Quantum computing used in ‘first commercial game development’ — IBM simulator generated maps, characters, and graphics in C.L.A.Y. RPG

Game studio MiTale Ltd. is at Gamescom promoting a narrative-driven post-apocalyptic RPG dubbed C.L.A.Y. – The Last Redemption. You may well have heard the same or very similar descriptions of a new game before, but C.L.A.Y. stands out for its use of quantum computing techniques in the creation of game assets as well as for game narrative and procedural systems. MiTale worked with experts from IBM Quantum Computing and claims this is the “first commercial game on the market utilizing quantum computing in an immersive narrative experience.” Moreover, it reckons this is “the first step toward using real quantum hardware in games to accelerate complex tasks in a manner similar to a GPU,” which is rather bold.

The official game page on Steam (linked above) doesn’t mention quantum computing, but perhaps it hasn’t been updated with details from this Gamescom announcement, or kept up-to-date with the game development process. A little bit of investigation reveals that C.L.A.Y.’s development seems to have spanned at least six years so far. We’ve been emailed a fuller statement about MiTale’s exploration of quantum games, and there is some more public information about MiTale’s IBM Quantum collaborations on the game’s Gamescom 2026 press kit.

MiTale has been exploring quantum games since 2019. Its work in the games development field has included connecting quantum systems with familiar development environments, including Unity, Unreal Engine, Godot, and the Ink narrative system. However, it has a longer-term goal of integrating real quantum hardware into game development. It hopes to enhance the player-centered design this way, as well as to provide truly unique real-time adjusting experiences in every gaming session.

Back to C.L.A.Y., this game has leveraged IBM Quantum tech to help MiTale developers generate maps, characters, and graphic simulations. It also hints that using real quantum hardware in PCs could become the new normal, one day. Discrete or integrated quantum accelerators could “accelerate complex tasks in a manner similar to a GPU.” Certainly it wouldn’t be more of a waste of silicon than the NPUs in my current AMD Ryzen AI and Intel Core Ultra PC systems.

Often quantum computers are pitched as a hifalutin solution “to solve problems that affect all of humanity.” But their touted strengths in complex modeling, optimization, simulation, discovery, and ability to handle vast numbers of variables could also be applied to huge next-gen gaming universes.

Gaming on quantum computers? Quandoom has already been there.