The Bitkraft 2024 Summit was very well organized, hats off to the @BITKRAFTVC team! Here are some key observations from this wonderful summit:
AI x Games: Currently mostly a gimmick. Most people try to promote this narrative, but what is actually exciting is the application of AI in two areas: (1) improving game asset generation, and (2) the application of AI in PvP games.
Consistent asset generation: Using AI to generate consistent assets is currently very difficult, but this is a prerequisite for its use in game production. Independently generated context-free images are beautiful, but if they cannot maintain consistency, they cannot be used in actual production. Currently, the team mainly uses AI in the creative stage.
Existing AI tools are most beneficial to veteran studios with a lot of assets, and there is still a gap in practicality for new studios. The progress in the 2D field is very good, but 3D is still in the exploratory stage.
The role of AI in games: AI has existed in games for a long time (it is not new), but the application of AI agents today is different. What will be really interesting is whether AI can play more like players in PvE and PvP games (of course, it is not applicable to all games, such as the boss battle mode in Elden Ring). If the cold start problem or the matchmaking problem of multiplayer games can be solved, the user experience will be greatly improved. Imagine that there is no MID OR FEED / BUY WARDS OR AFK teammates in Dota2.
It is a myth that "games need existing well-known IP to succeed". Statistics show that most successful games create new IPs rather than use licensed IPs. For example, in mobile games, with the exception of FateStay and Dragon Ball Z IP, most games are original IPs. Using IP licenses to make games has very limited unit economics and gameplay. Of course, there are exceptions, such as RO: Love at First Sight and Fate: Grand Order, which have achieved great success, but the overall odds are low.
The West Still Understands Eastern Markets. There are big gaps in the West's understanding of markets like China, both in terms of supply and demand.
There are still people who think that Chinese games are low quality or can't go international, even though games like Black Myth: Wukong have broken the charts.
Many people don't know that a mobile game called Dungeon Fighter: Origins made $500 million in revenue in China alone in its first month.
Telegram Games: Be cautious with this emerging distribution trend, vanity metrics are not the same as actual distribution results.
Discord Games: Discord Games has received a lot of attention due to its latest update that allows users to play mini-games within the app. We will keep a close eye on the latest developments and innovative applications in this area.
The Japanese, Korean, and Chinese markets are still very isolated, and it is difficult to understand the complexity of these markets unless you are actively involved in the ecosystem. An interesting phenomenon is that the most popular dating app in Japan is similar to Tinder, but its matching and conversations are handled by AI, and almost no one outside of Japan knows this.
The internationalization potential of Chinese IP is huge but underutilized. We have seen a lot of Japanese and Korean IPs being internationalized, but Chinese IPs are mostly still domestic. For example, Soul Land, whose first season of animation has been viewed more than 50 billion times, has been almost heard of by no one.
It is difficult for large game companies to promote innovation because they are generally risk-averse (RIOT and Valve are rare exceptions) and tend to build sequels based on successful old series. However, many outstanding veterans have left large companies to pursue the dream of developing new breakthrough games.
Aaron
Brian
YouQuan
Hui Xin
Snake
Max Ng
Alex