China AI: game company launches tool for creating 3-minute dramas with music and plot

Kunlun Tech, an online game publisher, has launched an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that it says can produce short dramas, the latest example of a Chinese business hoping to profit from AI-generated content.

Skyreels, the “world’s first AI reels platform”, is able to generate scripts, characters, plots, storyboards, dialogue and music to create a short video, according to a demo showing the product’s operating interface and a statement published by Shenzhen-listed Kunlun Tech on its WeChat account on Monday.

The platform is based on Kunlun’s self-developed large language models (LLMs) and can generate videos each running up to 180 seconds long, surpassing industry leader OpenAI’s text-to-video tool Sora, which can make 60-second clips, according to the Beijing-based company.

A long list of Chinese companies are exploring ways to build useful tools supported by generative AI, making the country one of the most crowded markets for AI apps. Kunlun Tech has already launched an AI streaming music platform and a music creation tool called Mureka.

Founded in 2008, Kunlun Tech is known locally for online games such as Girl’s Dream Factory and Tale of Wuxia. After going public on Shenzhen’s ChiNext stock market in 2015, it expanded into the social network and entertainment industries. It is active in overseas markets, including Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

The company had an average of nearly 400 million monthly active users worldwide last year, with overseas sales accounting for 86 per cent of total revenue, according to its annual financial report.