Originally published on my Patreon
HELIX is an upcoming metaverse platform powered by Unreal 5 that I've been tracking for quite awhile, and the folks at developer Hypersonic Laboratories just sent me this video showing off its many features. Some highlights that jumped out at me:
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You can build a map as large as Manhattan. (Which they already did, on 1:1 scale.)
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Sandbox mode enables SL/Minecraft-style, live multi-player building.
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Highly customizable avatars including animal/monster/anime/etc. options. (Though the video unfortunately only shows off various dudebros.)
The overall vibe is very much GTA Online-meets-metaverse platform, and that's by design:
While more mainstream gamers are super excited by the highly anticipated but long-delayed release of GTA VI, the modding community has been building on GTA V in impressive ways. FiveM, an astoundingly popular modification of the game created by community developers, usually attracts more players than the official GTA Online on Steam.
In fact, Hypersonic is actively reaching out to GTA modders to help build the HELIX creator community -- and is even signing up creators who've been dissed by Rockstar along the way. From the official announcement they also sent me:
HELIX is already attracting top talent from the GTA modding and FiveM RP scene, including the team lead behind the viral success Liberty City Preservation Project. This mod, that ports GTA IV’s world into GTA V, was infamously shut down by Rockstar after gaining traction with major streamers. Additionally, njkellman, the team lead on the Liberty City Preservation Project, has partnered with HELIX to develop one of the first experiences on the platform.
“I spent six years meticulously recreating Liberty City in GTA V purely out of passion. I wasn’t doing it for money or to harm Rockstar. I love their games.” said nkjellman, the team lead of the Liberty City Preservation Project. “Rockstar’s worlds inspire the most creative minds, but the moment a mod hits critical mass, it’s like tripping an invisible wire—bam, cease and desist. With HELIX, we finally have a solid foundation we can safely modify, experiment with, and share without worrying it’ll all disappear overnight.”
Rumor is GTA developer Rockstar is "in discussions with top Roblox and Fortnite creators" about adding UGC options to GTA VI, but nothing official has been announced. The AAA game industry is very myopic if not outright hostile to UGC platforms, and just doesn't have the corporate culture to embrace it. (Try telling an AAA developer that Second Life is more profitable than most online games or that many Roblox worlds are more popular than most AAA games, and watch their eyes roll.) For that matter, you can see that in the cease and desists companies like Rockstar send to their most passionate fans!
"HELIX isn't aiming to compete directly with GTA or Rockstar," a company spokesman tells me when I ask about this topic. "Hypersonic is offering a refuge for a group of users that have long been overlooked and pushed out by Rockstar - mainly creators, modders, and roleplayers." There is definitely a niche here that HELIX can thrive in.
On the other side, the gravitational force of the GTA brand is like the sun, and HELIX will likely struggle to compete, when GTA VI does finally launch. Historically, modding communities evolve on top of already popular games, and it's still unclear whether one can emerge on a platform without any pre-existing narrative, characters, voice acting, theme, or popular core gameplay. But we'll soon see.
Join the HELIX waitlist here to be first to find out. I'm planning to talk more with the developers soon -- anything I should be sure to ask them?
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