OpenAI announced on the 4th that it will be hosting a game development hackathon on the 31st, featuring its coding agent, Codex. The event will see the participation of Song Jae-kyung, the legendary developer who steered the creation of Korea's MMORPG pioneers, The Kingdom of the Winds and Lineage. OpenAI aims to showcase a new paradigm in game development where Codex is utilised not just for prototyping, but for launching actual, playable services.

Dubbed 'OpenAI Game Builders Seoul', the event is scheduled for August 31st in Seoul. As the world’s first-ever game development event centred on Codex, it is receiving support from the Korean gaming firm Com2uS. The event's chosen slogan is 'Build with Codex, Play with Hive'.

For those unfamiliar, Hive is Com2uS’s game backend platform, offering essential infrastructure for deployment and operations, including login, monetization, user analytics, and security. Participants will leverage Codex to build their games before integrating these critical features via Hive plugins. Song Jae-kyung will also be in attendance to share insights into the journey of returning to the front lines of game development through the lens of Codex.

The hackathon is split into two distinct tracks. 'From Zero to One: Build with Codex' involves showcasing pre-developed titles, while 'Go full Codex: 5 Hour Build' challenges participants to craft high-quality games from scratch within a tight five-hour window. A total of 40 teams will be selected to compete in the final round.

The winners of the popular vote in the first track will receive $50,000 (approximately 69,000,000 KRW) in OpenAI API credits and a one-year subscription to ChatGPT Pro. The top teams in the second track will also be awarded a one-year ChatGPT Pro subscription, while every finalist will receive $100 (approximately 138,000 KRW) in credits. Applications are open from August 4th to the 26th.

Oliver Jay, Head of International Business at OpenAI, remarked, "Korea is a nation with world-class development capabilities and a vibrant community of creators, making it the perfect hub to explore the intersection of gaming and AI." Oliver Jay continued, "We hope this event fosters an environment where legendary figures who shaped the Korean game industry and the next generation of talent can exchange ideas on Codex, ultimately expanding a new culture of AI-assisted development. We are committed to supporting more developers in turning their ideas into tangible, live services, uncovering creative possibilities that were previously deemed impossible."