- The new co-CEO of Delabs Games, JC Kim, shared with Blockzeit his thoughts about the future of Web3 gaming and AI.
- He believes their fusion would considerably reduce time, cost, and human resources required in game development.
AI (artificial intelligence) innovations and adoption have grown exponentially over the years. One of the industries where it is making a huge splash is in Web3 gaming.
In our correspondence with JC Kim, the recently-appointed co-CEO of Delabs Games and co-founder of Verse8, he highlighted how AI is shaping up the Web3 gaming sector, speeding up development, cutting costs, and lowering the barriers for creators. He also discussed the 4:33 Creative Lab-backed Delabs Games’ new partnership with Verse8, an AI-native game creation platform from Planetarium Labs, to enable indie and young developers access to a simplified game creation engine.
According to Kim, the fusion of AI and Web3 technologies could enable rapid IP (intellectual property) creation, NFT (non-fungible token) asset trading, personalized in-game items, and crypto-driven economies. The model could usher in more user-generated games and monetization models.
Current State of Game Development
Kim said casual games usually involve 10 to 20 people in their development, while mid-core games need 40 to 60 people. The numbers balloon with AAA games, as these could require at least a hundred developers. From there, the work commonly takes over three years.
The Delabs Games boss cited Genshin Impact as an example. It now has over 100 million players and more than $5 billion in annual revenue despite its initial criticism over its similarities to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The cross-platform game took over 500 people to make in three and a half years, with an initial budget of $100 million. Meanwhile, Night Crows, a mobile Web3 game with revenue exceeding $500 million, called for more than 100 people over two years.
The numbers substantially rise in AAA games. However, it becomes such a gamble in that area due to its high-risk but low success rate outcomes. Kim illustrated this trend in the top 20 games on Steam, which rarely change even with new titles entering the gaming scene every now and then.
Mid-core games carry a certain level of risk, albeit significantly lower. Still, they often face the challenge posed by AAA games and usually struggle to keep up with more popular and established franchises.
Overall, these underscore the fact that developing and publishing a game is a high-risk endeavor that takes a lot of time and resources, with no guarantee of success.
Convergence of AI and Web3 Gaming
Delabs Games and Verse8 envision their collaboration to boost the development and deployment of mid-core and casual games using AI. Kim believes it could drastically reduce the time, manpower, and costs to make them. He estimates that their integration of the technology could finish a mid-core premium game that normally requires 50 people and two years of work, with only five people in two months. With AI’s assistance, a Web3 game client/server coding, design, and even graphics would undergo a revolutionary transformation.
Additionally, Kim noted that simpler genres like defense games, sports games, or Rogue-Lite titles can be developed in under a month with AI. Its tools simplify tasks in a way that even people with no coding or animation skills, experience, or knowledge could turn their vision into a reality.
The Delabs co-CEO admitted that mid-core and casual games will likely get the most advantage from the current capabilities of AI. He pointed out that while the tech would slightly improve AAA game development, it may take some time before it makes sweeping transformations in its landscape.
Crypto, AI Game Makers, and IP Synergy
Kim stated that the next stage of Web3 gaming will bring about a higher demand for cryptocurrencies. Their almost real-time transactions and near-zero fees would make them more ideal for game and digital asset purchases than the traditional fiat currencies, which are constrained by intermediaries, high fees, and slow settlement rates.
Moreover, Kim highlighted that AI can leverage existing IP assets or create entirely new ones with a few strokes. It does away with coding complexities, allowing creators to generate gaming content with commands made using natural language. This would also let developers introduce updates and new content at short intervals to keep their games engaging.
Furthermore, AI infusion paves the way for developers to easily tokenize their IP assets so people can trade them in NFT or crypto marketplaces. This boosts creators’ revenue streams while giving users alternative avenues to trade IP assets.
All these only form the tip of the proverbial iceberg, and Kim claimed countless other possibilities will emerge over the years.
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