Google and Square Enix announced a partnership over the weekend at a press event to bring the search engine's proprietary AI, Gemini, into Dragon Quest X via a "conversational AI" companion called Chatty Slimey, powered by Google's Gemini.
Spotted by VGC, Square Enix's head of development, Takashi Anzai told Japanese publication Sankei that "new players won't feel lonely wondering where to start playing; it will become their own personal companion."
Sankei added that "When a player talks to Slimey using the chat funciton, it automatically generates voices and engages in conversation. The AI also analyzes information from the game screen, and Slimey may even initiate conversations when a powerful enemy is defeated or a rare item is obtained."
This is not the first time we've seen an AI-powered chatbot added to a game as an NPC. Where Winds Meet has plenty of chatbot NPCs that players can try talking to, and arguably the most famous (or infamous) version of this so far was the AI-powered Darth Vader added to Fortnite, which very quickly devolved into players trying to get Vader to say all kinds of unsavoury things in his iconic tone.
It's not surprising to see Square Enix take on this kind of partnership. Back in 2024, the company said it would be "aggressive in applying AI and other cutting-edge technologies" to its content, including its games. In November 2025, the company also added that its push for GenAI in game development continued, with plans to let GenAI tools handle 70% of its QA process by 2027.
Which makes this just the latest push from Square Enix to implement GenAI into game development, this time with its Japan-only MMO, Dragon Quest X.
While Square Enix has been clear about how it intends to use GenAI tools in game development for a while now, other companies, like Capcom, are only recently making its stance clear. The company has stated it "will not" use GenAI tools for in-game assets, but will use the technology to "improve efficiency and productivity of game development," specifically in areas like graphics, sound, and programming.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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