Google and Unity are launching a platform for creating video games based on text descriptions

On October 7, tech giant Google and game software developer Unity announced the Playground platform, which will allow users to create video games using text prompts—without any programming skills.

Users simply need to describe their game idea in a few prompts, after which the Playground platform—which uses Google’s AI models and other cutting-edge technologies—will help turn it into an interactive project. “Historically, game development has been accessible only to a small group of people with technical skills,” Google said in a press release. Now, according to the company’s vision, Playground is designed to lower the barrier to entry for game development and allow users to create games without any programming skills: “Bringing game ideas to life is as simple as describing them with a few prompts,” the company noted in its blog.

Later this year, the more advanced Unity Spark software solution will be integrated into the product (according to the press release, this will give users access to professional game mechanics, high-quality 3D graphics, and the capabilities of the Unity engine). For now, this solution is still in the testing phase.

"Creating is the new way to consume," Unity CEO Matthew Bromberg told the Financial Times. The company’s top executive believes that users who currently create short videos will move on to interactive formats, including games.

Playground and Spark will be available in free and paid versions, depending on usage. Completed games can be published on Google Playground, where other users will be able to download and play them.

Unity's stock price rose 1% during trading on October 7, while shares of Alphabet—Google's parent company—also gained 0.8%.

Meanwhile, shares of major gaming companies traded mixed amid news of the launch of Playground. Shares of Sony, owner of the PlayStation brand, fell by just over 1% in New York, while shares of French video game publisher Ubisoft lost nearly 2% in Paris. Roblox shares, on the other hand, rose nearly 2%, while shares of Take-Two Interactive, the publisher of the Grand Theft Auto series, gained 0.7%.

This article is being updated

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor