Latest Claude 3.7 Sonnet model storms the Pokémon world
Anthropic, one of the leaders in artificial intelligence, presented an unusual approach to testing its latest Claude 3.7 Sonnet model, using the iconic Game Boy game Pokémon Red.
According to information published in the company’s official blog on February 24, researchers equipped the model with basic memory, pixel input processing capability from the screen, and functional calls for button pressing and navigation. This allowed the AI to continuously play Pokémon without additional assistance.
A key advantage of Claude 3.7 Sonnet is the “extended thinking” feature, similar to the capabilities of OpenAI o3-mini and DeepSeek R1. This technology allows the model to “reason” when solving complex tasks, applying additional computational resources and spending more time on analysis.
The results of the experiment were impressive. While the previous version of the model, Claude 3.0 Sonnet, couldn’t even leave the starting house in Pallet Town where the game begins, Claude 3.7 Sonnet successfully battled three gym leaders and received their badges.
To achieve these results, the AI performed 35,000 game actions to reach the last gym leader Lieutenant Surge. However, the company did not disclose exact data on the computing power and time spent completing the game.
Although Pokémon Red may be considered more of an entertainment benchmark, using games for AI testing has a long tradition in the research community. In recent months, a number of new applications and platforms have emerged to test AI models’ gaming abilities on various games – from Street Fighter to Pictionary.
This experiment demonstrates the growing ability of artificial intelligence models to navigate complex interactive environments, understand rules, and strategically plan actions to achieve long-term goals – skills that have broad practical applications beyond the gaming industry.
