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10-Year Roadmap To 🦄

Before starting our roadmap, we want to clarify that this is not investment advice. The numbers shared here do not intend to hype investors, and it's based on our internal discussions and goals as a studio. Multiple factors determine the success of any business, and luck can be one of them.
We've been working on this roadmap for three years now without ever openly talking about our strategies and what we've accomplished; however, recently, we've been asked to go into more detail about the studio and our plans for the future, and as a company that believes in transparency, we want to give you more information about our plans for the future.
The goal for any business is to be highly successful, usually measured in economic achievements; our version of what a successful business in the gaming world is, it's the creation of a franchise everyone loves.
However, when explaining our roadmap, we need to remove our creative hats and explain what the combination of our efforts might bring to the future of Meta Studio.
Because this whitepaper is public, we cannot share every detail for strategic reasons. One of those items is what we call Project Arkane.
However, we can give an 80/20 view of our roadmap that might result in MetaStudio becoming a Unicorn Game Studio 🦄.

The Thesis.

With the rise of games as a service and new technologies like blockchain and web3 games, we see a dynamic landscape ripe for innovation and disruption.
Our approach is centered on two simple concepts:
  1. 1.
    Tools that empower creativity
  2. 2.
    Engaging and Innovative Games as a Service.
Altho these are simple concepts, it's extremely hard to execute; building a successful game studio is more than just technology. It requires a deep understanding of the gaming market and the ability to create games that resonate with players and expand the game IP, becoming part of Pop Culture.
This is why we assembled a team of award-winning gaming and animation designers and artists who know how to create engaging experiences.

Why creative tools?

We acknowledge the potential for democratizing game development and empowering individuals to create. Web3 and blockchain technologies present an excellent opportunity to focus on developing user-friendly tools and platforms that will make it easy for people to interact with our future IPs. These tools enable people to create, publish, and monetize their games. We can provide the tools for free using a revenue-shared model using smart contracts. We envision this as building a sandbox platform that allows people to develop their ideas, like playing a game, similar to the fun experience of building islands or farms in games like Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing.
Although similar concepts have been explored before in projects like Mario Maker, Little Big Planet, and Roblox, users have been unable to use their creations as their IP/product. In our second area of focus, we aim to empower communities by incubating them and creating unique gamified experiences. We plan to elaborate more on our upcoming incubation process soon.
This process also allows us to have a unique feedback loop. The more content we have, the more people will be attracted to play and interact with the game, attracting even more creators.

Engaging and Innovative Games

AAA Games often resort to using the same formula because innovating in games is a challenging task. However, as an indie game studio with less at stake, we can test unconventional concepts and learn from our errors. One of our current experiments utilizes AI and machine learning to deliver distinct game experiences for each player. Imagine a language learning model that learns about the game world and provides data to NPCs. This information is updated in real-time every time an event occurs, allowing the NPCs to generate distinctive dialogues about the world.
Furthermore, by focusing on developing games as a service by providing regular updates and fresh content to keep players invested and devoted. This strategy enables us to create captivating experiences and test novel, innovative ideas within a single IP while developing a robust community of players. As a result, our games-as-a-service model will allow MetaStudio to establish a sustainable business model that generates long-term revenue and supports continuous growth.

A Reality Check

Although Rune Realms is a crucial component of our ultimate goal, we must be realistic about its scalability to $1 billion. While it is not impossible, it is challenging, as seen in Clash of Clans' $10 billion revenue and Rise of Kingdoms' $926 million revenue, the inspirations behind Rune Realms. We are confident that Rune Realms can generate between $50 and $200 million.

Why Start with Rune Realms?

Despite its complexity in scaling, it plays a vital role in our grand plan. Although creating Games as a Service is costly, well-executed GAAS can generate significant returns for game developers in the long term.
Let's compare two games: Clash of Clans and Genshin Impact. Clash of Clans had a production cost of $800,000 to $1 million and a total revenue of $10 billion from 2012 to 2022. On the other hand, Genshin Impact had a production cost of $100 million but earned $4 billion in revenue from 2020 to 2022. Although Genshin Impact earned 40% of Clash of Clans' revenue in two years, it also cost Mihoyo $99 million more to create.
MetaStudio's growth strategy is to create low-maintenance, medium cash flow mobile games and use the profits to develop high-maintenance, high cash flow GAAS. While Rune Realms may not scale to $1 billion, it is a crucial building block in the future of MetaStudio.
Rune Realms is a hybrid Games as a Service (GAAS) game that serves multiple purposes. It brings together various gamer archetypes in one game, making it easily accessible to gamers and helping us achieve our revenue target quickly.
Using the proceeds from Rune Realms, we will develop other casual and mobile games, creating a steady cash flow to support the development of Project Arkane. We cannot show too much about Project Arkane due to strategic reasons. However, we plan to reveal more sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes information as we progress with the project.
Conclusion
We recognize that the gaming industry is fiercely competitive. Still, by focusing on innovation, player engagement, and creativity, we can build a unicorn game studio that sets new standards in the industry. With the right team, technology, and strategy, we are confident that we can succeed in this exciting market.