I built a low-latency AI companion that plays Skyrim with me

A researcher has developed an AI companion capable of playing the game Skyrim with a player, addressing common issues with latency and weak world agency found in other AI NPC demos. This companion, named Varkos, can handle complex commands and engage in multi-step tasks, such as hiding and seeking, without relying on pre-scripted actions.

Varkos registers future triggers instead of acting immediately, waits for correlated events like projectile impacts, and then continues the plan. The system is highly customizable and can transition between different games, learning new behaviors as it evolves through shared experiences with the player. The AI uses a custom harness built around Qwen3-ASR for audio processing and runs on Windows using a MacBook for development.