Forte Partners with Esteemed Game Developers to Unlock New Business Models for Games
Hi-Rez Studios, Netmarble, Magmic, nWay, and DECA Games to integrate Forte’s blockchain technology into their games, benefitting both developer and player communities
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#blockchain–Forte today announced Hi-Rez Studios, Netmarble, Magmic, nWay, and DECA Games as its next set of esteemed game developer partners. Each company will be integrating Forte’s open and easy-to-use blockchain platform into one of its games, unlocking new economic and creative opportunities for both the developers and their player communities. They join Forte’s previously announced developer partners, Disruptor Beam, Other Ocean, and Kongregate.
“We’re thrilled to partner with such a diverse group of recognized leaders from the games industry,” said Josh Williams, Forte’s Cofounder and CEO. “Their deep knowledge in creating engaging, player-first experiences is essential to informing the innovative game designs and business models of tomorrow, and bringing the benefits of blockchain technology to the mainstream. Together, we’ll work towards building a more open, equitable, and sustainable ecosystem that addresses many of the issues found today in the games industry.”
Forte’s blockchain platform benefits both existing and future titles. It unlocks never-before-possible revenue streams in traditional game designs, while being versatile enough to serve as the economic and creative foundation for blockchain-native experiences. In addition, it provides players with newfound benefits by giving their time and effort spent in games real-world relevance.
Currently invite-only, Forte’s blockchain platform is architected to be free, open, and work across any game platform. It leverages open source protocols like Ethereum and Interledger to facilitate the creation of in-game assets which players own and enable cross-chain transactions, respectively. As it matures, the platform will progressively decentralize into one that’s owned and controlled by the games community at large rather than any one company.
Through its $100M developer fund, Forte is providing grants to qualifying game developers to integrate blockchain technology into both existing games, as well as bespoke projects. Forte does not ask for or require equity, revenue share, or other form of recuperation from developers.
Game titles, additional partners, and more platform details will be announced in the coming months. Follow @FortePlatform for the latest updates.
Quotes from Forte’s partners are available at this link.
About Forte
Forte is building a transformative blockchain platform for games that unlocks breakthrough community economics, creating new economic and creative opportunities for billions of players around the world. The team consists of veterans from across the games industry (GarageGames, Unity, Kabam, ngmoco, Riot Games, Electronic Arts, Sony, and Rockstar Games, among others), and is currently working with a group of world-class game studios to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology, and more quickly bring its benefits to the masses. Visit www.forte.io for more information.
About Hi-Rez Studios
Based in Alpharetta, Georgia, Hi-Rez is an industry-leading video game publisher and developer at the forefront of the free-to-play, games-as-a-service industry. Hi-Rez’s games have been played by more than 70 million people worldwide, across PC, Xbox One®, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Nintendo Switch™, iOS and Android. With three games regularly among the Top 10 free-to-play games on Steam, Hi-Rez is one of the few Western developers to have successfully launched multiple, multi-platform games as a service titles to a large audience. Having won multiple awards and accolades for innovation and technology, Hi-Rez has also been recognised for its company culture, leadership and diversity as an employer. Additional information about Hi-Rez Studios can be found at https://www.hirezstudios.com.
About Netmarble
Netmarble Corporation strives to entertain audiences of all ages around the world by providing great mobile gaming experiences. Established in Korea in 2000, Netmarble is one of the fastest-growing mobile game companies and consistently ranks as a top mobile developer and publisher worldwide. With more than 6,000 employees, Netmarble has been producing and servicing some of the most successful mobile games including Lineage 2: Revolution, Blade & Soul Revolution, MARVEL Future Fight, BTS WORLD, Everybody’s Marble, and Seven Knights. As a parent company to Kabam, a top mobile game developer in massively multiplayer free-to-play games, and the largest shareholder to Jam City, a leading casual social game developer, Netmarble has a strategic partnership with CJ ENM Corporation, Asia’s largest entertainment company, Tencent Holdings, Asia’s largest internet company, and NCsoft, a prominent MMORPG company. More information can be found at http://company.netmarble.com
Netmarble EMEA is the leading games company of Turkey, the Middle East, and Africa regions with more than 50 million registered players. Netmarble EMEA has been publishing hyper-casual 2.0 games, working with the best indie developer studios in Turkey, Eastern Europe, and MENA region, while providing QA, marketing, localization, public relations, and IT services for successful games like Marvel Future Fight, Seven Nights and Lineage 2 Revolution. Netmarble EMEA supports development of gaming culture in the region by offering top-tier fun and socialization opportunities with one of the highest-traffic gaming portals in the region, www.joygame.com. More information can be found at https://www.netmarbleemea.com.
About Magmic
Magmic is an award-winning publisher and developer of mobile games since the dawn of the mobile entertainment revolution. Established in 2002, Magmic publishes a full range of branded content, from titles, past and present, that include Mattel’s Phase 10, Skip-Bo, Blokus, Hasbro’s Scattergories, Scattergories Blitz, and a number of Magmic owned IPs such as Passport Rummy, Spite & Malice, Adventure Hearts, the Simply suite of card games, and many social casino titles. Magmic has developed over 100 mobile games, many of which have reached #1 in the Card and Board game categories. With nearly 250 Million total game downloads, Magmic has an active player base of millions of active users. Privately owned, Magmic is located at City Centre, in Hintonburg, Ottawa, Canada.
About nWay
nWay is a San Francisco-based developer, publisher and tech platform for competitive multiplayer games across mobile, PC, and consoles. nWay’s proprietary backend tech platform, nWayPlay, enables fast development, prototyping, and operations of cross-play, real-time multiplayer games. The company has a strong track record of developing AAA quality games on mobile and on console such as recently launched POWER RANGERS: Battle for the Grid, POWER RANGERS: Legacy Wars, and ChronoBlade. nWay is composed of leading developers and senior executives from Sony, Electronic Arts, WB Games, LucasArts, Kabam, Nexon and NCSoft. Collectively, the team has contributed to over a dozen hit mobile, console, and online games, including Marvel Contest of Champions, Injustice, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Dominations, FIFA, Battlefield Online, Lineage II, and Warhammer. For more information about nWay visit nway.com.
About DECA Games
DECA Games is a publisher completely focused on live operations and games as a service. Founded in 2016, DECA’s veteran team creates ongoing experiences in beloved games that its players and communities come back to daily. Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, DECA has a globally distributed team in North America, Europe and Asia to provide best-in-class live operations for the games industry.
Contacts
Kaiser Hwang
khwang@forte.io
415-294-1012