Microsoft AI Achieves Highest Ms. Pac-Man Score Possible

The video game world recently witnessed Ms. Pac-Man history: For the first time, the game’s maximum score of 999,990 points has been reached. As Business Insider reports, the landmark wasn’t achieved by a competitive gamer but rather an AI algorithm owned by Microsoft.

After the AI start-up Maluuba was acquired by Microsoft in January, one of their first orders of business was developing a system capable of running through the Atari 2600 version of Ms. Pac-Man with more efficiency than any human player. To do this, they set up a program that rewarded the AI for completing different tasks like dodging ghosts and eating fruit. Each accomplishment was assigned a certain value, allowing the algorithm to prioritize problems as they arose. You can learn more about the strategy behind the win in the video below.

The game ended when Ms. Pac-Man racked up 999,990 points, the highest number the game can reach before resetting to zero. According to highscore.com, the previous Atari 2600 Ms. Pac-Man record of 266,330 belonged to a man from Brazil. Though it isn’t the most popular version of the title, researchers chose to play on the Atari 2600 game because the console has become standard for AI projects across the field. The maximum score on the original Ms. Pac-Man game, however, is still up for grabs.