Forte

Creating New Economic and Creative Opportunities

Announcement

Kongregate

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Kongregate

Earlier this year, we announced a $100M developer fund to help accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology in games. We believe blockchain will unlock new economic and creative opportunities for the games community at large, and have been building easy-to-use tools using open protocols like Interledger so developers can properly — and effectively — harness the potential that blockchain offers games.

But we haven’t been doing it alone. We’ve been working closely with a diverse and immensely talented group of developer partners to help ensure that our platform technologies meet their needs, while also leveraging our experience in economy and game design to help them build the best experiences for their respective player communities. Kongregate is one of those developers.

Games have an incredible ability to move us: we feel ecstatic when finally topping a long-standing high score; we feel triumphant when finally beating a boss battle that, until the very moment of victory, seemed insurmountable; and we feel a deep sense of loss when a character we’re emotionally invested in perishes in an engrossing narrative. 

Games can also move us in a more literal way: they bring us together as players. We used to see it in the massive crowds at local arcades, then later at home during the console revolution of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Today, games bring us together online. Sometimes this is playing cooperatively with each other, and other times playing competitively against each other, like when we’re vying for the top spot in an esports competition. 

Sometimes, though, games bring us together through online communities. Kongregate is one such community. In 2006, the long-running gaming portal set out to provide independent developers with an open platform to host their games and engage directly with their player communities—a refreshingly progressive and prescient move at the time given today’s gaming landscape. Over a decade later, the portal’s become a resounding success, and currently hosts over 125K games, all free for players around the world to enjoy. 

Kongregate has grown to be much more than its enormously popular web portal, though. Today, they are also a game developer, publisher, and PC games platform responsible for over 250M game downloads, multiple Editor’s Choice titles, and a combined community of over 8M players—each a remarkable achievement on its own, but extraordinary together. 

A few of Kongregate’s award-winning titles. Source: Kongregate

While Kongregate’s track record speaks for itself, where we really connected with them was in their mission: to nurture the growth and health of independent game developers and player communities. 

At Forte, the tools and services we’re building for developers directly support this mission. It also aligns with our games history as well, as our team members spent the last two decades helping game developers by creating industry-standard tools, and fostering thriving player communities through deep player engagement. 

We’re building the Forte platform to jumpstart a new generation of games where the player-developer relationship is both healthier and more sustainable. As such, we intimately understand, genuinely appreciate, and fully support Kongregate’s mission. And it’s why they’re one of our first developer partners in bringing blockchain technology to the masses. 

Kongregate will be using the Forte platform to create an engaging community program that lets players earn rewards by completing unique challenges, playing games on their portal, and more. These blockchain-based rewards will be fully controlled by the players, and will help strengthen Kongregate’s developer and players communities in ways not possible until now. Expect to hear more details in the coming months. 

We’re absolutely delighted to be partnering with Kongregate, and look forward to seeing how blockchain technology will help bring their developers and players closer together than ever before. 

Be sure to follow Kongregate and Forte for upcoming partner news, platform updates, and more. 

Forte Joins the Blockchain Association

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When the video games industry was still in its infancy, games were primarily used as a form of entertainment. Today, games are entrenched in virtually every facet of society, from education to research to even fitness. Entirely new industries have emerged from games, including competitive esports and online game streaming.

In addition, whether serving as a new medium in an established industry, or as the cornerstone to a new one, games play an integral part in the economy and in the livelihoods of an ever-growing population. Hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. alone are employed by companies in the game industry, with millions more having an economic connection to games in one form or another.

At Forte, we believe blockchain technology will unlock a new wave of economic and creative opportunities for players, developers, and entrepreneurs. The technology’s unique properties map perfectly to the digital nature of games and enable the secure ownership of in-game digital assets, thereby laying the foundation for groundbreaking blockchain- and crypto-native marketplaces and services for the games industry.

The new economic opportunities in games that will surface from blockchain technology have the potential to transform the industry in powerful, positive ways through more open infrastructure, more equitable business models, and the inherent security that the technology offers. That’s why Forte is building a comprehensive suite of community-focused tools and services for game developers that enables them to easily integrate the benefits of blockchain technology into their games.

But to fully realize the potential that blockchain technology offers, the games industry needs clear and, importantly, well-informed regulatory guidelines. With the proper level of regulatory clarity and understanding, game developers can implement blockchain technology and associated economic frameworks in ways that benefit all participants in the games industry — and ancillary ones — in a secure and compliant manner. This is an end we’re fully committed to reaching. To help us get there, we’re thrilled to announce that Forte has joined the Blockchain Association as its first member directly representing the games industry.

The Blockchain Association helps to educate and inform policymakers on the benefits of blockchain technology, and advocate for policy that addresses regulatory priorities while also cultivating and embracing technological innovation — all through a unified voice that represents the blockchain industry as a whole. By being a member of the association, Forte can help ensure that the games industry is represented authentically, the player community has the proper consumer protections in place, and individuals will have the freedom to positively impact their lives through digital asset ownership and participation in breakthrough marketplaces and blockchain networks.

The days are early, but we’re deeply committed to collaborating with policymakers for the long-term to help ensure that a vibrant, sustainable, and secure blockchain ecosystem will emerge for the games industry — and our society at large.

Other Ocean

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Other Ocean

Earlier this year, we announced a $100M developer fund to help accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology in games. We believe blockchain will unlock new economic and creative opportunities for the games community at large, and have been building easy-to-use tools using open protocols like Interledger so developers can properly — and effectively — harness the potential that blockchain offers games.

But we haven’t been doing it alone. We’ve been working closely with a diverse and immensely talented group of developer partners to help ensure that our platform technologies meet their needs, while also leveraging our experience in economy and game design to help them build the best experiences for their respective player communities. Other Ocean is one of those developers.

There’s a unique breed of game developers that doesn’t shy away from new technologies, and instead have an innate curiosity to explore, embrace, and effectuate them — not simply for technology’s sake, but to push game experiences forward. Other Ocean is the epitome of this class of developer.

Their impulse to break new ground is part of what makes Other Ocean one of a select few developers in the industry that has deep experience in virtually every major games platform, from traditional consoles to mobile to VR, and everything in-between. Suffice it to say, safely sticking to the status quo simply isn’t in their DNA.

Other Ocean’s rich development experience is why game studios and entertainment companies around the world bring them on as a developer partner. To date, Other Ocean has partnered with renowned companies such as Microsoft Game Studios, Sony Computer Entertainment, Capcom, Electronic Arts, and Disney. And today, we’re beyond excited to announce Other Ocean as Forte’s next developer partner.

A small sampling of the games that Other Ocean has worked on.

What we really love about Other Ocean is that they aren’t bound by existing game platforms — they have an uncanny ability to create engaging game experiences in the most unexpected ways. Case in point: they created #IDARB, a competitive online arena game that was the first to enable spectator interactions via Twitter and Twitch. This is a game that WIRED called the “best new multiplayer game in years” upon release, and characterized it as “unlike anything you’ve ever played.”

Other Ocean’s proficiency in fusing new technologies with compelling game experiences makes them an ideal partner for Forte. The studio’s Atlantic Canadian team is currently integrating our platform technologies into Season 3 of its addicting 2D browser-based game,Battle Royale: Unsung Heroes, more commonly known as BRUH.IO. Millions of people have played the game since its initial launch, with over 30M matches played to date. The Season 3 update will include a host of new features that we think existing fans and new players alike will absolutely love.

BRUH.IO’s Season 3 update will include a host of new game features and blockchain integration.

BRUH.IO is a great fit for the Forte platform because of a trifecta of elements: the incredible popularity of battle royale games (e.g., Fortnite, Apex Legends, PUBG), the massive reach and low barrier to entry of browser-based game experiences, and the player accessibility afforded to the game by its simple yet deep gameplay mechanics. With a team as well-versed in game development and new technologies as Other Ocean, expect the upcoming game update to elevate the player experience while keeping the gameplay true to its roots.

We’ll have more details to share in the coming months regarding the game’s new season — including how it’s leveraging the Forte platform and blockchain technology for the benefit of its players and creators. Stay tuned!

Be sure to follow Other Ocean and Forte for news on upcoming game announcements, platform updates, and more.

Disruptor Beam

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Disruptor Beam

Earlier this year, we announced a $100M developer fund to help accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology in games. We believe blockchain will unlock new economic and creative opportunities for the games community at large, and have been building easy-to-use tools using open protocols like Interledger so developers can properly — and effectively — harness the potential that blockchain offers games.

But we haven’t been doing it alone. We’ve been working closely with a diverse and immensely talented group of developer partners to help ensure that our platform technologies meet their needs, while also leveraging our experience in economy and game design to help them build the best experiences for their respective player communities.

With this in mind, we’re thrilled to announce Disruptor Beam as one of Forte’s first developer partners.

The award-winning studio has a team of industry veterans who’ve worked at the world’s best game companies including Harmonix (Guitar Hero, Rock Band), BioWare (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect), and CCP Games (EVE Online), just to name a few. They’re best known for creating authentic, intricate game experiences out of the world’s biggest and most-loved franchises, from Game of Thrones to Star Trek to The Walking Dead. That they are trusted with such iconic franchises speaks volumes about their craftsmanship as game makers.

Disruptor Beam works with the world’s most iconic franchises.

But they’re more than just world-class game developers: Disruptor Beam has a deep-rooted care and thoughtfulness for its player community that is both rare and exceptional, and makes them a perfect partner for Forte.

With each franchise, Disruptor Beam has sought to truly understand the underlying magic that captivates each franchise’s fans, so they can recreate that special je ne sais quoi in their games. Core to their approach is involving their players early on in the creative process, sharing in-development previews for input and feedback, and soliciting its community for new features. Each and every one of our own experiences working with them has been underscored by their desire to include their players in the ideation process so they can create the best game experience not just for their players, but with them.

The studio has taken the same thoughtful approach to their blockchain integration, always seeking to truly understand what this breakthrough technology enables for its players. Disruptor Beam’s belief in the benefits of blockchain-backed asset ownership and peer-to-peer trading is so strong, they’ve committed to integrating blockchain not just into one game, but deep into their internal tools so that all of their existing and future virtual worlds can benefit from it.

We can’t wait to see what bold new directions Disruptor Beam — and its incredible player community — explore as they work together to create new community-driven game economies.

Be sure to follow Disruptor Beam and Forte for news on upcoming game announcements, platform updates, and more.