Renowned Hollywood director Roland Emmerich and producer Marco Weber are collaborating on a groundbreaking television series based on the popular Web3 game “Space Nation.” Rather than opting for traditional distribution methods, Emmerich and Weber are exploring innovative approaches such as “second window streaming,” where gamers can simultaneously watch the show and stream their live gameplay or commentary. This unique approach aligns with their overall vision for the game, as they aim to finance a significant portion of the series through their own token-based economy.
“Space Nation” is an immersive massively multiplayer online (MMO) game that allows players to assume the role of starship captains. Built on blockchain technology and enabled by Web3, the game incorporates a token-based economy featuring non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that can be bought, sold, and traded within the game. Emmerich and Weber co-founded Space Nation Inc. with Jerome Wu, a former senior project manager at Blizzard-Activision, and game developer Tony Tang.
Emmerich, celebrated for his award-winning films like “Independence Day,” “2012,” and “The Day After Tomorrow,” brings his expertise as a film director to this ambitious project. Weber, the CEO of Space Nation Inc., has an impressive background in producing films, including the techno-dystopian thriller “The Thirteenth Floor.”
With an initial funding of $50 million, the “Space Nation” project was designed as a transmedia platform from the start. The company has already produced animated shorts featuring the beloved in-game character “Zoey,” and the game has transitioned from beta testing to a “soft launch” phase. Currently, players can download the game on their PCs.
Combining the influence of Hollywood and the gaming industry, along with substantial funding and an ambitious roadmap, “Space Nation” has emerged as a prominent player in the Web3 gaming space. However, integrating NFTs into MMOs has proven challenging to attract mainstream gamers thus far. Within the realm of space opera gaming, which includes titles like “Eve Online,” “No Man’s Sky,” and “Eve Frontier,” Space Nation aims to carve out its own unique niche by introducing an experimental blockchain-based economy, allowing players to create their own cryptocurrencies.