When I was 23 years old, I literally walked through the doors of the Nintendo of America in Redmond, Washington and said I would do anything in the building to get into the videogames business. I had no experience other than playing videogames for 15 years and a business degree.

Fortunately, someone in that lobby heard me and gave me a chance. I made the most of that opportunity and eventually ran development and acquisition for Nintendo for nine years, where I learned directly from legends like Shigeru Miyamoto. From there I was able to head up other independent studios to launch hit franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Crackdown.

But almost no one today can start like I did by just walking into a company building and asking for a job. Most people don’t live near a videogame studio, and even if they did, security wouldn’t even let them in the door.

This is actually a pretty apt metaphor for the entertainment business at large. Big media companies have all the resources to make a game, or comic or movie — but they wall themselves off from the vast, eager talent pool that’s hungry for its shot. No matter how creative you are, or how amazingly talented your work, if you aren’t in the right place at the right time or don’t know the right people, those doors are shut.

Or at least they were.

Today, I’m thrilled to announce that we are busting those doors wide open for everyone with the official launch of the Unioverse.

Welcome to the Unioverse

The Unioverse is a massive, sci-fi game-first franchise. The story is being developed by a team of world-class writers and artists who have written for and expanded the narrative worlds of huge entertainment properties of Star Wars, Marvel, Call of Duty, The Walking Dead and more.

Unlike those titles, however, the Unioverse is what we are calling a “community-owned” franchise. This means that you, whoever you are, wherever you are, will have access to the same art, models, music and more that we use, to create whatever you want.

The Unioverse and You

There are so many talented people in the world and I am continually blown away by the user-generated content I see in games. Modded characters, map levels, fan art – there is amazing stuff being created every day. The Unioverse will be a place that not only encourages its community to create, but also provides the tools to do so!

The same art, character models, music and more that we use to make Unioverse games will be made available – royalty-free! – to you (and anyone who wants to use them). These are AAA-quality assets made by some of the best writers, artists and developers in the industry, and you’ll be able to download them (again, for free!) and use them to make whatever you want.

• Want to make a comic but can’t draw? Use our art.
• Want to build a game, but have no budget? Use our character models and dive straight into development.
• Want something sci-fi and cool to pack your lunch in? Print a Unioverse lunchbox.

I think of it this way. I could sit and come up with an idea for a T-shirt, and it would turn out pretty cool. But if I turned to the Unioverse community and said “design a cool T-shirt,” they would come up with loads of amazing ideas way more awesome than mine.

Even better? Those creators can then sell those Unioverse shirts (or comics or games) and keep all the money! Let’s see you try and do that in the Marvel universe.

Unioverse U

As I said before, I got lucky at the start of my career and have been fortunate to work with some of the best minds in videogames. And now I want to return the favor and share what I’ve learned with the next generation of aspiring creatives.

Along with empowering the Unioverse community with industry-leading tools and assets, I want to teach you how to best use them. Collectively our team has decades of experience producing, writing and developing hit games, TV shows, books and more. The Unioverse community will have opportunities to talk with our team to learn the best tips, tricks and strategies for not just producing stellar content, but taking it to the next professional level.

As a part of the Unioverse community, you’ll also be connected with other creators just like yourself from around the world that you can learn from and collaborate with on projects.

I believe the Unioverse and its community-driven approach is the future of franchise entertainment. There are just too many talented people waiting to show the world what they can do, and they deserve a chance. I can’t wait to see what people create in our world when they come through our doors.

Join our Unioverse Discord channel to get first looks at the games as they progress, exclusive access to our team, and support from a community of like-minded creators.