Microsoft Copilot just generated an AI version of one of the most iconic shooters of all time, and you can play it for free

(Image credit: Future)

An AI-generated version of Quake II is available to try
Created by Microsoft's Muse AI, the tech demo is playable in browser
Quake II is one of the best video game shooters of all time

Have you ever played an AI-generated video game? If not, now's your chance, as Microsoft has created a playable AI version of Quake II using Copilot.

Quake II, one of the best shooters of all time, was released in 1997 and was developed by id Software, creators of Doom.

The AI-generated version of Quake is running on Microsoft's Muse AI model which can generate gameplay from prompts and is fully playable in a web browser.

While the gameplay is pretty laggy and not going to be anywhere near as good as playing Quake II on original hardware, it's insanely impressive to see AI's game development capabilities.

The game runs at 640 x 360 and I'd estimate the frame rate is at around 15fps. I did find that the frame rate fluctuated depending on each playthrough, and while one attempt was very laggy, another was almost passable.

I did notice, however, that enemies were incredibly blurry, causing the horror element of the game to largely lose its intended effect.

Microsoft is limiting the amount of time you can play Quake II via Muse AI, so don't expect to finish the whole game with this tech demo.

Play AI-generated Quake II in your web browser

Quake II AI Copilot Gaming Experience — (Image credit: Future)

To play Quake II in your web browser, simply head to the Copilot Gaming Experience website.

From there, you'll need to confirm you're over the age of 18, and then Quake II will load. I've tested the game in Firefox and Chrome and found the results to be of a similar nature.

Controller input is shown to the left of the game, and when you reach your allotted time limit for gameplay, you can simply start a new game.

While I don't think anyone is going to get a great gaming experience out of this tech demo, it's so cool and nostalgic that it's worth testing out.

This isn't the first time we've seen AI recreate iconic video games. Last year, Google's AI gaming engine, GameNGen, recreated DOOM in real time.

I wonder what's next for AI game development. Maybe we'll see the recreation of Pokemon Red or Blue next, although I doubt Nintendo would be happy about that...

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John-Anthony Disotto is TechRadar's Senior Writer, AI, bringing you the latest news on, and comprehensive coverage of, tech's biggest buzzword. An expert on all things Apple, he was previously iMore's How To Editor, and has a monthly column in MacFormat. He's based in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he worked for Apple as a technician focused on iOS and iPhone repairs at the Genius Bar. John-Anthony has used the Apple ecosystem for over a decade, and is an award-winning journalist with years of experience in editorial.