Deepgram Voice Agent API for Game NPCs vs Neocortex
Deepgram is best known for fast speech recognition, and its Voice Agent API bundles speech-to-text, a language model and text-to-speech into one WebSocket connection. You can mix and match LLM and voice providers, and pricing is a flat rate per minute.
It is a well-engineered voice pipeline. Here is how it fits a game.
What Deepgram Voice Agent gives you
From Deepgram's pricing and docs (checked October 2026):
- Per-minute billing based on WebSocket connection time, with tiers for bringing your own LLM or TTS.
- Managed LLMs from several providers, or your own OpenAI-compatible endpoint.
- TTS from Deepgram, Cartesia, or your own provider such as ElevenLabs.
- SDKs for Python, JavaScript, C# and Go, plus function calling.
Where it gets harder for games
- No Unity integration. There is a C# SDK, but no Unity package or samples.
- Connection time is billed. An NPC connection left open while a player explores still costs money unless you manage connections carefully.
- No character tooling. Persona, memory, guardrails and game state are prompts and code you maintain.
- Voice cloning requires a separate provider.
Deepgram Voice Agent vs Neocortex
| Deepgram Voice Agent | Neocortex | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Voice agents and contact centres | AI characters for games |
| Pricing | Per minute of connection | Monthly plans with included credits |
| Unity | No package | Unity SDK with voice samples |
| Other engines | Build your own client | Unreal, Godot (beta), Web API |
| Character design | Prompts in code | Visual node editor |
| Voice cloning | Via a third-party provider | Built in, plus voice design |
| Game actions | Function calling | Actions, interactable objects, per-line emotions |
Why game teams choose Neocortex
Pay for conversations, not open sockets. Monthly plans with included credits, and free testing in the browser editor.
One account for everything. Speech, the language model, voices and the character live in one place.
Characters that belong in a game. Actions, interactables and emotion tags connect conversation to gameplay.
When Deepgram is the right call
If you are building a phone or support voice agent and want fine control over each provider, Deepgram is a strong choice. For game characters, create a free Neocortex account and try it in your engine.
Deepgram details were last checked in October 2026.
Written by
Sercan Altundas
Date
Oct 17, 2026
Read time
3 min
