Jonathan Lai’s Post

new blog! the next Pixar will be an AI company built on interactive video - a blend of film & games where frames are generated entirely by a neural net in real-time, with no code, assets, or game engines. Google (DOOM!), OpenAI, Microsoft, and many others are building here. summary 👇 1/ a recent interactive video example is DOOM simulated by Google GameNGen, where they use an image generation model to predict the next frame of the game without any of the underlying assets or code 2/ why is interactive video exciting? it blends the best of film/games - it's a video, so anyone can watch - you can lean in to play but it doesn't rely on pre-loaded assets / design, so gameplay is theoretically infinite & personalized - you could play a "1000 hour video" 3/ interactive video became feasible recently with advances in model distillation for image generation. in just the last year, we saw generation speeds improve by ~20x & efficiency by >30x. the chief remaining hurdle is reaching 30 FPS - which we estimate to be 1-2 years out 4/ what could all this unlock? interactive video could be a huge new storytelling format on its own. a few precedents: - Telltale's The Walking Dead, a choose-your-own-adventure game with >28M copies sold - Netflix's Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, a critically acclaimed live action film with 5 endings 5/ prior attempts like TWD & Bandersnatch faced an intractable problem - content costs scaled linearly with hours of gameplay. interactive video generated by diffusion models could unlock this storytelling format for scale 6/ interactive video could also be huge for vertical shorts - apps like Reelshort have >30M downloads and $10M+ monthly revenue, delivering 1-2min soap operas for a viewer's particular tastes (ex. werewolf billionaire love story!) 7/ many of our beloved stories from Disney, Marvel, Pixar etc were enabled by new technologies. similarly, we believe the next Pixar will arise through a new uniquely AI-enabled format - interactive video 8/ Pixar's success came from both human creativity & new technology. John Lasseter, Disney, & a team of storytellers created incredible films. similarly, we believe the next Pixar will need to be both a world-class interactive storytelling studio as well as a top AI company 9/ the team will also need to navigate legal / regulatory / ethical challenges around training data & AI use. but for those who get it right, the opportunity is huge. one day, the AI Pixar could create not just 1-off stories but entire virtual worlds - blurring the lines between traditional storytelling formats much thanks to Neel Jain for his research & contributions. blog below: https://lnkd.in/gsRNpkjb

now taking applications for A16Z GAMES SPEEDRUN! 🔥 we invest $750k in the top 30 early-stage teams in tech x games and bring founders together in SF next Jan - spanning game studios, b2b infra, AI, american dynamism, ARVR, web3, healthcare, etc. we at A16Z GAMES roll up our sleeves to help you build over an intense but amazing 10-12 weeks warm referrals prioritized. see site below for more info: https://lnkd.in/g68uBGXY

incredibly excited to play Black Myth Wukong after being on my wishlist for 2+ years 🔥 - 1.2M Steam CCU only 1 hour after launch - 1st Chinese AAA console game ($60 price point) - “God of War” for Chinese mythology (Journey to the West) - Unreal Engine 5 (and it looks gorgeous) - 82 Metacritic so far will be interesting to see how Black Myth evolves the Chinese AAA game development scene if it does well

crazy, nexon's dungeon & fighter mobile grossed >$500M revenue in its first month in China - making it THE most successful new mobile game launch of all time 📈 (beating out even honor of kings for the top spot for multiple weeks, h/t Niko Partners). tencent stock soaring this year reminder that china is still a massive games market despite all its regulatory challenges!

notable trend - Hollywood has been on a tear quietly recruiting & promoting top games talent. in just the past year: - Netflix > Alain Tascan (Epic), Mike Verdu (EA/Oculus) - The Walt Disney Company > Ray Gresko (Blizzard), Bjorn Tornqvist (Ubisoft) - Russo Brothers (Avengers) > Donald Mustard (Fortnite CCO) - Blumhouse > Zach Wood (Bethesda), Don Sechler (Playstation) - likely others i'm missing? expect this to accelerate as games and film/tv increasingly intertwine - very excited for the future of transmedia storytelling! 🔥

congrats Nate Mitchell Matt Hansen Lee Horn and the Mountaintop Studios team on the reveal of their first game Spectre Divide! a competitive tactical shooter that breaks genre conventions in a myriad of ways, from the fresh cel-shaded art, to 3v3 teams, to duality (every player controls 2 bodies), to aim-down sights that feels great on the run loving the player & critical feedback: "Spectre Divide is a testament to just how creative an FPS can be, showcasing unique mechanics the genre desperately needs in this time of competitive drought" - IGN "I take it as a good sign when I'm several days removed from playing a multiplayer shooter and can't stop thinking about when I'll get to play it next." - PC Gamer "I’ve never played a shooter like this before" - Verge this game has been a labor of love 4 years in the making by a supremely talented team, build in close collaboration with Shroud one of the top creators of this genre. wishlist on Steam and join the next playtest! https://lnkd.in/gBvksDMU