196 | Turning Ultra into a unicorn

Jon Jordan talks to Ultra's new CEO Gus van Rijckevorsel about why the entrepreneur decided to invest in the company. He explains his ambition for Ultra, including competing with Steam and turning the platform into a unicorn that will shake up the entire games industry.

• [2:38] Gus van Rijckevorsel's previous career as a serial enterpreneur.
• [4:10] Why he created a French TV show to build his credibility.
• [9:02] Why Gus "fell in love" with Ultra and wanted to invest.
• [12:55] Previously Ultra had two co-CEOs, which wasn't the ideal structure for scaling.
• [16:24] Ultra's just raised $12 million in bridge finance with more funding due later in 2025.
• [19:29] Web2 gamers don't care about web3. They're here just to play games.
• [20:00] We are here to eat a chunk of Steam.
• [21:08] I am convinced we will make money by pleasing game developers.
• [22:20] We are the game distribution platform with the best technology.
• [23:55] Can any company compete with Steam when it's so dominant?
• [26:18] The three different types of gamer that Ultra will support - players, streamers and spectators.
• [28:52] What are the key things Ultra needs to do to drive its success in 2025?
• [31:35] We want people to open Ultra in the morning and have it open all day. It's the gaming OS.
• [32:58] Blockchain will completely change the next 50 years of the digital world.
• [34:50] We don't have the traffic yet, but one thing's for sure is that we will have the traffic.
• [35:12] As dollars are linked to the price of oil, so UOS needs to be linked to gaming.
• [38:15] Ultra needs to be all along the value chain. We need thousands of games on Ultra.
• [39:18] Ashes of Mankind is one of Ultra's exclusive titles. There will be more in future.
• [40:06] Call to action for the Ultra community - support us with constructive criticism.