For game studios
Understand the production, cost and player-experience implications of AI characters.
Episode 001 // 90-minute briefing + live build
AI Characters in Games:
From Demo to Production.
A practical virtual briefing and live build for game-industry professionals working out what AI characters can actually do in production.
Watch an AI NPC being built live, hear from practitioners and technical experts, and leave with a clearer view of memory, latency, cost, safety and player experience.
- Date
- Feb 18, 2027
- Format
- 90 min
- Where
- Virtual · Worldwide
- Register
- Opening soon
lvlupai // episode-001.ts
$ ./episode-001 --mode=briefing
loading practitioner_notes.md
npc.memory · retained 4.2k tokens
latency: npc.reply() 190ms
cost: 0.0041 GBP per interaction
lore grounded · 42 tokens on task
safety: human_approve ready
ALIVE: remembers your name. on budget.
FROM DEMO TO PRODUCTIONAI NPCMEMORYLATENCYCOSTSAFETYVOICE RIGHTSLORE90 MINUTESLIVE BUILDFROM DEMO TO PRODUCTIONAI NPCMEMORYLATENCYCOSTSAFETYVOICE RIGHTSLORE90 MINUTESLIVE BUILD
What this event is
An independent briefing, not a hype event.
How game teams can build believable AI characters without losing control of memory, latency, cost, lore, safety or player experience.
LEVEL//UP AI is an independent virtual briefing and live build for people building, funding, operating and researching AI-powered games. Episode 001 is centred on AI characters and persistent game characters: what works in production, what fails, and what it costs.
We bring together a practitioner briefing, a live AI NPC build, a technical infrastructure discussion, a creative and responsible-AI segment and an open Q&A. The aim is practical lessons from studios, builders, researchers and technology providers.
Independently curated editorial briefing
Commercial partners are clearly identified
No disguised product pitches
Practical lessons from studios, builders, researchers and technology providers
Who should attend
Built for the people who ship AI in games.
For builders and technical teams
See the architecture, integration decisions and failure points behind a working NPC.
For partners and investors
Understand the infrastructure, commercial opportunities and risks shaping AI in games.
Why this is different
Editorial first. Vendors labelled.
LEVEL//UP AI is independently curated. That shapes every session.
Independent editorial briefing. Editorial sessions are not bought or sold.
No disguised product pitches. Commercial contributors are labelled and kept separate from editorial content.
Practical and production-focused. Memory, latency, cost, safety and player experience are on the agenda, not generic AI trends.
A real live build. Bugs, limits and trade-offs happen on stream, and we show them.
Written for professionals. Studios, technical directors, engineers, narrative teams, investors and researchers.
Agenda
Ninety minutes. From demo to production.
One question runs through every segment: what does it take to move an AI character from an impressive demo into a controlled, playable and commercially viable game feature?
Editorial sessions are independently curated. If a vendor joins a technical segment, it is clearly labelled as a commercial perspective.
- 00:00–00:0500:00–00:05Editorial session
Welcome and the production problem
Editorial session · opening
What does it take to move an AI character from an impressive demo into a controlled, playable and commercially viable game feature?
- 00:05–00:1500:05–00:15Editorial session
Practitioner briefing: what actually works in production
Editorial session · practitioner perspective
A studio-side or independent game-development perspective on where AI characters provide genuine value, where they currently fail, and how memory, latency, player expectations and human approval shape what ships.
- 00:15–00:5000:15–00:50Editorial session
Live build: create an AI NPC from scratch
Editorial session · live technical build
Identity, personality, memory of earlier interactions, bounded lore and voice or text interaction, with a visible failure or limitation and at least one human-controlled safety or fallback mechanism. Latency and cost are tracked on stream.
- 00:50–01:0500:50–01:05Editorial session
What sits underneath the NPC?
Editorial session · technical infrastructure
Models and orchestration, memory architecture, retrieval and lore grounding, voice input and output, inference cost, latency, analytics and engine integration. If a vendor joins this segment, it is labelled a commercial technical perspective.
- 01:05–01:1701:05–01:17Editorial session
Creative and responsible deployment
Editorial session · creative and responsible AI
Narrative consistency, character ownership and identity, voice consent and performer rights, age-appropriate interaction, moderation and harmful outputs, player trust and when an NPC should not be autonomous.
- 01:17–01:2701:17–01:27Editorial session
Audience Q&A
Editorial session · open Q&A
Questions from game studios, developers, researchers and technology providers, prioritising cost, memory, latency, safety, player retention, production workflows and evaluation.
- 01:27–01:3001:27–01:30Editorial session
Closing and next episode
Editorial session · closing
Three practical takeaways, links to the recording and build notes, an invitation to join the mailing list and an interest form for speakers. Next up, Episode 002: AI agents in the game-production workflow.
Speakers
The lineup is forming. Applications are open.
No confirmed names are announced until a speaker is locked in. We are assembling an independent panel across editorial and commercial perspectives.
Editorial speakers
Studio or independent practitioner
A builder or producer who has shipped AI characters in production.
Creative or narrative specialist
Game direction, narrative design or writing for persistent characters.
Research, safety, voice-rights or player-experience specialist
Believable agents, dialogue systems, trust and responsible deployment.
Commercial contributors
AI platform
Models and tooling for game characters, clearly labelled as commercial.
Engine or infrastructure provider
Runtime, cloud or tooling that powers in-game AI at scale.
Voice, localisation, QA or safety technology company
Voice, testing and safety tooling relevant to AI characters.
// Speaker applications open
Applications are open. Confirmed names appear here only once they are locked in.
Commercial partnerships
Commercial partnership opportunities.
LEVEL//UP AI works with a limited number of commercial partners whose products or services are directly relevant to the discussion.
Commercial partners are clearly identified and never described as independent experts. Sponsor content is kept separate from editorial sessions.
Request the partner prospectusTechnical case study
Clearly labelled commercial perspective
Sponsored build component
Post-event briefing
Delegate introductions where consent has been given
Research or benchmark partnership
Supporting partner branding
Registration
Register interest for Episode 001.
Founding delegate places are opening soon. Leave your details and we will let you know the moment booking opens. Prices are in GBP.
Founding delegate
Episode 001TBCFounding delegate places opening soon
- Live event access
- Recording (VOD)
- Build notes
- Q&A access
- Community and mailing-list access
Register interest and we will email you when places open.
What you get
Leave with something you can apply.
Live event access
Recording (VOD)
Build notes
Q&A access
Community and mailing-list access
Host
Host TBC.
TBC
// Host and moderator
The host and moderator for Episode 001 is being confirmed. They will keep editorial content and commercial contributions clearly separated.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is LEVEL//UP AI a virtual event?
Yes. Episode 001 is a virtual briefing and live build, attended online from anywhere.
Who is this for?
People building, funding, operating or researching AI-powered games: studios, technical directors, engineers, narrative teams, live-ops, investors and researchers.
Is this a sponsor-led webinar?
No. LEVEL//UP AI is independently curated. Commercial partners are clearly identified and their content is kept separate from editorial sessions.
Will I get a recording?
Delegates receive access to the recording (VOD) and build notes after the event.
How much does it cost?
Founding delegate places are opening soon. The price, in GBP, will be published when booking opens.
How do I apply to speak?
Speaker applications are open. Use the application form on this page; no confirmed names are announced until a speaker is locked in.
Can my company partner with LEVEL//UP AI?
LEVEL//UP AI works with a limited number of commercial partners whose products are directly relevant to the discussion. Request the partner prospectus using the form below.
What do you do with my data?
We use your details to run and communicate about LEVEL//UP AI and to process your enquiry. We do not sell or share your data without consent. See the privacy notice below.
Why is pricing in GBP?
LEVEL//UP AI is a UK-organised event, so prices are published in GBP.
Enquiries
Register, apply, or partner.
Delegate interest
Register interest for Episode 001: AI Characters in Games. Founding delegate places are opening soon.
Speaker application
We are looking for editorial speakers and commercial contributors for Episode 001 and beyond.
Commercial partnership
Tell us what you offer. LEVEL//UP AI works with a limited number of directly relevant partners.
Privacy notice
We keep your details to run LEVEL//UP AI and process your enquiry. We do not sell or share your data with anyone without your consent, and we only email you about the event series. You can ask us to delete your data at any time by emailing info@lvlupai.co.