A Strategic Collaboration to Enrich the In-Game World

The Pangyo game guru and the Silicon Valley tech giant have joined forces. WEMADE NEXT, a subsidiary of WEMADE, is working on developing the innovative AI boss monster Asterion with global AI technology leader NVIDIA for the upcoming release, MIR5. This instance of collaboration will surpass that of a simple business partnership and fundamentally change the way that players experience challenges and combat in the digital world.

A New Challenge That Transcends Tradition: Asterion Appears

MIR5 inherits the DNA of the fabled Legend of Mir 2 while also expanding its breadth to an open-world PC MMORPG. And Asterion is at the core of the game's innovation. While most boss monsters are pre-set to follow certain patterns of movement, Asterion learns from player actions, adapting to strategies and endlessly evolving.

This gives way to an endless stream of unique experiences for the players each time they face the same boss monster. Instead of memorizing fixed patterns, the players must devise new strategies as situations change and consider many factors carefully before acting. These types of challenges add depth to the game, pulling players back to the game time after time.

The Intersection of Cutting-Edge Tech: AI Meets Games

This innovative boss monster came to life from a joint research project by WEMADE NEXT and NVIDIA that began in June, 2024. The developers used the latest AI technologies, including machine learning and Small Language Models, to construct the intelligent system for Asterion.

Several of NVIDIA's core technologies played key roles in this part of the process.

1. NVIDIA ACE (Avatar Cloud Engine): this allowed Asterion to react to player actions naturally and adapt to them.

2. NIM (NVIDIA Inference Microservice): this facilitated real-time analysis of players' tactics and instant responses.

3. Blackwell Architecture: applied to NVIDIA's newest product, the GeForce RTX 5090, this supported the smooth processing of complicated AI decision-making inside the game.

And implementing these technologies into the game was not an easy feat. One of the challenges the developers faced was achieving great AI performance by solving numerous technological issues, while also ensuring that gameplay would continue smoothly.

Tech Leadership and a New Frontier of the Industry

This collaboration has been significantly meaningful to both WEMADE and NVIDIA. It presented both companies with a clear advantage in the competitive environment of the MMORPG market and industry. 

Here are some of the main advantages of this project.

1. Constructing Technological Barriers: with the implementation of AI to a degree that regular game developers cannot easily re-emulate, WEMADE secured a technological lead in the MMORPG scene.

2. Extending the Game Lifecycle: an AI boss monster that keeps evolving helps players enjoy the game for longer periods of time. With this, the same content can feel fresh for each playthrough.

3. A New Model for Technological Convergence: this project is an excellent example of how cutting-edge AI technologies can be put to practical use through the popular medium of games.

4. IP Modernization: by blending the MIR series' history with cutting-edge technologies, fans are presented with a fresh take on beloved experiences, and novel content can be offered to a new generation of players.

In the Spotlight on the Global Stage

The technological advancements showcased with Asterion are already being highlighted in the global tech industry. Right before the opening of CES 2025, the world's largest electronics exhibition, the first trailer of Asterion was released on the NVIDIA GeForce official website on January 6th, 2025. And on January 8th, it was presented to a wider audience on the WEMADE Global official YouTube channel and NVIDIA social media channels.

"Innovative AI technologies, like NVIDIA ACE, are leveling up games and the gameplay experience." said Keita Iida, Vice President of Developer Relations at NVIDIA, observing that "The introduction of MIR5 AI bosses is a groundbreaking moment in gaming and showcases how advanced AI can enhance games by creating dynamic character experiences."

WEMADE NEXT also shared their vision. "MIR5’s AI bosses are a milestone moment in gaming, enabling unique boss encounters with every play session." said Park Jung Soo, CEO of WEMADE NEXT.

Technological Roadblocks and Creative Solutions

Working on the Asterion project was no easy feat. With the numerous technological challenges that the developers faced, innovative solutions were required. The biggest challenge was in implementing AI that would learn and adapt in real-time, while also maintaining game performance.

To respond to this challenge, engineers at WEMADE NEXT designed some novel approaches.

1. A Real-time Training System: a system that continuously trains in real-time was implemented with in-game user responses as input. 

2. A Light-weight AI Model: fast in-game AI decision-making was made possible with the use of small models that were downsized while maintaining accuracy.

3. Real-time AI and Non-AI Switching: a switching system was implemented to switch between AI and Non-AI in real time, using game server status and other in-game states as variables. 

Tech Roadmap for the Future

Though Asterion is by itself an astonishing showcase of technologies, the many technologies developed with this project have even bigger potential, as they may also be applied to future WEMADE games in many ways.

1. An Intelligent NPC Ecosystem: makes possible an in-game world where all game characters react naturally to the player's actions, remember their relationship with the player, and play out unique interactions.

2. Personalized Game Experiences: with AI assessing each player's game proficiency and gameplay tendencies, every player can be presented with a customized in-game environment with optimized difficulty and content.

3. Cross-game Integration: these AI technologies may be applied to the many WEMADE games to realize consistent innovation.

4. Data-based Game Design: analysis of past Player-AI interaction data may be used to develop content with even more appeal.

Convergence of Talent and Technology

This project has gone beyond a simple development of technologies, becoming a creative collaboration between experts in various fields.

It could be achieved thanks to the cooperation between professionals from a wide variety of fields, such as AI researchers, game developers, data scientists, and graphic artists.

Our teammates had the valuable experience of implementing the state-of-the-art AI technology to a real commercial game in this process.

Not only does such an experience mark the success of a project, but it also serves as a foundation for Wemade's jump to the next stage in technical capabilities.

Re-envisioning the Future of Games

The Asterion project presents a new direction for the development of games, going beyond the simple development of boss monsters.

Through AI that learns the players' behaviors, adapts, and evolves, Wemade and NVIDIA are establishing a new standard for the gaming experience.

This collaboration is a prime example that demonstrates the innovative results can be produced when companies with different expertise work together.

With this process where a game is evolving from a simple program to a plausible living world, Wemade is at the forefront of game development using AI technology.

MIR5 and Asterion do not merely signify the release of a new game. Instead, Wemade proposes a new vision of how AI can fundamentally change the gaming experience.

We envision a future where all players experience challenges unique to themselves and the game world responds and remembers these experiences.