Poly Haven Invites Artists to Help It Create Its First Video Game with Free Assets

"Under the pressure of AI-generated content, and with the motivation to prove the value of our asset library, we’re exploring alternative ways to help fund our work, and one of those ways is creating games," Poly Haven starts the announcement of Project Lighthouse, its first video game and a unique venture that will bring the company money to let it continue producing free content.

Poly Haven is a place full of free assets that any artist can use, but keeping it free is hard, so the company is planning to sell Project Lighthouse and use the profits to fund the site.

The most unusual part of the deal is that almost all the assets from the game will be available at no extra cost on Poly Haven, and artists can help the library grow.

Project Lighthouse has three goals:

1. To improve the quality and usability of free assets on polyhaven.com for game developers.
2. Prove and demonstrate the value and potential of our work in a real production.
3. And explore the idea of selling games as a way to fund our work creating free content. 

You can create your props and share them on Poly Haven to be used in the game. "Your work will not only become part of our game, but will also be published on Poly Haven freely under the CC0 license, helping to build a lasting library of free content for everyone."

The company promises rewards and sponsored prizes for high-quality works. All accepted authors will receive:

• Access to a closed beta of the game, plus a full copy of the game on release.
• A copy of PH's Blender add-on.
• Early access to all its upcoming assets, including the Vaults.
• A permanent “Project Lighthouse Contributor” role on its Discord.
• And full credit for your work in the game’s credits.

The best assets will get stuff from sponsors, with the pool's total value exceeding $10,000.

Project Lighthouse is a first-person atmospheric puzzle game set on a remote island. Your mission is to restore a lighthouse, but activating it leaves you trapped. "Using highly experimental and otherworldly teleportation technology, you explore and solve environmental puzzles to uncover the fate of the island’s disappeared inhabitants, solve the mysteries of a catastrophic experiment, and escape from being trapped in an eternal, philosophical limbo."

The game is all about the mix of "rusted world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R." and "the mysterious 80’s high-tech labs of Remedy’s Control."

The submission period ends on May 1, and the game will be released in Q4 2026.

Learn more about Project Lighthouse and the contest here and don't forget to subscribe to our Newsletter and join our 80 Level Talent platform, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, and Instagram, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.

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