PlayStation Veterans Form New Studio Liithos, Announce Open-World Title Ashfall Featuring NFTs - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 July 2022 / 3,741 Views
PlayStation veteran Michael Mumbauer and Days Gone creative director John Garvin have created a new AAA video game studio called Liithos, according to VentureBeat.
They are developing a narrative-driven open-world title with NFTs called Ashfall. The game is in development for consoles, PC, and Web3. It is described as a "true Web3 triple-A title" as it uses a cryptocurrency called HBAR.
Garvin is the writer and director for Ashfall. He previously worked at Sony's Bend Studio on Days Gone and Syphon Filter. Mumbauer is the CEO of Liithos and was formerly the CEO of That's No Moon.
"I’ve learned a lot from past experiences and my time at That’s No Moon, but I wanted to flex my creative muscles and explore a new venture," Mumbauer told VentureBeat. "I’m thrilled to be working with John Garvin, Hedera and the Liithos team to bring a new triple-A transmedia experience to gamers."
Mumbauer in a statement added, "At Liithos, we want to deliver the next evolution of triple-A gaming to the masses in connected ways that have never been experienced before. The gaming industry is amazing in that it has evolved through a series of innovations, never going backwards.
"We look forward to continuing that trend, working with partners like the HBAR Foundation in support of the Hedera network, who understand the potential and need for innovation without any harmful impact to the environment."
Garvin in his own statement said, "Michael and I have worked together creatively for almost two decades and this is our chance to create something really new and exciting. It’s like getting the band back together.
"Our goal is to create a truly next-gen, open world experience that engages with new technologies to allow user-generated content. As always, our focus is on creating beloved characters, captivating stories and evolutionary gameplay and a world worth exploring, not just in games, but other media as well."
Mumbauer was asked how Web3 would play a role in Ashfall and he said, "Transmedia and the power of connected worlds has always been something I’ve been extremely passionate about. There is a bit of a misunderstanding in my opinion on what blockchain gaming could mean for gamers. I see the blockchain as a railway and the main station is videogames.
"The other rail stations all lead to the main one, which is games and the trains deliver precious cargo (NFTs) to gamers via the other stations. It’s a way to have deeper and more engaging experiences than we’ve ever seen before. We want to reward gamers for doing stuff they already love doing, and create a path from those areas they love back to the thing they love the most, gaming."
Alex Russman, vice president and head of the metaverse fund at The HBAR Foundation added, "The team that Michael has assembled at Liithos represents the top minds in AAA game development and the creation of transmedia IP.
"As Liithos lead the charge in bringing top-tier gaming into the Web3 era, creating richer and more rewarding experiences for their users, we are pleased to partner with them and support the development of Liithos’ games and ecosystem, both on the Hedera network and within the broader gaming industry."
HBAR Foundation was founded in 2021 and is working to develop the "Hedera ecosystem and the HBAR economy by providing grants and other resources to developers, startups and organizations that seek to launch decentralized applications in DeFi, NFTs, CBDCs, ESGs, gaming and other sectors. Hedera uses its own blockchain-like technology to verify digital items and transactions on a large scale."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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How many more faliures will it take untill they realise that gamers arent falling for this BS?
Ironically, I think NFTs in games are one of the only things everyone on this site seems to agree on being terrible.
InB4 a contrarian saying otherwise for the lulz like it's 2007.
No fucking thanks
"NFT's...Web3"
groan
RIP Liithos, dead by design.
Well, R.I.P. that new studio.
",,,Featuring NFTs"
Nope. Not for me! Not for anyone who has a modicum of self-respect.
So this is about NFT's being railways and Games train stations and has nothing to do with all that HBAR funding.
Well, they had my interest for almost a whole sentence. Not sure if I've ever lost all possible curiosity towards a potentially interesting game quite that quickly before.
I'm starting to think devs actually think NFTs are largely liked, which they for sure don't seem to be.
This is like getting into subprime mortgages in 2007
NFTs? Web3? Yeah, more like ASSfall
Wtf is NFT? The new NTR?
Oh joy.....
"Precious cargo" lol. That's what its all about. Gamers plug in at the end of the day to buy glorified amiibos without the cute statuette
fuck your company
What a great way to get people excited for your game.
I can't imagine any scenario at all where I could have been less interested.
Web3 era? Sounds like a terrible sequel to 2 other movies nobody has ever seen.
Nobody likes nft 2022
Man I like john garvin, but I thought he was smarter than that..
probably couldn't find any real funding or something.
Well if it wasn't the guy complaining about his Days Gone time I would be a little more excited.
Why??? Why are they doing this? What are they thinking? That people will suddenly change their minds about NFTs?
Yeah. It doesn't make any sense at all to make this announcement right now. Even if they think NFTs actually are a good idea, it is plain as day obvious that they are currently not a popular idea in the gaming community. At least they should have waited until closer to launch, in hopes that the climate would be more favorable to NFTs.
