News

GamesBeat Next unites gaming industry leaders for exceptional content, networking, and deal-making opportunities. Join us on Oct 23-24 in San Francisco.  Register Now

Jadu has released a multiplayer mobile fighting game that uses augmented reality (AR) to blend the virtual and physical worlds.Dubbed Jadu, the game is available now for free download on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, as well as on Google Play for Android devices.

With Jadu, the company said players can transform their surroundings into an arena where their avatars engage in real-time player-versus-player (PvP) battles with remote opponents.

Jadu wants to bring the concept of Street Fighter to life by allowing players to command their avatars within the real world. This unique gameplay experience enables users to customize their avatars, challenge friends, and compete against new opponents.

The game’s tech uses LiDAR sensors, high-resolution cameras, and fast networking capabilities found in modern smartphones, creating an immersive gaming experience that was previously unattainable on any other platform.

One of the standout features of Jadu is its collaboration with famous personalities from various fields. The single-player campaign mode features fights with alien robots designed in partnership with Michael Bay, the producer/director of Transformers. Additionally, exclusive in-game items, such as hoverboards designed by Lewis Hamilton, Grimes, and Snoop Dogg, are waiting to be discovered by players.

Jadu is the brainchild of Asad J. Malik, the CEO and founder of Jadu’s Los Angeles-based studio. Malik has gained recognition as an AR visionary, having been named one of Variety’s 10 Innovators to Watch, Rolling Stone’s Future 25, Forbes’ 30 Under 30, and Adweek’s Young Influentials. His previous AR narrative storytelling projects, Terminal 3 and A Jester’s Tale, premiered at prestigious film festivals like Tribeca and Sundance.

“After 7 years building AR projects, we finally feel like we’ve created a truly spatial experience that is also widely accessible to the next generation of gamers who’ve grown up on smartphones,” said Malik, in a statement. “Fighting the ghostly presence of a remote player in your physical space is an experience that has tickled the imagination of our beta players.”

Jadu has garnered significant attention during its beta phase, with over 100,000 matches played by 10,000 participants. Niko Bonatsos, managing director at General Catalyst, said in a statement, “Jadu is one of the most ambitious attempts at consumer AR I’ve seen in a while. Asad and his incredible team of designers, engineers and creatives have years of building AR and we believe the company is uniquely positioned to offer Gen Z/Gen Alpha a new form of gaming experience.”

The company and the game have received $42 million in investments from prominent firms such as Bain Capital Crypto, General Catalyst, LG Tech Ventures, Com2Us, LionTree, and Gaingels, among others.

- Originally published at https://venturebeat.com/ | October 10 2023