A computer screen is photographed February 16, 1996 at IBM's headquarters in Armonk, New York, during IBM's supercomputer Deep Blue' s matches against world chess champion Garry Kasparov. The word "bot" is a name given to artificial intelligence (AI) that takes the place of player characters in online multiplayer video games. Some of the earliest examples include Perfect Dark on the Nintendo 64 system, which included the feature as a means of bypassing player limitations on such pre-Internet enabled consoles. AI has been a feature of video games since their inception way back in 1947 with one of the most significant examples of inclusion being with Deep Blue, a chess computer created by IBM which is notable for its ability to best the greatest minds in chess, including Garry Kasparov. However, AI is a concept that has somewhat been flipped on its head in recent years, as ground-breaking innovations such as machine learning and Internet of Things (IOT) have become vital instrumentalities in the corporate world.

The word "bot" is a name given to artificial intelligence (AI) that takes the place of player characters in online multiplayer video games.

A school in China has started a new course to teach its students how to play video games as a future profession. The school hopes the £1,470-per-year'eSports and Management' course could help ambitious teenagers cash in on China's £116 million digital gaming industry. During the first year of the course, the students in their teens and early 20s spend 50 per cent of their time gaming and the rest on study'theory lessons' to ensure they would succeed in the industry. Teenagers majoring in'eSports and Management' listen to teacher Yang Xiao explain game techniques at the school The Lanxiang Technical School, situated in the city of Jinan in eastern China, launched its eSports course last September and has attracted 50 students in its inaugural year. 'At first, many parents thought it was just about playing video games,' school director Rong Lanxiang, told AFP. 'In fact, it's not the case, eSport is developing to a very high degree and it's become an economic growth driver.'

As Theresa May outlined her plans for the UK to hard exit Europe, the Mobile Games Forum kicked off in London today with a solid international line up from the likes of Rovio, Bandai Namco, Twitch, King and a huge delegation from Korea to name a few. Revenue, monetization and retention were unsurprisingly key themes of the day but surprisingly esports received more interest than VR. Motti Colman, Optimove's Director of New Business believes companies need to fix missed opportunities; "Traditionally, games companies look at three segments; new, active and churn. Churn is often [deprioritised] but 18% of first-time churners, on average, can be reactivated which means multi-time churners - thanks to the zig-zag phenomenon (where active users leave and then come back repeatedly) - can be identified and incentivised differently. James Dean, MD of ESL UK believes beyond audience diversification we will see smarter business plays from brand and developers; "Rather than just a pure marketing play, we will see brands create a dedicated strategy and retain control over their revenue models rather than create simple strategies and badging exercises.