Atlas teams up with Google Cloud to launch its AI-native video game development platform

A startup called Atlas AI wants to convince professional game developers of the merits of artificial intelligence-powered agents for 3D content creation after securing a partnership with Google Cloud.

Today’s partnership promises to accelerate the development of AI-native games, with its multi-agent AI stack set to run exclusively on Google’s infrastructure, using the Vertex AI platform for model orchestration.

Atlas said its platform enables games developers to quickly create realistic-looking and “game-ready” assets, environments and tools using nothing more than natural language prompts, eliminating the need to code. It differs from other generative AI content creation tools due to its focus on production-scale workflows, rather than one-off asset generation. As a multi-agent platform, it acts more like a creative co-pilot for games developers, assisting with the creation and population of vast and diverse virtual worlds up to 200 times faster than existing developer tools.

The process begins with mood boards, where they simply provide style references for the assets they want to create and then enter their natural language prompts. From there, Atlas will generate 3D gaming assets based on that request, with clean geometric models, semantic segmentations and UV mappings, ensuring both visual appeal and consistency with the game’s broader environment.

Once created, the generated assets can then be integrated with popular graphics engine platforms, such as Unreal Engine, Unity and Houdini.

Atlas Chief Executive Ben James said the partnership with Google Cloud is critical for the company, as its platform requires the most robust compute infrastructure and orchestration tools to bring its vision to life.

Google Cloud’s global director for games, Jack Buser, said Atlas is at the forefront of a new wave of “AI-native” game development, based on agentic design systems. “By combining their advanced platform with the unparalleled scale and reliability of Google Cloud, we’re not just enabling content creation,” he said. “We’re empowering developers to build the dynamic, evolving worlds that will define the next generation of interactive entertainment.”

Atlas said its platform is available now in a closed beta program that’s open to qualified game developers and studios, providing free and early access to its entire generative pipeline. Participants will be able to use the Atlas platform to create 3D content and build systems, and help to shape its future development by providing feedback, the startup said.

Some initial feedback has already been forthcoming from Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd., developer of the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest game franchises.

“Atlas’s ability to seamlessly integrate with our highly customized workflows has been a game-changer,” said Square Enix Technical Director Joseph Burnette. “By deeply understanding the nuances of our pipeline, they’ve become an invaluable partner, enabling us to deliver high-quality, performance-optimized solutions with impressive agility.”

Image: Atlas AI