Researchers at Nexon Korea have received the Best Paper Award at an international academic conference for their study on player acceptance of in-game AI. The research analyzed approximately 19.37 million Steam user reviews.
Nexon Korea announced on the 9th that researchers from the Applied Analytics Lab under its AI Division won the Best Paper Award at ICTAI 2026 (IEEE International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence). Hosted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the conference awards the Best Paper Award to only one paper among all presented submissions.
The research team—comprising Ji Woo-seok, Jung Yeon-woo, Hwang Sang-ho, and Ryu Sung-il—investigated the conditions under which in-game AI is embraced or rejected by players. The review analysis showed positive reactions when AI functioned as a collaborator helping players or naturally integrated into gameplay. Conversely, negative evaluations followed when AI remained a peripheral element in the game or when players felt it was difficult to control. The researchers concluded that player experience of the AI's role within the game, rather than the mere implementation of AI itself, determines acceptance.
Nexon utilized the study's findings to build a pre-diagnosis framework to evaluate AI features prior to launch. Under this system, developers and test participants use the feature and answer questions to identify positive elements and areas needing improvement. Moving forward, Nexon plans to expand the evaluation scope beyond already implemented features to the planning stage, identifying and refining elements that could trigger player resistance from the early stages of development.
Now in its 38th year, ICTAI covers AI theory and industrial applications, with this year's conference held from the 2nd to the 4th in Florida, United States. Previous Best Paper Award recipients include research teams from Microsoft in 2009 and the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2024.
Ryu Sung-il, Head of the Applied Analytics Lab at Nexon Korea, said, “This award is highly meaningful as research stemming from real-world industrial challenges has been recognized on the international academic stage. We will continue to resolve industry challenges through data- and AI-driven research.”
