The Digital Media Collaboratory and the Dept. of Computer Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin are pleased to announce the release of the NeuroEvolving Robotic Operatives (NERO) video game on Thursday, June 23rd at nerogame.org. NERO integrates cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning research into a commercial-grade video game to produce an entirely novel gaming experience. It is the result of almost two years of work by a mostly volunteer team of over 30 student programmers, artists, and researchers at the University.

In NERO, the player trains a team of novice soldiers in the skills needed for battle. Once the soldiers have acquired the skills, players can take their teams to battle mode where their tactics are tested against teams trained by other players. The real-time NeuroEvolution of Augmenting Topologies (rtNEAT) technology inside NERO allows the robotic soldiers to really learn from the player in real-time as the game is being played, making this new game genre possible.

NERO is available for download at: nerogame.org. The website also includes forums for users to discuss their training techniques and ask for help, as well as links to media and research papers on NEAT and rtNEAT. Please direct game-related questions to the forums. Research or IP-related issues can be sent to research@nerogame.org.