Developer Claims GTA VI NPCs Are Years Ahead of Industry

An artificial intelligence developer from IO Interactive stated that the NPC technology in GTA VI is at least ten years ahead of the industry, and that 007 First Light does not even come close to the level of Rockstar’s game.

Berkay Dursun, who spent three years at IO Interactive working directly on crowd technology, commented on GTA VI gameplay leaks and comparisons to Hitman. According to him, dense crowds in Hitman and Assassin’s Creed are technically different from the NPCs in the new GTA.

As someone who worked directly on this crowd tech at IO for 3 years, I can say that this crowd tech has nothing to do with the tech in GTA VI. In GTA, every single character is simulated individually, and achieving simulation at this scale puts them at least 10 years ahead of the industry. The closest game that does simulation at this level might be Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord, and yes, I also worked on that game, lol.

He explained that in Hitman and Assassin’s Creed, many characters are not actual NPCs, but rather a “crowd” that follows scripted paths and does not use AI. Real NPCs react to player actions and have their own behavior, which requires significantly more resources.

Dursun also stated that he cannot disclose the exact number of real NPCs in 007 First Light, but the game “cannot even compare to GTA VI.”

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