In the last 10 years, subscription-based video and audio streaming services have revolutionized the way we consume media content. However, gaming is a sector that has lagged behind. While PC gaming has gone digital for the most part, gamers are required to buy expensive hardware in order for their computers to run the latest titles, and console gamers are still stuck purchasing physical games and the newest consoles.
One company believes that the future of gaming is now, and plans to fundamentally change how video games are accessed and consumed, replacing both the brick-and-mortar and digital games sales models. Introducing Blacknut — a fully-digital solution to gaming at a better price point, for the first time.
How does this work exactly? Games on Blacknut run through a cloud server, eliminating the need for any consoles or expensive hardware. Users have absolutely nothing to install and with one click on Blacknut’s website, the game of choice will launch full-screen. Blacknut has already licensed over 200 games and has agreements with several key game studios, both large and small, with plans for broader adoption in 2018.
With this new model, Blacknut also aims to bring better visibility to lesser-known titles and implement a co-creation ecosystem based on game curation and the recommendation tool. This is one reason why Blacknut is so unique compared to other previous cloud-gaming services. Blacknut’s team is made up of seasoned gamers who are dedicated to choosing the best, bug-free, most interesting games, whether they are commercially successful or independently developed.
Before you start selling everything you own, it’s important to state that the company does not plan to target hardcore gamers who want specific AAA games and features that are currently not in Blacknut’s focus area. While the team does have plans for this in the future, their current aim is to create an all-inclusive platform for families and people of all backgrounds and ages, with their target device as the home television.
Blacknut will be available for $19.99/month, with initial access to 100 games with 10 released per month thereafter. The platform will first launch a limited beta version on June 8th in France, with plans for a launch in the US down the line. No official launch date yet, but be sure to check back for future updates!