When Ambrus Studio founder and CEO Johnson Yeh sought to build what he calls the “first great Web3 game,” there were two key requirements: It had to make money in markets traditionally ignored by large studios, and it had to serve a purpose beyond entertainment. 

With Sui’s help, Johnson and his team are tackling both. 

For E4C: Final Salvation, Ambrus Studio relies on Sui technology, including the Move programming language and Dynamic NFTs, to build innovative capabilities, like tradeable and upgradeable skins, that Johnson believes will open up new monetization opportunities for influencers and creators alike. If successful, the business model could help make gaming more popular in markets like India, Pakistan, the Middle East, and Africa. 

And in the immersive world Ambrus Studio is building, players will also learn critical information about the dangers of climate change, which Johnson believes is the biggest threat facing humanity today. The title refers to “Earth 4° Celsius,” the amount by which scientists expect the world’s temperature to increase by 2100. 

“We want to combine impact with gaming on a mass scale,” said Johnson. “And we want to make markets that used to be not profitable, now profitable.” 

To reach these goals, Ambrus Studio leverages many Web3 elements. First, using Web3 principles for marketing is a perfect fit for a free-to-play game like E4C: Final Salvation, which effectively lowers the customer acquisition cost. Second, transitioning from a centralized suite of skins to infinitely personalized skins allows for more rarity, fleeting availability, and personal emotional attachment to these skins, which offering the potential for increased monetization. 

This model for customized skins will open up new opportunities for influencers to monetize their brands. Instead of waiting for the chance to win a world championship to launch a skin, for example, leading influencers can co-create one with Ambrus Studio whenever they want. With a combination of the above, Johnson believes that E4C: Final Salvation can break through the revenue ceiling for traditional free-to-play MOBA games. 

“Now, they have the ability to really have an ownership stake in the game's success. They can actively promote us. And they'll be profiting because they can make their own skins,” said Johnson. 

China’s “Godfather of Esports”

Gaming isn’t just a hobby for Johnson, it’s been a staple in his life since childhood. He is a former pro-level gamer, earning accolades in titles including Starcraft, Magic the Gathering, and Age of Empires. It’s why getting an offer to join Riot Games in 2015 was a dream come true. 

At Riot, he quickly turned League of Legends Esports into one of China’s most popular sports. Broadcasting hours topped 5 billion annually, according to Johnson, a jaw-dropping number that surpassed even the NBA. Soon, people were calling him the “Godfather of Esports” in China. 

Eventually, Johnson became the CEO of Riot’s Asia division, before leaving in 2019 to pursue his passion for climate advocacy. But soon, his two worlds would collide. 

Finding untapped markets 

In 2021, Johnson first heard about Web3. While initially skeptical, he quickly realized the technology could help him with an idea that first took hold several years prior: Building a mobile game with infinitely personalizable skins. 

Achieving that goal, and being able to monetize it, meant making the skins something that users valued, whether that’s because they’re rare, unique, or hold emotional significance. And to make it happen, Johnson turned to Sui and Web3. 

“I realized that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to make free-to-play, mobile games even bigger and expand into emerging markets,” he said. 

Building onchain provides a timestamp and added metadata that helps individualize the skins, which are essentially objects, also referred to as dynamic NFTs, on Sui. Through Sui's dynamic NFT technology, users can continually update their skin attributes, a critical component to creating a decentralized skins market. Another Sui technology, zkLogin, facilitates seamless onboarding for players going from Web2 to Web3. And Ambrus Studio is also offering its own in-game token. 

With Sui, Ambrus Studio gets the support it needs to mint or transact skins at the lightning fast speeds that users expect. And the partnership is helping Johnson solve several of the biggest challenges that kept traditional gaming companies out of India, Pakistan, the Middle East, and Africa. 

Historically, customer acquisition costs in those markets were too high, and selling skins in the traditional way wasn’t profitable. With Sui, Johnson is able to pursue innovative new methods, like allowing users to trade or upgrade their existing skins, to create a deeper connection with the players, ultimately driving higher engagement and profits. 

“There’s a reason other companies don’t do this, it’s pretty hard to do. But Sui’s technology makes it possible,” said Johnson. “We just need to design a business model around it, and we have a completely new way to monetize skins.” 

At a time when many of the major studios remain skeptical about Web3 gaming, Johnson sees the industry only getting bigger. And with Sui’s help, he’s hoping to prove that it’s possible to build a great and profitable Web3 game that can appeal to audiences in lower-tier markets, while educating users one of the most pressing challenges we face as a global society. 

E4C: Final Salvation had its soft launch in India on September 27, 2024, and is now available globally. Download E4C: Final Salvation for Android and iOS and experience a new generation of gaming, powered by Sui.