Execution Labs helping dev create ‘video game show’

Canadian firm Execution Labs has teamed up with independent games studio Robot Loves Kitty on an unusual new project.

Upsilon Circuit is, on the face of it, a simple multiplayer game in which eight players compete to fight monsters and earn points for their team. Robot Loves Kitty says the title is not only optimised for streaming on platforms such as Twitch, it’s actually an interactive ‘video game show’.

While watching gameplay streams, viewers will be able to “manipulate the game in real time”, sending in helpful items, enhancing players skills and “generally [having] the ability to save or destroy the competitors”. 

Players will only have one chance to take part. Once they’re dead, a member of the audience will replace them.

Execution Labs began life as an incubator but is now concentrating on early-stage investment, with this new partnership as a prime example.

"We view Upsilon Circuit as a natural progression in how consumers currently play and watch games,” said Execution Labs co-founder Keith Katz. 

“In a very short window we’ve seen massive numbers of gamers spend more and more time spectating games, and we’ve seen e-sports viewership spike. Building a cross-platform game that is not just optimised for streaming, but built around the notion that the spectators are the game, is the perfect way for a talented independent developer like Robot Loves Kitty to cut through the noise and create something truly scalable."