Company Overview
Author Jason Kaehler, ceo
Company Overview
Before starting Cosmic Foundry, my two partners (Albert Mack and Larry Holland) and I had decades of experience in games from small indie studios to massive AAA titles. We had built many games together over the last decade, but wanted to start a new company to focus on original IP. We wanted to build a 'passion project' for a massive audience that had both web2 and web3 aspects. After a few months of research and deliberation, we hit on the game that is now 'Cthulhu Awakens'. (For more on our process, see Games Refinery)
Our mission is always 'gameplay first'. We will never allow emerging trends, monetization, or ownership paradigms to interfere with 'the fun factor'. Our games are 100% playable and profitable without any blockchain/web3 components. Users can choose to engage with these features or not. In fact, when you think more broadly about what games are becoming in the 2020s, there are multiple ways people can interact with these ecosystems and we have an inclusive vision that invites participation at multiple levels.
On the web3 side, we believe that overall, the UX for new users is currently completely broken. From the average gamer’s perspective, virtually all the current web3 technologies (blockchain, cryptocurrencies, wallets, gas fees, etc.) are essentially uninteresting “plumbing”; what’s worse is that many regard them with high levels of skepticism or outright disdain. Gamers have spoken and gamers don't care (yet). We need to be honest about this if we are serious about web3 games. The promise of web3 is the democratization of ownership in these creative experiences we call games. By encouraging players to own part of the project, we will build extremely passionate, engaged, and loyal communities.
We understand that the opportunity for players to own digital items with real-world value has the risk of turning a fun experience into a dreary job (or worse, one that is overly focused on money-making for its players). No one, especially us, wants to take the fun out of playing games! We trust that players can manage the dynamics of these dual opportunities for themselves. We also understand that trust must be earned. We will avoid predatory monetization strategies, cynical ‘pay-to’win’ mechanics, and progression-stopping ‘loot boxes’. We believe in radical transparency and our commitment to players is that we will endeavor to publish as much of our monetization mechanics as possible.
We recently chose Stardust.gg as a lead partner due to their fantastic 'custodial wallet' technology. We have a shared vision to democratize blockchain technology and onboard as many new users as possible. Simply sign up with an email, and you get a Digital Collectable; No wallet is needed! https://member.cosmicfoundry.io/home
Our small team has been working diligently for about 2 years (as of Q2, 2023) on Cthulhu Awakens. We are entirely self-funded. The game has a ship date of Q4, 2024. We have recently released a playable demo here:
To achieve the M1 Demo, we had a number of engineering challenges including (but not limited to) extending Unity with new editor tools, custom AI models (GAN and others), and blockchain technology. with a mid-term goal of creating a deep IP around the 'Cthulhuverse'. In the long term, we plan to grow into a publisher that will provide our platform to other game studios who want to leverage our technologies. On the web3 side, a big part of this will be the utilization of a shared currency (minimal interoperability), leveraging open standards like USD (Universal Scene Description) and open non-toxic communities. This will maximize value for both players, partners, and investors, especially those who join us during these exciting early days.
We have big dreams and the team to get us there. Please join us on this adventure to make great games for generations to come.
