The First Entirely AI-Generated Video Game

Minecraft continues to enjoy enduring popularity over a decade after its initial launch, largely due to its unique combination of quirky gameplay and endless open-world building options.

Last month saw the release of a new knock-off called Oasis, which manages to recreate much of Minecraft's original essence with a fascinating twist. Rather than relying on a traditional game engine and manually coded rules, the entire game is generated by an AI model that invents each frame as it goes along.

The creation of Oasis was led by Israeli AI startup Decart in partnership with Etched, a firm specializing in custom silicon design. This collaboration showcases the capabilities of hardware optimized specifically for transformer-based AI algorithms, offering a glimpse into future possibilities for AI-driven game environments.

Oasis is available to play online for free, offering a blend of both fascinating and surreal exploration. Alongside peculiar features, such as oddly shaped animals and staircases leading nowhere, the game is mesmerizing. Since each frame is created by the AI model based on what it anticipates should follow the current frame, the game world lacks complete stability and transforms with minimal prompting. For instance, if you fixate on a texture, looking up again might reveal a blocky landscape entirely different from what you initially saw.