Krafton, the developer of the popular battle royale, PUBG, has announced its metaverse project, Overdare. For those paying attention, this has been a long time coming, and although we have new details, the story starts back in February 2022.
Krafton is a legendary games developer and publisher from South Korea. They are perhaps best known for Player Unknown: Battlegrounds (PUBG) through their studio, Bluehole. That said, they also deserve recognition for TERA, Subnautica, and a personal favorite of mine, Natural Selection 2. In February 2022, Krafton partnered with NAVER Z, a subsidiary of NAVER. NAVER runs ZAPETO (they love shouting in South Korea apparently), which is an incredibly successful metaverse platform in Asia with 290 million users when I wrote the above article in February 2022, but 340 million by October 2022.
By April 2023, Krafton was being explicit with its intentions: In partnership with NAVER Z, Krafton would launch “Project Migaloo” — a creator-centric metaverse using a new model of “Create-to-Earn”. This joint venture raised $36.1 million and now, Krafton has come out with the details of Project Migaloo under its true name: Overdare.
What Is Overdare?
- A Roblox-style metaverse on mobile
- Built on Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5
- “Create-to-Earn” creator economy
- Built on Krafton’s blockchain, Settlus, purpose-built for the creator economy
- USDC stablecoin for payments
- Players can monetize games and NFT assets
- AI generative tools for creators
In short, Overdare is aimed to be Asia’s Minecraft or Roblox, but built from the ground up with the latest technology in gaming. Unreal Engine 5 will secure beautiful graphics, even on mobile, and the combination of blockchain and AI will make it futureproof. If the creator economy can truly be in favor of the creator — something Roblox is often criticized for failing at — then this is the start of something monumental. Overdare might not just be a milestone for blockchain use-cases in gaming, it might be a milestone for all of gaming.
Why Will Overdare Dominate?
Overdare is the perfect amalgamation of cutting-edge gaming. Here’s why:
- It’s geared toward the mobile platform that has the most players by magnitudes.
- It is creator-centric in the same vein as Roblox and Minecraft, games with a combined playerbase of around 1 billion.
- It is on Unreal Engine 5 which is, pound-for-pound, unrivaled for graphics and performance.
- Users have access AI generative tools to help them build games within the platform, including RPGs and shooters.
- A focus on social features, including highly customizable avatars, events, and live concerts.
In all honesty, I’m surprised Krafton and NAVER Z were not able to secure far more in funding than $36.1m. Overdare has everything a new game could include to be on the forefront of innovation, with blockchain and AI enabling a Roblox-style game with a far more rewarding economy for its creators, all while tapping into the mobile gaming market. Overdare is the epitome of contemporary game development when catering to what works and what people are interested in. The argument that blockchain shouldn’t be included in that might be fair in the West, but the evidence suggests that’s not the case in Asia.
PUBG Mobile was scoffed at by gamers, but it has been an unprecedented success. Solomon203, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsFinal Thoughts
Overdare is more than a game; it’s a statement. A testament to Krafton’s audacious vision and its relentless pursuit of innovation. Krafton has a superb track record of player acquisition for its flagship titles, suggesting they have their finger on the pulse of the games industry as a whole. Overdare is the perfect example of exactly that; a mobile and creator-centric platform where creators are fairly rewarded is an astute move given the current landscape, and AI and blockchain technologies added to the mix safeguard the future.
Krafton is an impressive and mighty beast, but Overdare is set to be the company’s tour de force.
