Voice-controlled game developer Volley receives $55 million in funding

volleya developer specializing in voice-controlled video games for devices such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home, recently raised $55 million in funding for future projects.

According to the press release, this funding was led by Microsoft (through its M12 Ventures) along with Lightspeed Venture Partners. Other contributors include BITKRAFT, Causeway Media Partners and the Amazon Alexa Fund.

CEO Max Child said the new funding will “accelerate our development of new voice-controlled, AI-powered games. Large language models and other emerging AI technologies for voice control enable us to develop entirely new categories of games that were not previously possible.”

The studio’s current AI-powered language games include Danger! And Wheel of FortuneIn total, these games have attracted over 30 million players, including over five million players per month.

In addition to speech recognition and large language models, the proprietary Volley stack is based on speech synthesis and natural language processing. Its first game based entirely on LLM was 20 questions from the beginning of this year.

GenAI and its supporters just want to be heard

Game developers are still trying to find a way Generative AI in games, especially for voices. This has become a notable point of contention between them and the SAG-AFTRA unionwhich threatened with strike if an agreement on AI use is not reached.

In the case of Microsoft, it is said that the company is investigating how genAI could be used for Customer service and fields of Game development like design.

Other studios like Yellow see the technology as a tool for 3D modeling or make In-game wallpapersIn the former case, Yellow developed its own modeling tool powered by genAI rather than using an existing tool like Midjourney.

Amid this evolution, generative AI is battling for public perception. Productions across the entertainment industry that use genAI (and those that try to promote it online) are facing harsh criticism.

Fast food restaurants like McDonald’s and Wendy’s recently abandoned its plans for AI-based drive-thru ordering, arguing that it could be years before the technology is truly ready.

OpenAI also drew ire when it imitated an actor’s voice Scarlett Johansson for a chatbot, although she explicitly objects to her voice being used.

Nevertheless, Volley’s games and their obvious success show that there is a market for such titles, at least in the leisure sector.