I make it a point to search for best in breed, and in the game engine space, that company is Epic. Founded in 2004, Unity has transformed from a failed game-maker to the category-leader in game engine usage, exploring new verticals in film, automotive, construction and commerce.īut back in September, I passed on the investment – after all, Epic Games’ Unreal Engine was the dominant player in the space. I first heard about Unity ( NYSE: U) in September of 2020, at which point it was preparing to IPO. Yet there are whispers of even larger opportunities ahead – augmented/virtual reality, in-game economies built on blockchain technology, virtual worlds, and of course, the metaverse.Īnd somehow, at the heart of each of these trends is Unity Software. Epic Games’ Fortnite boasts over 400 million global players, a user base that would rank as the third most populous country. Axie Infinity, the play-to-earn NFT game, has grown revenues by 12,000% over the past three months. In 2021, a staggering 50% of 9-12 year-olds in the United States play either Roblox ( RBLX) or Minecraft ( MSFT). It also doesn’t surprise me that today, games are bigger than ever. I see it as no coincidence that twenty years later, I’m writing about disruptive companies, seeking out world-builders. For ‘leveling up,’ science fiction, and my interest in technology. But if I’m honest with myself, this is where my passion for storytelling began. It can be challenging to look back and identify the events that molded us with any fidelity. I can see the pixelated characters running across a dystopian landscape, fighting to save a dying planet… I still hear the space-age startup sound, the gentle whir of the console fan. Exhilarated, I plugged it in, thumbed the power button, and fired up Final Fantasy VII.

It was the day of my eleventh birthday, and I had just unwrapped a gleaming, futuristic, PlayStation 2. Original post on my substack, The Operator, here.

Tyler the creator wolf vinyl ebay