Today marks the launch of Playground, a new Google platform for generating games using natural language prompts, and it will soon host a version of Unity based around generative AI agents.

Unity Spark, which runs on the Unity engine, will be launching in beta later this year. The tool will allow users to design and iterate on 3D games via text prompts, and it is entirely browser-based, with no download required. Both Unity Spark and Playground will only be available to users aged 18+.

Although announced as a strategic partnership with Google, Unity Spark will use a variety of generative AI models, and is not exclusively tied to Google's AI technology.

Unity Spark is linked to the Unity Asset Store; in a demo given to GamesIndustry.biz, a text prompt asking for a cape for the main character brought up a range of suggested items from the store. Another prompt asked for a sunrise background, and the AI agent provided a range of options. The agent can also make suggestions based on the user's actions, such as offering to create a tool for toggling between different lighting presets, and multiple agents can be set to work at the same time.

In a blog post, Unity CEO Matt Bromberg said that Unity Spark wasn't about "one-shotting" – that is, generating an entire game from a single prompt – and is instead about building something "worth working on, polishing, and sharing."

"It's about using the new technology to enable more people to express themselves," he said. "And it all begins with the game art. Unity Spark connects directly to the Unity Asset Store, so you can build with thousands of high-quality, artist-created assets made by our community.

"We made Unity Spark for the gamers who have spent a thousand hours inside a genre and know exactly what's missing. The graphic artist who wants to bring their vision to life but doesn't know how to code. Modders who now want to create something entirely new. That's the opportunity we see: Folks with real creative conviction who can now fulfill their full potential."

Multiple users can work on the same project at the same time by sharing a link, and projects can be published on Google Playground. The Unity Spark editor only runs on desktop browsers, but games made with the system can be played on both desktop and mobile browsers.

At launch, it won't be possible to download projects or export them to the full desktop version of the Unity engine. It also won't be possible to sell any projects created with Unity Spark at launch.

Payment for Unity Spark will involve a credit-based system, which is tied to AI tokens. Access to a certain amount of credits will be free, after which users will have to buy credits, although the full details of the payment system haven't been finalised. But rather than being designed to generate a profit, Unity's main aim for the system is to encourage more people to make games.

"Electronic games are the last major form of entertainment that nearly everyone consumes but almost nobody creates"

"Producing a polished experience of your own has long been beyond the capabilities of most people," said Bromberg.

"As a consequence, although about 3 billion people play a game made with Unity each month, almost none of them have ever made one. Electronic games are the last major form of entertainment that nearly everyone consumes but almost nobody creates. That's something we'd like to help change.

"We don't know exactly who will walk through this door, or what they'll make. That's the whole point. Democratizing game creation is Unity's founding mission. Unity Spark was incubated in that spirit. We can't wait to see what you build together."

Unity has been steadily building a suite of generative AI tools for its game engine. A number of them were launched in open beta in May, including a 'Plan' mode for designing implementation steps and 'Skills' for guidance in areas like UI creation.

In August, Bromberg credited the company's growth in revenue to the ongoing success of Unity Vector AI. The upcoming Unity 7, which launches in Q1 2027, will feature AI tools as a core component, although Unity's senior vice president of product Adam Smith has emphasised that developers are not required to use them. "If your studio has committed to keeping AI out of your creative work – you're not on the sidelines of this release," he said.