This year has seen a growing integration of artificial intelligence into the gaming world.

Recently, an AI-native 3D detective game titled Sherlock Holmes: Night Stalker has drawn significant attention. According to reports, the game is developed by MyCoolAI (Shanghai) Artificial Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd. (“MyCoolAI”), which recently closed its Series B funding round led by LianShang Network, with multiple institutions currently in talks for further collaboration.

Public records show that MyCoolAI was founded in July 2024 as an innovative company focused on AI-driven game development. It was co-founded by Zhu Xiaojing, former Vice President of Shanda, and Wu Yunyun, former head of Bilibili’s gaming division. The founding team has previously led the development, operation, and publishing of several hit games.

The game is scheduled for a full-platform release in 2026. In it, players assume the role of Sherlock Holmes, engaging in deductive reasoning through an AI-powered free-form dialogue system. Players can interact via real-time voice, and AI characters will generate immediate responses and facial expressions based on their emotions, motivations, and logic.

In an interview with The Paper, MyCoolAI founder Zhu Xiaojing stated that AI’s true potential is best realized within large-scale, immersive 3D worlds—only when environment, character, and narrative are seamlessly integrated can players truly feel the power of “AI actively participating in the story.”

He noted that while previous waves of AI gaming—both domestically and internationally—have produced popular AI companionship or text-based interactive experiences, most remain confined to 2D interfaces or lightweight interactions, featuring simplistic visuals and limited logic, making them incomparable to mainstream high-quality titles. “Unlike other AI games, Sherlock Holmes: Night Stalker delivers a truly large-scale, immersive 3D experience—that’s the most challenging path in the industry today.”

Zhu explained that “developing large 3D games typically costs 5 to 10 times more than 2D games,” but the company is confident in the market direction of combining AI with gaming and is willing to make bold R&D investments. He described the title as the world’s first AI-driven 3D detective game.

To address the unique demands of AI gaming, the company has undertaken extensive technical breakthroughs in 3D engine development, enabling its AI engine to integrate effectively with large language models. Innovations such as the “expression-driven animation system” represent industry-first technologies. “On one hand, our team has deep expertise in game development, operations, and publishing, having led several blockbuster titles; on the other, we’ve accumulated substantial experience over recent years in training, deploying, and applying large models. This dual strength has allowed us to seamlessly fuse AI with gaming,” Zhu said.

He added that during Steam’s Next Fest, the game’s one-hour demo attracted over 10,000 player reservations within just one hour of availability, with an average playtime of nearly 40 minutes—far exceeding industry averages. Core gameplay videos have also achieved click-through rates exceeding 10% on international platforms like TikTok and Facebook.

To ensure consistent personality and logical coherence during extended interactions, the team has implemented Stanford’s cutting-edge Dynamic Persona Refinement Framework (DPRF)—a core innovation driving the game’s experiential leap. Traditional AI characters often suffer from issues like “forgetting prior context,” “sudden emotional shifts,” or “contradictory behavior.” DPRF addresses these by continuously refining character personas through persistent modeling, behavioral feedback reinforcement, and emotion evolution, allowing each AI character to develop a stable, evolving identity across repeated interactions with players.

“We want players to feel the ‘soul’ and emotions of AI characters—to make every conversation feel like talking to a real person,” Zhu said. “For the first time, AI is narratively conveying emotion, understanding, and the unknown. This could transform the entire entertainment industry.”

The convergence of AI and gaming has clearly become an industry-wide trend. As AI-native games transition from concept to commercial reality, the market is witnessing a surge in such titles. According to Zhongyan Puhua Research Institute, the AI-native gaming market in China reached RMB 1.599 billion in 2025, a 550.08% year-over-year increase. By 2027, this figure is projected to surpass RMB 33.7 billion—a more than 20-fold growth over three years.

Zhu believes “AI-native games will undoubtedly trigger explosive growth in the gaming industry.” He sees Sherlock Holmes: Night Stalker as proof that AI can create “living virtual worlds” and demonstrates the commercial viability of large-scale AI + 3D games. Looking ahead, he is particularly optimistic about game genres that combine deduction, emotional expression, and AI.

This year has seen a growing integration of artificial intelligence into the gaming world.

Recently, an AI-native 3D detective game titled Sherlock Holmes: Night Stalker has drawn significant attention. According to reports, the game is developed by MyCoolAI (Shanghai) Artificial Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd. (“MyCoolAI”), which recently closed its Series B funding round led by LianShang Network, with multiple institutions currently in talks for further collaboration.

Public records show that MyCoolAI was founded in July 2024 as an innovative company focused on AI-driven game development. It was co-founded by Zhu Xiaojing, former Vice President of Shanda, and Wu Yunyun, former head of Bilibili’s gaming division. The founding team has previously led the development, operation, and publishing of several hit games.

The game is scheduled for a full-platform release in 2026. In it, players assume the role of Sherlock Holmes, engaging in deductive reasoning through an AI-powered free-form dialogue system. Players can interact via real-time voice, and AI characters will generate immediate responses and facial expressions based on their emotions, motivations, and logic.

In an interview with The Paper, MyCoolAI founder Zhu Xiaojing stated that AI’s true potential is best realized within large-scale, immersive 3D worlds—only when environment, character, and narrative are seamlessly integrated can players truly feel the power of “AI actively participating in the story.”

He noted that while previous waves of AI gaming—both domestically and internationally—have produced popular AI companionship or text-based interactive experiences, most remain confined to 2D interfaces or lightweight interactions, featuring simplistic visuals and limited logic, making them incomparable to mainstream high-quality titles. “Unlike other AI games, Sherlock Holmes: Night Stalker delivers a truly large-scale, immersive 3D experience—that’s the most challenging path in the industry today.”

Zhu explained that “developing large 3D games typically costs 5 to 10 times more than 2D games,” but the company is confident in the market direction of combining AI with gaming and is willing to make bold R&D investments. He described the title as the world’s first AI-driven 3D detective game.

To address the unique demands of AI gaming, the company has undertaken extensive technical breakthroughs in 3D engine development, enabling its AI engine to integrate effectively with large language models. Innovations such as the “expression-driven animation system” represent industry-first technologies. “On one hand, our team has deep expertise in game development, operations, and publishing, having led several blockbuster titles; on the other, we’ve accumulated substantial experience over recent years in training, deploying, and applying large models. This dual strength has allowed us to seamlessly fuse AI with gaming,” Zhu said.

He added that during Steam’s Next Fest, the game’s one-hour demo attracted over 10,000 player reservations within just one hour of availability, with an average playtime of nearly 40 minutes—far exceeding industry averages. Core gameplay videos have also achieved click-through rates exceeding 10% on international platforms like TikTok and Facebook.

To ensure consistent personality and logical coherence during extended interactions, the team has implemented Stanford’s cutting-edge Dynamic Persona Refinement Framework (DPRF)—a core innovation driving the game’s experiential leap. Traditional AI characters often suffer from issues like “forgetting prior context,” “sudden emotional shifts,” or “contradictory behavior.” DPRF addresses these by continuously refining character personas through persistent modeling, behavioral feedback reinforcement, and emotion evolution, allowing each AI character to develop a stable, evolving identity across repeated interactions with players.

“We want players to feel the ‘soul’ and emotions of AI characters—to make every conversation feel like talking to a real person,” Zhu said. “For the first time, AI is narratively conveying emotion, understanding, and the unknown. This could transform the entire entertainment industry.”

The convergence of AI and gaming has clearly become an industry-wide trend. As AI-native games transition from concept to commercial reality, the market is witnessing a surge in such titles. According to Zhongyan Puhua Research Institute, the AI-native gaming market in China reached RMB 1.599 billion in 2025, a 550.08% year-over-year increase. By 2027, this figure is projected to surpass RMB 33.7 billion—a more than 20-fold growth over three years.

Zhu believes “AI-native games will undoubtedly trigger explosive growth in the gaming industry.” He sees Sherlock Holmes: Night Stalker as proof that AI can create “living virtual worlds” and demonstrates the commercial viability of large-scale AI + 3D games. Looking ahead, he is particularly optimistic about game genres that combine deduction, emotional expression, and AI.