DOR sets sights on TikTok-like virtual world for gamers  

South Korean startup DOR Corporation has thrown down the gauntlet to Discord, a popular global social platform for gamers, with its TikTok-like social media where gamers can share their best gaming moments and build a sense of community.

“It could be like TikTok or Instagram for gamers. But more importantly, we are striving to offer gamers from around the world a social media platform where they can share their gaming experiences and communicate actively,” Jo Hyeongrae, founder and chief executive officer of DOR Corporation, said in a recent interview with The Korea Economic Daily.

The Korean startup operates a Windows-based app called DOR that allows gamers to easily record, edit and show off their in-game experiences with others in the virtual space.

The vision artificial intelligence-powered service enables the automated recording, clipping and editing of highlighted gaming moments in about a minute so gamers can share such edited gameplay with fellow gamers on the app.

“Discord is a popular gaming messenger program, which enables game players to chat in real-time,” said Jo. “But there is no dominant social media-like platform where gamers can share their gaming experiences … and I expect such a market, where gamers can share their gameplay, will grow rapidly.”

DOR has the upper hand against its rivals in a race to lead the gaming social media market after its successful debut in Korea, one of the world’s most vibrant e-sport markets.

More than 30 million people have played video games in Korea, of which more than 4 million people have played “League of Legends.”

About 3 billion people from around the world are considered active video gamers, and their numbers rise 5% on-year every year, according to the DOR CEO.

“A long time ago, I once played a video game with Faker, who is like the (Lionel) Messi of the gaming world. If we were playing basketball, I could have captured the moments with him and shared them on Instagram,” said Jo. “But there was no means to do so in the gaming world, which was a shame.”

Faker, whose real name is Lee Sang-hyeok, is a world-renowned Korean professional "League of Legends" player.

The DOR CEO deduced that the absence of a gamers-dedicated social media must also be a pain point for other gamers and anticipated strong demand for a social media platform for gamers to share their captured in-game experiences.

His projection was right. DOR’s monthly active users hit 400,000 just six months after its launch in September 2023 and its users have been on a steady rise, said Jo.

About 50 million clips have been produced on DOR, he added.

VISION AI-POWERED TOOL MAKES EDITING EASY

DOR has no direct competitor in Korea, Jo said, adding that similar platforms abroad are Medal.tv and Allstar.gg.

However, he said DOR is at an advantage against its foreign rivals thanks to its easy-to-edit tool and greater focus on communities.  

“The foreign rivals only allow its users to record gaming moments without offering an automated editing function. This makes them appealing more to (professional) content creators who already have proper editing skills,” said Jo. “But DOR comes with an easy editing solution for everyone, and a key to our service is experience sharing with a greater focus on community building.”

DOR uses the vision AI technology to enable the automated recording of gaming moments in real-time.

Vision AI refers to the integration of computer vision and AI technologies. Computer vision uses machine learning and neural networks to teach computers and systems to derive meaningful information from digital images, videos and other visual inputs and to make recommendations or take actions when they see defects or issues.

“If a gamer installs the DOR app on the PC, AI will automatically detect and record gaming moments once the game starts” like a black box in a car, said Jo.  

The recorded in-game moments will be saved on a local PC, which can be edited on DOR to share on the app, explained Jo, adding that it is like sharing photos to Instagram.  

“DOR enables its users to edit their in-game moments with various effects like sound and virtual reality experience in only about a minute unlike conventional editing solutions that require several hours to add sound and visual effects,” said Jo.

“We are making gaming easier and more exciting.”

SEVEN GAMES AVAILABLE 

DOR's service is offered in two versions – a free one for casual gamers and a monthly paid subscription service with advanced features for content creators.

The Korean startup also offers a contract service for game publishers wishing their games to be shared on DOR.

“Such a B2B service generates revenue,” said Jo.

There are seven games available on the app, including “League of Legends,” “Valorant” and “PUBG: Battlegrounds.”

The growth in the startup’s revenue and clients has been organic, said Jo, adding that they have spent zero on marketing since its launch.

Korean gamers mainly use DOR but also has about 20,000 users from other countries.

GOING GLOBAL

Those foreign users are known to have been introduced to DOR by other gamers who have already experienced DOR services.

The Korean startup plans to venture into Vietnam and Japan this year. It was already in talks with professional e-sports teams in Vietnam for the adoption of the DOR service, said its CEO.

“Our main target market is, however, the US,” said Jo. “Once our goal is met in Korea, we will advance into the US.” The company is set to do this in the second and fourth quarters of this year, intending to boost DOR's MAUs to 2 million by the end of 2025. 

DOR’s growth in Korea has been so rapid that its MAUs are expected to surge early this year, the CEO said.

For its global expedition, especially its inroads into the US, DOR plans a Series A funding round to raise about 13 billion won ($9 million) in the first half of this year, Jo said.

The startup has raised 1.1 billion won since its foundation in July 2022.

“I think Korea’s gaming and content markets are well supported by abundant human resources, capital and players, which will allow South Korea to outperform other countries in the gaming and content markets,” said Jo.

“You will see us flying high this year."

Write to Sookyung Seo at skseo@hankyung.com
 

Jennifer Nicholson-Breen edited this article.