The Zhitong Finance App learned that CITIC Construction Investment Securities released a research report saying that recently there have been new changes in the production and distribution of AI interactive video games, and small to medium team products have begun to receive paid verification: the 6-person video group for “Survivor Notes” took 4 months to complete 700 minutes of content, and a third party estimated over 10,000 copies in mid-October. Compared with traditional live action interactive movie games, AI is expected to reduce investment in real shooting, reduce the cost of new branches, shorten the production cycle, and drive rapid supply growth. 1) On the technical side, models enhance video generation and 3D capabilities; 2) On the platform side, Douyin collects interactive content, supporting distribution, funding and IP support; 3) on the content side, small teams and individual works enrich supply; 4) On the channel side, Steam undertakes global distribution, and Byte is expected to open up new traffic.
AI interactive movies are trending, and are expected to become new growth content after AI dramas
“Damn it!” which became popular in 2023 I'm surrounded by beautiful women!” Live action is used to carry branch stories, and content expansion requires coordinating actors, scenes, filming, and post-production. The recently introduced AI interactive game “Survivor Notes” uses AI video generation to replace part of the screen production process, while programming intelligence connects 3D assets to the game engine, further transforming the story into explorable and operable interactive entertainment.
CITIC Construction Investment believes that AI will simultaneously reduce initial investment and increase marginal costs of story branches, and shorten the cycle from idea to playable version. The supplier is expected to expand from teams with shooting resources to small to medium creators and game teams with 3D production and gameplay development capabilities. At this stage, a distinction should be made between “AI-assisted production” and “real-time generation during gameplay”: the former is already used for pre-made images and program development, while the latter also needs to address character memory, response speed, and continuous reasoning costs.
1. Technical side: The upper limit of the model's multi-modal capability opens, penetrates video production, 3D assets and interactive development
Nearly two months of model iteration extended multi-modal production from single material generation to a complete workflow. Astra, Opus 5.5, and Kimi K3.1 Pro can participate in modeling and development through code and tools; Keling 4.0 and Seedance 2.5 4K improve lens performance, creative control, and delivery image quality. Combining the two routes is expected to reduce the cost for creators to repeatedly switch between scripts, assets, scenes, and interactions.
The improvement of video generation capabilities is first and foremost conducive to large-scale production of branch stories. Keling 4.0 supports multiple reference materials and keyframe control. Seedance 2.5 4K provides a process to first generate a low-resolution sample and then output a 4K positive film. CITIC Construction Investment believes that this kind of ability is expected to help creators more quickly verify footage, adjust character performance, and reuse character and scene settings, reduce the cost of trial and error of materials when increasing plot branches, and enable small teams to produce longer and more complete narrative content.
Increased programming and tool calling capabilities will extend the role of AI from screen production to playable product development. Kimi K3.1 Pro can edit Blender assets through scripts and combine building experiences with engines such as Unity. CITIC Construction Investment believes that model participation in asset arrangement, scene construction, and interactive code writing is expected to reduce the cost of collaboration between different production processes and allow individuals and studios to make versions that can be tested more quickly; game teams with experience in 3D production and gameplay development are also expected to extend their ability to interactive storytelling.
What the world model provides is a longer-term incremental spatial interaction. Tim demonstrated some of ByteDance's world model capabilities at the press conference, showing the direction of content extending from “viewable” to “accessible and modifiable.”
2. Platform support: Douyin collects interactive content, and distributes, funds and IP simultaneously intervenes
The Douyin Group Short Drama Copyright Center included interactive dramas and interactive video games in the cooperative collection, and the platform began to further intervene in the interactive content supply organization. According to the collected documents quoted in the October 20 public report, horizontal and vertical screen, live, or AI content can participate, and applicants cover individuals, studios, and companies. Joint distribution, joint funding, and joint IP development are three optional cooperation models. They correspond to commercialization of finished products, development cost support, and acquisition of adaptation resources. The support process covers different stages of content production and distribution.
The specific division of labor for joint distribution is that partners provide interactive content for finished products, and the short drama copyright center provides product distribution and operation capabilities. The provision proposes to provide the product ability to operate and monetize content through mainstream channels. CITIC Construction Investment believes that this is expected to make up for the shortcomings of small and medium teams in channel connection, online operation, and revenue conversion, so that creators can obtain the cooperation of the platform's commercialization capabilities after completing the script, images, and interactions. Existing public materials have not specified specific distribution portals, account sharing methods, and traffic guarantees, and the actual scope of cooperation still needs to be based on the signing agreement.
Joint IP development includes copyright cooperation and copyright fee subsidies, intervention in project selection and licensing costs. For creators, existing IP character relationships, worldviews, and audience perceptions can provide a foundation for branch stories, character interactions, and subsequent content expansion; copyright fee subsidies are expected to reduce investment in adaptation resources. CITIC Construction Investment believes that if Byte IP resources such as Tomato are further connected in the future, the matching efficiency of high-quality stories with AI production teams is expected to improve, and teams with content planning and interactive development capabilities will also get more space to select topics.
3. Content side: small teams and individual works have emerged, and paid verification has begun to appear
Recently, the supply of AI interactive content is expanding from single footage and short presentations to works with complete storylines, scenes, and gameplay. Examples that have appeared cover pre-made AI video narratives, 3D space exploration, and AI-assisted action games. Long-form movie games mainly observe production organization and payment conversion, and individual 3D works reflect the ability to integrate tools.
“Survivor Notes” has turned a small team's AI video production capacity into long-form branch content that can be sold. The core video team consists of about 6 people, and it took 4 months to complete the branch material in about 700 minutes, and the script was over 260,000 words; the director's log confirmed that the images were generated by AI and that the characters were dubbed by real people, and that 6 people were not the caliber of the entire project staff. The title was sold on Steam in a 29-yuan buy-out system. According to Gamalytic estimates from October 14, the cumulative sales volume exceeds 10,000 copies, the praise rate is 89%, and the average play time is 7.1 hours. The sales volume and length of play initially indicate that users are willing to pay for the story experience carried by AI images.
“The Little Prince: Journey to the Stars” shows individual creators turning text stories into paths that can be explored in 3D space. Author Sac stated that it took 16 days to complete the creation, used Opus 5.5 to write core code and operate tools, combined with Tripo to generate assets, and then used Blender and Unity to organize scenes and integrate characters and interactions. Creators' production capabilities also extend from generating images to connecting assets, engines, and operational logic.
“Don't Ask Everything” provides paid samples from major manufacturers that combine AI content with game mechanics. The game was developed and distributed by Morning and Sunset Lightyear. Early access was launched on Steam on September 23, combining AI images and NPC dialogue with gameplay such as fairy training and exploration; the development team announced on October 13 that it had sold over 260,000 copies.
Representative images: branch images and explorable 3D scenes
Judging from the above case, AI has mainly changed the way images, assets, and code are produced, and story organization, gameplay design, and experience refinement still determine whether the work can attract users. CITIC Construction Investment believes that in the future, it is worth paying more attention to teams that can continue to deliver high-quality content: they can not only integrate multi-modal tools into the production process, but also organize scripts, 3D assets, and interaction mechanisms into a complete product. Game companies with experience in engine development, 3D production, and distribution are expected to expand their scope of participation in this process.
4. Channel side: Steam undertakes independent supply, and Bytes is expected to open up new traffic
Steam provides small to medium creators with a distribution and feedback mechanism for players around the world. Stores, labels, wish lists, user reviews, and personalized recommendations give vertical themes an opportunity to find target users, and works can accumulate word of mouth through trial feedback and continuous updates. CITIC Construction Investment believes that after AI reduces production costs, such distribution portals are expected to take on more long-term supply; however, exposure still depends on players' reactions and product appeal, and content parties still need to do a good job of positioning, store operation, and early user accumulation.
The increase in the byte system is to direct mass content traffic to interactive consumption. This collaborative call shows that the platform has begun to organize the supply of interactive dramas and movies; if tools, IP, finished product distribution and recommendation mechanisms are further developed, interactive content is expected to become a new source of content and traffic for Byte. CITIC Construction Investment believes that in the future, there is a possibility of forming independent portals or platforms similar to red fruits that gather large amounts of interactive content.