Coplay, an artificial intelligence copilot for game developers, said today it has raised $1.2 million in pre-seed funding to build its game development AI assistant.

Failup Ventures led the round, with participation from Tower Research Ventures, Founders Inc., Sequoia Scouts and other investors.

Game development can be a tedious task for software engineers, who must work with code, images, 3D models and other assets in order to produce working game mechanics. Coplay provides a conversational interface that allows developers to automate the creation, assignment, optimization and debugging of game objects, assets and properties in projects when using the Unity game engine.

Game engines are necessary software frameworks designed for the development of video games that act as the foundation to simplify the development process. They handle core aspects of game development by including relevant libraries and support for rendering, physics simulation, sound, animation and internal AI for game mechanics such as non-player characters, environments and more.

Unity is the most popular game engine currently available, with a large market share in game development, particularly for mobile. It is favored for 2D games but is often used for 3D games and provides robust tools for consoles and PC.

“Our vision is to empower game developers by automating tedious tasks, allowing them to focus on crafting amazing experiences,” said co-founder and Chief Executive Jos van der Westhuizen. “With this funding, we’re not just building a tool — we’re creating an AI partner that fundamentally transforms how games are made.”

Using the tool, game developers can use the conversational interface in a game development editor to create game elements, assets and logic from scratch. For example, a user could ask it to create an environment filled with planets textured with graphics that make them appear natural along with a background of stars. A second prompt could add a spaceship controllable with the “WASD” keys that can fly around.

The AI copilot also integrates with AI image and 3D generators including OpenAI’s DALL-E and Meshy. This allows the AI assistant to generate 2D textures and 3D models from user text prompts.

According to Coplay, a key feature of the copilot is a “record and replay” capability that allows users to automate repetitive processes. This can prove substantially useful for large projects consisting of hundreds or tens of thousands of files by streamlining workflows to help manage updates, modify multiple files and reduce errors.

Currently in closed beta mode, Coplay said it saves developers up to five hours a week by reducing repetitive tasks using game engines. According to the company, the waitlist has attracted over 400 developers across 22 studios and plans to support more game engines.

“Many AI solutions in the gaming space, like asset generators or NPC enhancers, feel like point solutions rather than holistic transformations,” said Jesse Heikkilä, managing director and general partner at Failup Ventures. “I believe the games industry will be democratized by a technology company that can make the entire game development process accessible through natural language.”

Image: Coplay