Film-Gaming Collaboration Takes Another Step: "Deep Sea" Team Officially Announces Development of Sea Otter-Themed Game, Light Media's IP Full-Chain Strategy Emerges

In early March 2026, China’s domestic animation IP development sector marked another milestone. The core creative team behind the phenomenally successful animated film “Deep Sea” officially launched a game creator account called “October Big White Rabbit” on the day of Jingzhe, and simultaneously released a new concept short film. The announcement revealed plans to feature the popular character sea otter as the main protagonist and to begin related game development. This move not only signifies a key step in the “Deep Sea” IP’s integration of film and game, but is also seen by the market as an important move by Light Media in its strategic transformation from a “content provider” to an “IP full-chain operator.”

**　Expanding the Healing IP**

The film “Deep Sea,” directed by Tian Xiaopeng, took seven years to produce and was released during the 2023 Spring Festival. It was co-produced by October Culture and Cai Tiao Wu Pictures, with distribution handled by Guangxian Chuangmei. The film attracted widespread industry attention with its innovative “Particle Ink Wash” technique, with media outlets like Xinhua News and China Film News praising its blend of “Eastern beauty” and “global perspective.” The adorable and lively sea otter character quickly became one of the film’s most popular figures, laying a solid audience foundation for the upcoming game development.

According to a new short film released by the official account, this game development will continue the original “Deep Sea”’s beautiful and healing animation style and highly praised ink wash particle effects, maintaining a visual style highly consistent with the film. The short film depicts the otters exploring the mysterious deep-sea world and working together to build the “Deep Sea Grand Hotel,” opening a new adventure storyline. Notably, the team chose the “Jingzhe” solar term—signifying the awakening of all things—for the first content release, symbolizing hopes for a new spring in the film-game integration and the IP’s broader layout.

**　Visual Industry’s “Transferable Assets”**

For the “Deep Sea” IP, the most commercially valuable aspect isn’t the plot itself (which previously sparked some controversy in its narrative), but its unique visual industrial system. The film’s core visual innovation, “Particle Ink Wash,” combines the flowing movement of ink wash and granular light scattering effects with 3D animation, repeatedly emphasized in behind-the-scenes interviews for its development and production difficulty.

Once integrated into real-time interactive environments, this rendering language can translate into multiple game mechanics: guiding with beams of light, indicating risks or rare resources with particle density, and turning “light/particles/ink color” into collectible, combinable, and illuminable resource chains. This allows for sustainable gameplay loops without relying heavily on combat. Such reuse of visual assets is the core card for the “Deep Sea” IP’s game development.

**　Light Media’s Second “Game Move”**

The “Deep Sea” game project reflects Light Media’s increasingly clear strategic shift in recent years. According to internal memos circulating in the industry, Chairman Wang Changtian previously announced that the company would fully transition to “creating and operating IP,” marking a strategic shift from a “high-end content provider” to a full-chain IP operator.

GameLook notes that this can be seen as Light Media’s “second major entry into the gaming industry.” During the early explosive growth of the domestic mobile game market around 2014, Light Media made aggressive moves through investments and acquisitions, including investing in Xianhai Technology, acquiring the controlling stake in “I Am Naruto” developer ReFung Network, and investing in “God’s Blade” developer Miaoqu Hengshen. Back then, their approach was more about “capital buying tickets,” betting on mobile game dividends and distribution channels. This time, Light Media has publicly emphasized keywords like “building its own team,” “AAA titles,” “combining animation and gaming talent,” and “full industry chain operation around IP.”

From account naming and data platforms like Qichacha, “October Big White Rabbit” is closely associated with October Culture and Cai Tiao Wu’s system behind “Deep Sea.” October Culture is not new to bringing animation IP into game development—previously, “Monkey King: Return of the Great Sage” also launched a game project of the same name, but the product’s reputation and market response were not ideal. Whether “Deep Sea” can learn from past lessons remains to be seen.

**　From “Watching” to “Participating”: The IP Closed Loop**

For the “Deep Sea” team, the core goal of this game development attempt is to build an IP closed loop from “watching” to “participating.” The film’s narrative is essentially a “dream/psychological space” drift: the oppression of reality intertwined with the wonders of the deep sea, combining healing and fear, ultimately focusing on emotion and companionship. This theme is naturally more suitable for medium- to long-term products centered on “exploration + companionship + light growth,” rather than forcing the IP into heavy action or intense confrontation.

So far, the official account “October Big White Rabbit” has only released this short film as a preliminary communication; gameplay types, platforms, release methods, and schedules have not yet been announced. For outsiders, whether this otter will become the starting point of a healing deep-sea adventure game or a front for Light Media’s AAA ambitions remains a long-term mystery worth watching.

As top IPs like “Nezha: Warrior of the Demonic Child” continue to generate derivative value, Light Media is extending its animation content advantages into broader digital entertainment fields. The pace of “Deep Sea” otter game development will serve as a litmus test for whether this “strongest animation company” can truly complete the film-game integration closed loop.

Note: This article was generated with AI tools and does not constitute investment advice. The market carries risks; invest cautiously.