Dragon Quest X Debuts AI Companion Powered by Google Gemini

TOKYO — Square Enix has unveiled a major technological innovation for its long-running MMORPG, Dragon Quest X. Announced at the Dragon Quest X Spring Festival 2026 on March 21, the game is set to introduce “Slimey” (officially titled Oshaberi Suramii, or “Chatty Slimey”), an AI-powered companion that leverages Google’s Gemini AI to offer a new form of interactive guidance.

Unlike standard non-playable characters, Slimey functions as a personal companion for each player, capable of real-time conversation and environmental analysis.

Technology and Features

Slimey is built on Google Gemini 3 Flash utilizing the Gemini Live API, granting it several advanced capabilities:

• Voice and Text Interaction: Players can converse with Slimey as they would a living being. The companion will respond with an emotionally expressive voice, slated to be performed by a professional actor by the final release.
• Real-Time Screen Analysis: Slimey can “see” what is happening in the game world, allowing it to comment on player actions, equipment changes, and battle results.
• Persistent Memory: The AI remembers a player’s adventure history, including when they started playing, titles earned, and quests completed. This is framed in-game as the “Death Note” (Shinigami Techō).
• Proactive Dialogue: Slimey can initiate conversations unprompted, offering commentary on significant events like defeating a powerful enemy or finding rare loot.

The system operates on a multi-agent architecture. It first recognizes the player’s intent (e.g., battle, quest, casual chat), routes the query to a specialized AI agent trained for that category, adds a layer to maintain Slimey’s distinct personality, and finally generates a real-time voice response.

Purpose: Lowering the Barrier for New Players

Dragon Quest X originally launched in 2012, making it a 14-year-old MMO with a vast amount of content. For new players, the starting point can be daunting.

Takashi Anzai, the head of Dragon Quest X development, explained the rationale behind the feature. “New players will not feel alone, wondering where to start,” he said. “They will have a personal companion.”

Slimey is designed to provide personalized quest guidance, suggestions for where to go next, and encouragement, effectively acting as a built-in guide that understands the player’s unique journey.

Safety and Boundaries

Square Enix has implemented safeguards to prevent misuse and maintain the game’s tone:

• Lore-Locked Knowledge: Slimey’s knowledge is restricted to the world of Astoltia. Questions about the real world will be met with a refusal to answer.
• Privacy: Conversations with Slimey are private. Other players cannot see or hear interactions, and the data is not used for training the AI models.
• Content Filtering: Built-in filters block potentially inappropriate responses.

Industry Reactions and Future Implications

Yuji Horii, the creator of the Dragon Quest series, commented on the broader impact of AI, stating that he believes it will radically change the gaming industry within the next three to five years. Jack Buser of Google Cloud Games echoed this sentiment, predicting that AI will “completely transform” every major game genre within a similar timeframe.

Horii also expressed interest in expanding the technology beyond original characters, suggesting the possibility of creating AI companions based on beloved, existing characters from the series—a prospect that has generated significant excitement among fans.

Beta Test and Availability

Detail	Information
Platforms	PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch (Japan only)
Beta Test Application	Open until March 30, 2026
Beta Test Period	Begins April 20, 2026, for approximately one month

Currently, there are no announced plans for a Western release of the AI companion or the Dragon Quest X MMORPG, which has remained a Japan-exclusive title since its inception. However, industry observers note that a successful implementation of an AI guide could potentially streamline future localization efforts.