The blockchain gaming space is about to get a lot more interesting. The other week, Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene gave an interview where he talked about his plans to build a massive metaverse project supported by Blockchain and NFT technology, bringing one of gaming’s most successful creators into its most exciting field. Greene is the creator of PlayerUknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), and widely regarded as the father of the industry-defining battle royale genre. Just like his PUBG, his new game—titled Project Artemis–looks like it could reshape the way we think about an entire genre.
What’s even more interesting is that unlike a lot of other companies, PLAYERUNKNOWN Productions seems to actually be moving on this plan. A quick investigation reveals that they have hired Mohamed Khalifa to lead the Blockchain division at this ambitious studio. Over the last six years, Khalifa has been involved in building some of the most impressive blockchain ecosystems in the space, and advising leading multinational corporations in their Blockchain ambitions. He also consulted on THETA, a video content blockchain project.
Khalifa was the key developer for the concept of ZKP (Zero-knowledge Proof) for real-world functionality. The idea behind Zero-Knowledge is essentially that if a statement is true, no verifier learns anything other than the fact that the statement is true. In other words, just knowing the statement (not the secret) is sufficient to imagine a scenario showing that the prover knows the secret.
He believes that blockchain could be foundational to our world in ways that people aren’t even imagining yet, running in the background of our day-to-day applications rather than solely powering crypto projects. He sees the larger picture, that no matter what’s happening with the ups and downs of the crypto market, Blockchain as a technology is here to stay.
Khalifa is no stranger to managing ambitious and complex technical projects: before working in Blockchain, he managed and designed technical workflows for some of the biggest events on Earth, including the Winter Olympics and FIFA Football events.
It sounds like he will be applying a similar philosophy towards integrating Blockchain into Project Artemis, potentially using blockchain to provide its users frictionless transactions in the game, tracking player property and empowering users to create their own content and take value outside of the world.
It’s a major, ambitious project, and it looks like one of the most ambitious blockchain-based development projects we’ve seen in the space so far. But Khalifa is also no stranger to managing massively complex technical projects. Prior to his career in blockchain he managed and designed technical workflows for some of the biggest events on Earth, including the Winter Olympics and FIFA Football events. He won the prestigious GRAFTA award by SKY Sports UK, given for outstanding achievements in technological development.
It’s always good to see big names give their voices to Blockchain projects, but it’s even more encouraging to see them hire seasoned industry professionals like Khalifa to put actual technical knowledge behind their promises. Greene and Khalifa have the potential to deliver one of the most expansive applications of Blockchain yet.