Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) recently released 'Unbundling the Game Engine: The Rise of Next Generation 3D Creation Engines' on its website. This article provides an in-depth analysis of how new technologies might shape the next generation of engines. Several game engines, including YAHAHA, were featured in its Game Engine Market Map. Our mission right from the start has been to democratize 3D content creation, enabling creators of any skill level the ability to create their own games, worlds, and social spaces. Our no-code tool makes creating a game as easy as drag and drop, as well as extensive and easy to use.

The emerging next-generation creative platforms are all feature-equipped and supportive of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and new hardware. These professional tools are expected to disrupt existing limitations in both form and content, which might go towards further validating the proposition of user-generated content (UGC). And as more content creators emerge, naturally consumers demand for content quality increases, when this happens creators will turn to support from game engines. It might be suggested that at this juncture, creation engines might need to look at adopting a revenue-sharing model for a more sustainable position, recognizing the value in increased quality of games output. Competition in the game engine space is intense with each engine pushing through with technological breakthroughs based on user needs. To earn a reputation of being a trustworthy player, we doubled down on our promised roadmap with our first artificial intelligence feature roll out in Dec 2023, this and many other features would be instrumental in supporting our creators' ability to realize their vision. Moving forward, we would be collaborating closely with the ecosystem to actively participate in shaping the future of the engine industry, as we believe in the importance of content and creation.

The a16z article recognized us as a rising engine in the high-tech gaming ecosystem, as we were placed alongside leading engines like Unity, Unreal, Roblox, and Dreams. Beyond developing a game engine, we are creating a platform-based content engine. Game engines are evolving, the next generation of engines are expected to serve a more open and diverse content ecosystem. As part of our natural evolution, "publishing" is a differentiation criterion. We are adapting to become a game engine that doubles as a content platform, unlocking greater growth potential.

Another perspective to consider is that the future of game engines is not in the simplistic classification of their source being open or closed. The distinction is more evident in our business models of tool-based products, such as licensing fees, community support, and extensibility. However, the practical needs of future creators mean that game engines might need to consider that an all-in-one platform centered around content creation and publishing, the focus should be on providing tools for creating rich content and the ability to support creators rather than on the openness of the source code. This belief underpins our view that the open-source vs. closed-source debate is less critical when considering the classification of future engines.

Introducing the uniformity and diversity of content into the categorization of future engine capabilities offers a more logical approach. Therefore, by defining the x-axis as Content Uniformity vs. Diversity and combining it with the y-axis of Owned Publishing Destination vs. Publishing Agnostic, the direct relationship between an engine's creative capabilities and its business model becomes clearer. For instance, engines like Unity and Unreal, positioned in the fourth quadrant, offer users substantial creative power. However, this comes at the cost of content control. The high entry barrier, demanding advanced skills and resources, may reduce their appeal to general users and pose challenges for professional creators in sharing long-term content revenue with the platform.

In the near future, the ability to consider and cater to creators who bring uniformity and diversity of content would be the way of categorization of future engine capabilities is a reasonable stand and direction. Therefore, we put forth that by defining the x-axis as Content Uniformity vs. Diversity and combining it with the y-axis of Owned Publishing Destination vs. Publishing Agnostic, one can more clearly understand the direct relationship between an engine's creative capabilities and its business model. In traditional view of engines such as Unity and Unreal, which one can say sits in the fourth quadrant, they offer users substantial creative access through features, the trade-off comes in the form of content control. There is a high barrier of entry for the usage of these engines, which means creators need both skills and resources to harness these engines, this in-turn makes it less appealling to the general user, which might undermine the ability for professional content creators to share a long-term revenue plans with the platform.

Conversely, Roblox in the second quadrant effectively reduces the creation cost through content uniformity, covering development, artistic, and programming expenses. While Roblox offers flexibility in gameplay, it maintains a relatively consistent art style, social system, and user base, aiding in lower content distribution costs. However, this uniformity also means that higher-quality content may not necessarily bring significantly greater value to users. Consider how Roblox's younger players might rate games such as 'Legend of Speed' versus higher-quality classic FPS games like 'Frontlines.' Would they perceive a significant difference in quality, or would the ratings be closer than expected?

It is essential to note that platforms that cater to content diversity are not perfect nor do they represent the nirvana of content residency. Diversity in content has its own challenges, including higher distribution costs. While multiple paths exist to achieve goals in entrepreneurship, certain challenges are inevitable. We believe that every startup attempts to solve one or several problems, and the value of these problems justifies the startup's existence. For us, the process of democratizing content creation is based on maintaining content diversity. Guided by a clear vision, we first aim to match the creative prowess of game engines, transcending traditional formats like "sandbox games," "3D chat rooms," or "children's playgrounds." We aim to facilitate the emergence of various immersive applications that meet different needs and extend our support beyond theexisting professional game developer community to a broader range of content creators. Therefore, establishing a solid foundation in creative capabilities is essential for us to pioneer future virtual immersive content platforms.

Multiple and diverse company visions and business models have shaped the evolution of game engines. Whether we are serving AAA game studios, focusing on mobile, the casual games market, meeting the demands for either more uniform or varied content, all the game engines will always have a market in which they play a major role as they continue to innovate in our journey towards serving the needs of the constantly evolving immersive content creation journey.