Kinetix and Overdare put generative AI in gamers’ hands

Kinetix, the generative AI startup creating user-generated emotes (UGE) for video games, has teamed up with Overdare to put generative AI in the hands of gamers.

Overdare is a user-generated content (UGC) platform from South Korean publishing giant Krafton. Today, the companies are placing the power of generative AI directly into the hands of gamers.

Enabling completely new, previously impossible user experiences, Kinetix technology has been integrated into Overdare to enable players to turn videos into dynamic 3D animations (also called ‘emotes’).

Players can easily bring the latest TikTok trends, legendary moments from film and TV, and iconic goal celebrations directly into the game — or record themselves and use the video to generate custom emotes that authentically represent their unique personalities.

This deepens user engagement by going far beyond traditional customization options to offer players a new avenue to express and differentiate themselves within the gaming community, the companies said.

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UGC is a defining trend in gaming, led by platforms such as Roblox and Fortnite, which have invested heavily to democratize game creation for users. However, most UGC has been confined to simple recombination of existing assets, offering limited scope for true creativity.

By enabling all gamers to generate completely new animations with AI, Kinetix transforms them into active creators, propelling an era where gamers are not just participants, but pioneers in content creation, Kinetix said. This creates an endless flow of content for games and gaming platforms at minimal cost.

While AI tooling is available to creators and developers in various game development environments to incrementally improve existing workflows, never before have gamers had the power of generative AI at their fingertips within a game.

Yassine Tahi, CEO at Kinetix, said in a statement, “This is more than just an innovative feature. It’s a transformative approach to gaming. Our technology allows players to generate and customize emotes on the fly, bringing a new level of personalization and social interaction to the gaming community. We’re excited to see how players in Overdare will use these tools and are eager to expand these capabilities to more games in the future.”

Emotes have taken the gaming world by storm since playing an integral role in the popularity of Fortnite and are now part of many titles including the recent smash hit, Helldivers 2. The next step is to give users the power to generate their own emotes, and Kinetix has spent more than three years perfecting its AI emote technology, which can be used with any avatar style in any game or app.

Hyungchul Park, CEO at Overdare, said in a statement, “We believe that video-to-emote technology from Kinetix will be vital to boosting player retention and fostering a deeper, more personalized connection to the OVERDARE ecosystem. Players can craft personalized emotes to enhance special moments, such as game-winning ceremonies or action moves, enriching the gaming experience on the platform. We also expect players to showcase their user-generated emotes by sharing their creativity on social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube, enhancing OVERDARE’s visibility and appeal through short-form viral content.”

Overdare is currently in an alpha test phase on Android in five Southeast Asian markets — Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia – with plans for a full global release later this year.

Founded in 2020 by Yassine Tahi and Henri Mirande, Kinetix is pioneering self-expression in video games and virtual worlds with AI-powered, user-generated emotes (UGE). With Kinetix, game devs can open up new user retention and revenue opportunities by enabling their players to easily create their own in-game emotes from video content. Kinetix has raised a total of $12.5 million in seed funding and its Paris-based team of more than 40 deep learning engineers, 3D animation experts, developers, and game scripters is recognized by Wired as one of the hottest startups in Paris.

Overdare was established through a joint venture between Krafton and Naver Z Corp. Overdare is a mobile-based UGC (User-Generated Content) platform, leveraging Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) for development.

Having completed its official spin-off from Krafton in December 2023, Overdare introduces a creator-centric approach with its proprietary Lua-based native sandbox engine, Overdare Studio, enabling the creation of high-quality gaming content. The platform adopts a create-to-earn (C2E) model, empowering creators to earn from their work. Overdare platform is gearing up for a launch by the end of 2024.