User-generated content (UGC) is the future of gaming and is supported by mod authors, in-game app developers, and server owners (“in-game creators”) who build experiences and products that make games more legendary.
Despite adding significant value to the ecosystem, most in-game creators struggle to secure sustainable income due to a lack of a business model, tools, and distribution.
With over 1,000 games supported, 98,000 creators, and 33 million monthly active users, Overwolf is the all-in-one platform that enables creators to build, share, and monetize in-game apps, mods, and private servers.
Overwolf believes that not only are community-created experiences key to the future of games, but they benefit everybody in the ecosystem. In-game creators can earn a living from their passion, gamers get new game experiences, and developers can safely and easily level up their titles. Overwolf envisions an ecosystem where the community of mod authors and in-game app creators can join forces with game developers to create anything from stats and trackers in-game apps to completely new worlds.
In 2022, Overwolf made significant strides in advancing its mission to unite and empower the in-game creator community to make a living doing what they love while also laying the groundwork for a new era of AAA game creation. Before a successful IPO in March of 2021, the Roblox of four years ago paid developers on its platform $30M. Overwolf, a company that enables third-party developers (or ‘in-game creators’) to create, distribute and monetize apps for existing games and turn their passion into a real profession is charting a similar trajectory by paying creators $160M in 2022. A handful of the top in-game developers who use the Overwolf framework make over $1M per year.
For Overwolf, supporting creators’ success is at the center of everything it does. For those who lack the funding to get their creations off the ground, Overwolf partnered with Intel to create a $7M fund to empower creators to build their dream apps on the Overwolf platform. The fund grants between $10K and $150K to each approved developer, depending on their needs and the potential value of their app or mod. In August 2021 Overwolf expanded upon its support of creators by launching a new $50M Creators Fund, a first-ever fund solely dedicated to building the ecosystem for community-created experiences.
One goal of this fund is to take modding to the next level by enabling games studios to easily integrate mods safely and seamlessly into their new games. For game studios, in addition to capital, portfolio studios will have early access to CurseForge Core, now Eternal, which will enable them to easily integrate mods safely and seamlessly into their new games to help increase the longevity of their titles. For mod authors and in-game app creators, in addition to financial support, they will also gain access to mentorship, acceleration, and marketing services via the new Acceleration Team which helps in-game creators to solve brand, UI, UX, and development bottlenecks.
In 2021 Overwolf launched CurseForgeCore (now Eternal), a User Generated Content (UGC) as a service platform that provides an SDK for game developers that integrates into the game itself. Community-created experiences are becoming a critical part of gaming, and the game studios that harness its power now will thrive in the next era of games. The more content and customizability a game has, the more likely a gamer will keep experiencing its content and by that extending the longevity of the game and generating more value for game developers and publishers in the long run.
In 2022, Overwolf announced that it is building a safe, curated space for The Sims 4 mods, for top creators’ content. CurseForge, which is operated by Overwolf, will be the official mod repository for The Sims 4. This marks a significant step toward unleashing the community’s creativity and making UGC more accessible to the entire ecosystem.
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