“Playing and Owning” Games! Hollywood and Game Industry Professionals Create a New Business Model
Mark Meyers, former vice president of Disney Game Studio, and industry professionals from Hollywood and the game industry have joined forces in Dubai to establish a AAA-level Web3 game publisher called “Galactic Group” and a dedicated department for publishing Web3 games called “Galactic Entertainment Publishing.”
The company aims to promote a new business model called “Play-to-Own” in the game industry through blockchain technology. They aim to change the traditional model where game developers create and release products and IPs after completion, and instead, they seek to involve the community in the creation of new games, following the common Web3 approach.
Loren Roosendaal, CEO of Galactic, said, “We believe that the current mainstream freemium business model in the market has its flaws.”
According to Galactic’s announcement, global players spend over $100 billion annually on in-game purchases, investing hundreds of hours collecting items that they do not actually own. When players attempt to sell these items, some game developers may allow them to trade using in-game currency, but most of the time, this behavior is prohibited.
Galactic hopes to use blockchain technology to open up the closed economic models prevalent in the entertainment industry and eliminate the need for players to rely on black markets or risk losing their accounts and everything they have obtained through extensive time investment when they want to trade game items.
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Galactic’s first game, “PlanetQuest,” presents a world similar to Star Wars, where players can own digital assets ranging from spaceships to planets within the game. These assets can be used in the game and freely traded with other players. In addition to the game itself, “PlanetQuest” will extend to novels, comics, and other works as an IP.
The PlanetQuest team consists of members from Disney, Warner Bros., Activision Blizzard, and Epic, with experience in blockbuster films such as Batman, Star Wars, The Avengers, and Blade Runner, as well as AAA games like Fortnite, Star Wars: Jedi Survival, and Call of Duty.
Jon McCoy, Creative Director of Galactic, stated that although he has been involved in the production of many Hollywood blockbusters, the experience of co-creating a sci-fi universe with fans in an unprecedented way is unforgettable.
“While I have realized many childhood dreams through works like Star Wars, Blade Runner, and Marvel movies, the experience of interacting and building with fans from day one is almost beyond comparison.”
After its launch, PlanetQuest has gained popularity within the community. Currently, there are over 300,000 wallets holding PlanetQuest game passports, with over 200,000 wallets holding more than one PlanetQuest NFT.
When asked why they chose to launch their Web3 game publishing business now, Galactic CEO Loren mentioned that the acquisition cost for traditional games continues to rise, and more and more developers are realizing the flaws in the current freemium business model, seeking new alternatives.
“Two years ago, most game industry professionals doubted the feasibility of Web3 games. Indeed, the initial Web3 games did not offer an impressive gameplay experience. But, just like the progression from simple games like ‘Happy Farm’ to ‘Fortnite,’ Web3 games also require time to reach AAA standards. It’s not an easy task and takes a little time.”
He also expressed that now, more and more excellent game studios are exploring bringing games into the Web3 world, and this year, Galactic has received increasing collaboration in Web3 game development. Therefore, he believes that now might be the best time to venture into the Web3 game publishing business.
Sources:
Cointelegraph, Venturebeat
Proofread by: Gao Jingyuan