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Game of Drones

A game that lets you drive a real object a RC car online

Kazakhstan, Almaty
Market: Entertainment, Drones, Virtual and Augmented Reality
Stage of the project: Prototype or product is ready

Date of last change: 14.04.2020
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Idea

Our technology allows you to control RC cars from any device from anywhere in the world. We develop gameplays, from classic races to combat, using augmented reality technology – players are never bored. We have created a completely new format that is substantially different from what other games offer, and we provide a unique tangible advantage from the use of 5G networks. Players get the maximum enjoyment of racing RC models without all the inconvenience.

Current Status

In 2019 we have built a test site in Almaty with a racetrack and a VR lounge open to public. The venue has attracted more than 5000 customers in 2 months and has gained exclusively positive feedback.
This has allowed us to secure a publishing and tech support deal with Surrogate.tv, an international game publisher based in Helsinki, Finland.
We have recently landed a deal with Astana Hub international technology park, they're granting a 10000 square meters underground premise with good quality Internet, lighting and floor for us to build a racetrack. We have also been granted an area in the Nur Alem science museum (that is part of the Astana Hub) to build a smaller racetrack open for public as part of the science exhibition.

Market

The gaming market is growing steadily year by year, and in 2019 has reached a volume of $ 141 billion. This staggering achievement has been made possible by involving 33% of the world's population, approximately 2.5 billion people, into this industry.

Problem or Opportunity

Entertainment is one of basic human needs, particularly in the age of the Internet. Сomputer game industry today generates about $ 150 billion in revenue per year, and the median player age is on the rise.
The market for remote control vehicles, though huge, is shrinking, ceding to video games – while it still yields around $ 1 billion yearly in sales, the balance is shifting in favor of virtual entertainment. The costs of a basic RC car and of a AAA game are at present comparable – around $ 70. However, having purchased a car, a player needs to additionally invest in finding racing events to take part in, company, and means to get to a specially designed racetrack.
The gaming market is experiencing steady and significant growth. From year to year, the audience for this industry is expanding, partly due to the inclusion of previously uninvolved age groups. Consequently, the need for a larger variety of genres is constantly increasing, and the market is responding with rapid diversification. As for racing, it has always had a stable niche with its large and loyal fanbase. There's an array of popular gameplays, from serious fractions-of-a-second kinds of races to purely recreational ones, such as Mario Kart.
Meanwhile, alongside virtual races, the RCV (Remote Control Vehicles) industry is growing. Tens of millions of RC enthusiasts spend significant sums of money buying and customizing cars and participating in competitions. Most would engage in this sort of leisure on their own or as part of a small local community since people rarely have hobbies that require considerable travel expenses. So, we have two industries developing side by side, each having its downsides:

Virtual races
• Unrealistic physical models.
• Poor or featureless graphics.
• Mediocre level of presence.
• Spending on virtual valuables (cars, tuning, etc.).
RC racing
• Significant cost of entry.
• Trouble navigating the vast variety of manufacturers and parts.
• Trouble finding company and community, especially for competitions.
• Having to do regular maintenance and repair.
• Having to spend time on assembly, charging, etc. before each go.

Solution (product or service)

We offer our players a unique combination:
Accessibility of online games + unmistakable experience of operating a real object.
The control is accessible from any device with a browser. First-person view allows you to experience to the fullest the dynamics, speed, and thrill of the race. Graphics becomes a non-issue – thanks to the latest technology we can now broadcast live HD video over the internet, and all objects on the track are real, so presence-wise it doesn’t get more realistic than that. As for the maintenance, we take care of it. The player has two options:
1. Regular subscription – a standard car ready to go. Minimum entry cost. The car can be upgraded to a higher class at an additional cost.
2. Premium subscription – the player gets a car reserved exclusively for their use. The car maintenance and repair are included in the subscription price. The car can be improved by buying parts in our store. The player is given the option of having their car delivered to their home or, as new sites are opened, to the location of their choosing.
Several gameplays will be implemented on the same site, such as classic races, survival races, quests, etc.
If the player has the option, they can control the car via a VR helmet.

Competitors

As this market is relatively new, there are no direct competitors worth mentioning at the moment. The only similar project is our partner’s surrogate.tv, although it differs from ours in that instead of first-person view theirs is from the top. We consider virtual car game publishers our indirect competitors. The peculiarity of our game is that it is real objects that players race – this type of eSports attracts a specific player audience. We only need to get 0.00001 percent of the market for the company to become a unicorn.

Advantages or differentiators

1. The real feel. You get to drive a real object, on a real track. Our tests have shown that the players’ emotional involvement is much higher with RC than in virtual racing simulators.
2. Even with a relatively small online audience, our project is financially viable and successful – something that isn’t the case with virtual races. Building a track and tuning drones costs much less than creating a compelling virtual world. We don’t need to calculate the complex physics of object behavior or fear the graphics rapidly becoming outdated, our game can and be launched on any device with a browser.
3. We are scalable. As the project develops, we plan to open new tracks in different parts of the world, both ourselves and through the franchise. This will allow us to maintain steady player acquisition and to expand the range of gameplays.

Finance

Please find the complete financial model attached in our profile.

Business model

By the end of 2021 we expect to reach 8 hours of load for each car. We expect the average game time to be 1-2 hours per session. Hitting these targets would allow our game to be played by 3-4 thousand people per day. We intend to scale by opening new sites. The subscription fee is $ 15 per month and includes 15 hours of play. The minimum cost of one hour of play is $ 1.
The first year of the project's life is exclusively dedicated to promoting the game and creating a market. We expect to reach the planned load by the 11th month of the company's operation. With the development of related technologies, we will be able to increase the planned load by 50% by 2022. However, even 4 hours a day, which is half of the planned load, would mean reaching payback during the second year of operation.

Money will be spent on

Building the main site in the Astana Hub international technology park in Nur-Sultan, with an international multiplayer RC racetrack, setting up tech support, launching international marketing campaigns.

Offer for investor

Launching and developing the project internationally straight away at maximum capacity would require roughly $450 000 in investments. The main one-time expenses would include the purchase of equipment ($100 000) and building the racetrack sites ($30 000). The significant recurrent costs would consist mostly of the rental of premises ($5 000 monthly), rental of servers ($ 1 000), traffic ($8 000) and labor costs ($8 000).
However, as the project is highly scalable, $30 000 would be sufficient for a successful start with later expansion and acquiring more funding in view. We can be expected to achieve full return on investment in the second year of operation.

Team or Management

Incubation/Acceleration programs accomplishment

Our project took part in Astana Hub business incubator Acceleration program.

Won the competition and other awards

We have made the “Top 100 startups in Asia” list.

Product Video

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Idea
Current Status
Market
Problem or Opportunity
Solution (product or service)
Competitors
Advantages or differentiators
Finance
Invested in previous rounds, $
Business model
Money will be spent on
Offer for investor
Team or Management
Mentors & Advisors
Lead investor
Risks
Incubation/Acceleration programs accomplishment
Won the competition and other awards
Invention/Patent
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Product Video