BlackFoot Studios adopts Kythera AI

We are excited to announce that BlackFoot Studios have adopted the Kythera AI plug-in for Unreal Engine for their tactical first-person shooter, Ground Branch.

BlackFoot Studios look to bring back the golden age of tactical shooters, with their founder John Sonedecker being a developer of the original Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon series. Their realistic, team-oriented gameplay demands not only thinking and planning from the players - but from the AI too!

Our vision has always been to redefine the expectations of AI, to help developers realise their creative ambitions and to let gamers become immersed in gameplay with realistic, intelligent AI. That’s why we knew our toolset would be a perfect fit for Ground Branch. Whether it’s our innovative 2D Navigation with enhanced avoidance and amazing formations, our intelligent automatic markup or Spatial Query System, we know that BlackFoot Studios will be able to easily use our tools to create truly immersive, intelligent AI that challenges players and creates memorable experiences.

In early access development, Ground Branch has already received overwhelmingly positive feedback, and we’re excited to see what the future holds. You can check it out here!

“One of our core aims has always been to make fantastic AI available to all studios, at any stage of development,” explains Matthew Jack, CEO of Kythera AI, “BlackFoot Studios partnering with us mid-development is a fantastic endorsement of this, and of the interoperability of our toolset. We’re truly excited to see what they can achieve in the future of Ground Branch, powered by Kythera AI.”

John Sonedecker said this about the partnership, “Great AI is crucial for us, and as a smaller studio without dedicated AI engineers, Kythera AI is the perfect solution. Their toolset easily integrates with our existing work in Unreal and lets us provide comprehensive, intelligent AI that we can maintain and continually improve. We can’t wait to roll out the first of these updates in the near future."