Nexon Korea said on Sunday that researchers in its Applied Analytics unit under the company’s AI division won the Best Paper Award at ICTAI 2026 for a study examining when in-game AI is accepted by users. The research analysed about 19.37 million user reviews on global game platform Steam to assess player reactions.
ICTAI 2026, hosted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), marked the conference’s 38th edition and was held in Florida from Nov. 2 to 4. The Best Paper Award was given to only one paper among all presented works.
The award-winning study, conducted by Ji Woo-seok (지우석), Jung Yeon-woo (정연우), Hwang Sang-ho (황상호) and Ryu Sung-il (류성일), was carried out under the theme “When is in-game AI welcomed and when is it rejected?”
Insights on in-game AI acceptance
The researchers found positive user reactions when AI acted as a cooperative helper for players or blended naturally into the flow of actual gameplay. By contrast, AI drew negative evaluations when it remained a peripheral element of the game or when users felt it was difficult to control directly.
Pre-launch diagnostic system
Based on the findings, Nexon developed a pre-launch diagnostic system to check AI functions in games before formal release. The system is designed to let developers or test participants identify positive elements and areas needing improvement by answering questions after using AI functions directly. Nexon plans to expand checks to cover not only already implemented AI functions but also functions at the planning stage, aiming to identify and revise elements that users may find off-putting from the initial design stage.
Ryu Sung-il said, “It is meaningful that research that began from an awareness of issues in the industrial field has been recognised for its value on the international academic stage.” He added, “We will continue to solve issues in the industrial field through data- and AI-based research.”
