Microsoft has launched a browser-based, playable version of the classic video game Quake II, serving primarily as a tech demonstration for the gaming capabilities of its Copilot AI platform. However, the company acknowledges that the experience doesn’t fully replicate what it’s like to play a well-crafted game.
Users can try it out, navigating a single level of Quake II with their keyboard for a few minutes until they reach a time limit. In a blog post detailing their work, Microsoft researchers shared that their Muse family of AI models for gaming enables users to “interact with the model through keyboard/controller actions and see the effects of your actions immediately, essentially allowing you to play inside the model.”
To showcase these capabilities, the researchers trained their model on a Quake II level, which Microsoft acquired through its purchase of ZeniMax. They expressed excitement at being able to explore the simulated world, stating, “We could wander around, move the camera, jump, crouch, shoot, and even blow up barrels just like in the original game.”
However, the researchers cautioned that this is intended as “a research exploration” rather than a straightforward gaming experience. They acknowledged various “limitations and shortcomings,” including fuzzy enemies, inaccurate damage and health counters, and, notably, the model’s struggle with object permanence, where it tends to forget about objects that are out of view for 0.9 seconds or longer.
The researchers suggested that these limitations could add an element of fun, allowing players to defeat or spawn enemies by briefly looking at the ground and then back up, or even to teleport across the map by looking up at the sky and then down again.
Writer and game designer Austin Walker had a more critical take on the demo, sharing a gameplay video where he found himself mostly stuck in a dark room—a sentiment I mirrored during my own attempts to play, albeit while acknowledging my lack of skill in first-person shooters.
Referring to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer’s recent remarks about how AI models could facilitate game preservation by making classic games “portable to any platform,” Walker argued this perspective demonstrates “a fundamental misunderstanding of not only this technology but of how games WORK.”
He elaborated that the intricate components of games like Quake—such as the code, design, 3D art, and audio—create specific gameplay experiences, including unexpected edge cases that contribute to a game’s quality. Walker contended that if one cannot effectively rebuild these essential inner workings, access to those unique experiences will be lost.
