, or by simply marking any incorrect responses from Copilot with a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" in the chat.

Android users can download the beta version of the Xbox app for mobile in the Google Play Store. If you have an iOS device and don't already have the beta version of the Xbox app for mobile downloaded, don't worry—early testing for Copilot for Gaming (Beta) will also be coming soon to Game Bar on Windows PC, and we also have plans to make it available more widely in the Xbox app for mobile in the future. Stay tuned for more updates!

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[Shihab]

Someone at Microsoft should have really asked beforehand: "what are games and why do people play them?"
But I suppose critical thinking is/was always the first casualty of slopbots.

I do sometimes pity game designers. Trying to account for internet ruining the experimentation aspect of your game was already difficult enough. And now MS is making it worse.
Sad thing is that this will most likely affect how games are made.

Players who already have the beta version of the Xbox app for mobile downloaded on their iOS or Android device can begin providing feedback on Copilot for Gaming (Beta) directly by selecting "Give Feedback" under "More Options" in the top left corner of the app, or by simply marking any incorrect responses from Copilot with a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" in the chat.

That's weird. Why not make an LLM that provides this feedback? You're already doing it for qa elsewhere. It's the AI age for crying out loud! </s>

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

bringing coaching. It really is becoming an LLM version of Clippy. “Hey, I see you’re getting pwned in PVE all the time. Can I help you find a good card game?”

 

[JIWIL]

Who needs online gaming when your copilot can smack all the live long day.

 

[Dirt Chip]

The era of your avatar self gaming ai bot has begun.
Very soon you won't need to do yourself certain 'boring' tasks, in near future you will have the option not to do anything yourself at all. Just auto-pilot the game base on you previous game style (or any other style you will choose\pay for).

Can't wait to see the first YT channel featuring ai bot playing, broadcasting and do the online talking.

Can't wait to have the 'first game that was built to use ai' and interesting it as a UI gaming feature.

This 'copilot for gaming' might be the groundwork for that absurd upcoming reality.
Enjoy the rest of what has left from 'human gaming'.

 

[Sunlight91]

Can't wait to see the first YT channel featuring ai bot playing, broadcasting and do the online talking.

That already exists. Have you never heard of vedal987 / Neuro-sama?

 

[AVATARAT]

These things always have a target group and it exists.

I remember Lineage 2 and there was always at least one person with a full bot party in certain regions.

 

[Eternit]

Someone at Microsoft should have really asked beforehand: "what are games and why do people play them?"

They have the answer. People play games to have achievements.
I think the next step will be Achievements Pass. You subscribe and you get them monthly.

 

[FierceRed]

Ahh shit, this is going to be a mandatory feature in Windows 12 isn't it...

These things always have a target group and it exists.

I remember Lineage 2 and there was always at least one person with a full bot party in certain regions.

Dragonlords member on the Erica server here! The Lineage 2 grind was real. South Koreans go hard.

Trying to account for internet ruining the experimentation aspect of your game was already difficult enough...

This was always the player's fault though, and their problem to solve.

If the purpose of a game is to entertain and test the skill of the player, then how that player enjoys the game is up to them (assuming single player games here).
Whether they explore and grind to find what monster drops the Tough Monster Leather, or they look it up on Gamefaqs (damn I'm old), it's their prerogative.

We naturally filter for this by being human. If an anticipated movie gets spoiled in YT comments, we get burned and stop reading YT comments in the future when we anticipate the next movie; lesson learned.

The million dollar detail is whether the tool auto-assisting the player can be turned off. Otherwise it's just a faster Google search.

 

[Shihab]

They have the answer. People play games to have achievements.
I think the next step will be Achievements Pass. You subscribe and you get them monthly.

Reminds me when Capcom had a Resident Evil 2 DLC that "unlocks" the achievement rewards (infinite ammo weapons, costumes, etc). We're already half way there.
(Saying this as someone with a some degree of achievements addiction).

The million dollar detail is whether the tool auto-assisting the player can be turned off. Otherwise it's just a faster Google search.

And Google search was a faster way to read the booklet/magazine articles, yet it still affected how games are made, for better or worse.
I disagree that this would end up being comparable to Google search though. While search engines (and the internet as a whole) allowed for the possibility of circumventing the "challenge," they put the socialisation of video games on overdrive mode. Sure, you get achievement guides and step-by-step walkthroughs, but you also get communities discussing the experience and creating ways to improve it even further than the devs thought of (again, for better or worse. The worse being those damned streamers and ticktockers! Yes, I had to vent).

An AI "assistant" (or what goes for one these days) does none of that. It's an inherently asocial tool with a single problem solving utility, and this problem is, as implied before, what the game itself is about.

And let's not get into the relationship between easier access and abuse. Especially when the target consumer has absolutely no idea of the costs (including externalities) of what they are being sold. We've already screwed up badly with the internet, we should be wiser and not continue this downhill route with those bloody chatbots.