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Blockchain Gaming World

jon jordan

Everything you need to know about Blockchain Gaming.

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33 episodes
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Avg 29 min
English

Episodes 33

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June 19 · 37 min
19th June 2026 | Sky Mavis relaunches Axie land
Axie: Terrariums goes live, Fishing Frenzy and Pudgy Party close down. [00:42] Sky Mavis is rebooting its vision for Axie land NFTs with Terrariums. [01:25] It builds on the complex learnings of the original Axie land game Homeland. [02:14] Homeland was an attempt to combine land-based gameplay and NFT staking. [04:31] It was a surprisingly deep resource-management game but a bad staking system. [07:10] Sky Mavis removed staking in early 2024, and everyone stopped playing Homeland. [08:39] Terrariums is the v1 attempt to rebuild a land NFT staking system using the bAXS token. [10:33] Terrariums will also be the base layer for land gameplay, which will be added over time. [12:48] Ronin idle mobile/browser game Craft World has announced 60,000 MAUs. [16:00] Craft World is a full onchain game but very accessible. [19:53] You can market it to a web2 audience and there's no talk of wallets or gas or tokens. [23:37] In Craft World, you can't buy your way to top status. Time is a key resource too. [25:28] Fishing Frenzy is shutting down. In contrast to Craft World, it was a crypto-first cozy game. [28:05] You can sustain crypto-first games for as long as players think they will get free rewards. [30:22] Pudgy Party is shutting down as Pudgy Penguins focuses on Pudgy World web portal. [33:00] Pudgy Party was good but lacked the marketing support required for a social game. [34:35] Pudgy World is cheaper and easier to operate and market as a platform.
June 13 · 36 min
12th June 2026 | The Sandbox goes AI
The Sandbox announces its AI creation and distribution platform The Sandbox Studio. [02:05] The Sandbox announces The Sandbox Studio, its AI-powered creator tools. [03:00] Roblox as the obvious benchmark for AI-powered UGC in games [04:20] Did The Sandbox waste time in H2 2025 on Corners, its memecoin experiment? [06:40] What The Sandbox Studio actually is, and why it is still only in alpha [07:25] Why Sandbox’s old creator tools were already good, but never solved distribution [08:35] Roblox vs Sandbox: the importance of instant publishing and social concurrency [10:10] AI harnesses vs AI models [11:47] Will such specialist frameworks matter once foundation models get much better? [13:10] The big strategic question: do creators need The Sandbox Studio if AI can make games directly? [14:00] Sandbox’s plan to help creators publish to web, Telegram, Steam and app stores [15:30] Roblox’s massive advantage: creators publish inside an existing audience [16:40] Why The Sandbox’s lack of player concurrency remains its core problem [18:10] The missed opportunity of The Sandbox land as a connected world/map [20:15] Jon's launched his own AI game - Soccerverse Showdown [21:10] How the World Cup leaderboard idea evolved from a Soccerverse internal concept [22:35] Comparing Soccerverse Showdown with a more traditional fantasy-football game [24:48] How player influence in Soccerverse generates World Cup points [25:59] Why ROI may be more interesting than total points on the leaderboard [27:15] Claude Fable “did two weeks of work in three hours” [28:45] The feeling of publishing a first game after 25 years covering games [30:00] Nexpace as a strong example of blockchain and AI execution [30:45] MapleStory Universe revenue, Avalanche chain and ecosystem strategy [31:20] Verse8, Vibe Camp and AI-generated MapleStory experiences [32:05] First AI-built MapleStory-based games are now live on Verse8
June 5 · 43 min
5th June 2026 | MapleStory's $60,000 vibe coding event
Nexpace announced a $60,000 Vibe Camp for MapleStory UGC using Verse8 AI tools. [00:32] MapleStory Universe, Verse8 and the $60,000 AI UGC VibeCamp [04:00] Why MapleStory Universe is one of web3 gaming’s serious IP plays [05:03] How Verse8 lets users vibe-code games [06:10] Why AI-generated games work better with existing emotional IP [07:40] Nexpace’s ambition for third-party creators to out-earn the core team [08:40] EVE Frontier did a similar hackathon in March [09:45] It's like there's a new UA funnel: attracting builders, not just players [11:45] Soccerverse and World Cup experiments [12:38] The Grand Tournament: community-built fantasy football on Soccerverse [14:59] Buying player influence to boost your fantasy team [16:15] Jon’s Soccerverse Summer Showdown concept [17:24] How World Cup scoring maps to Soccerverse player influence [19:35] Using ROI scoring to stop whales simply buying victory [22:48] Why AI coding changes what game communities can build [24:46] FIFA Rivals hits 2.5 million downloads [31:22] Saga exits blockchain and pivots fully into AI agents [32:05] Why Saga came too late to blockchain gaming [36:43] Pixels cuts headcount and refocuses [41:37] Why Luke Barwikowski’s stubbornness still matters
June 1 · 46 min
29th May 2026 | DAOs, open source and AI agents
Can Aavegotchi DAO takeover the project, the State of Pixels, and the rise of open source in the agentic era. [00:35] Aavegotchi dev Pixelcraft is one of the OG web3 gaming studios. [05:16] It's looking to hand over control of Aavegotchi to the DAO. [06:28] DAOs haven't been successful for reasons like coordination and authority. [07:25] It's a nice vision, but the reality is Pixelcraft ran out of money. [08:01] By 1st September, the DAO has to have decided what's happening going forward. [09:16] Why “gamey games” are harder to hand over to communities or DAOs. [09:55] State of Pixels. It's sustainable but not growing.11:30 Pixels is now considering adding open-source elements. [12:05] AI significantly changes what community developers can build in blockchain games. [13:50] The emerging pattern is surviving web3 games are moving to APIs, MCPs and agent access. [15:15] Why blockchain and AI fit together culturally and technically. [19:05] Define “game games” versus “non-game games”. [20:49] Why blockchain games should focus less on moment-to-moment fun and more on meta. [23:30] EVE Frontier, MapleStory and Soccerverse as examples of meta-focused web3 games. [25:25] These games have emergent experiences. They don't require constant content updates. [28:30] Don’t put things onchain to create value. Put existing value onchain so it can be realized. [32:40] Community-built Soccerverse fantasy football as a sign of where this goes next. [35:05] The first 10 years of blockchain gaming were about discovering what didn’t work. [35:40] AI plus blockchain will enable things the traditional games industry won’t build. [37:06] Why agents will become native players for blockchain games. [38:20] The future split: Mario-like gameplay games versus agent-filled systemic web3 worlds.
May 22 · 46 min
22 May 2026 | Weekly news roundup
The big beasts arise as we talk EVE Frontier, MapleStory Universe and how Wemade's approach bests Ubisoft. [00:34] Jon attended EVE Fanfest 2026 in Iceland. What are his takeaways? [02:40] Why EVE Fanfest works beyond being just an event for players. [05:05] EVE Frontier is EVE Online if made from scratch now. [06:46] In Cycle 6 (out 25th June), EVE Frontier finally becomes more of an actual survival game. [09:28] Modular shipbuilding replaces fixed ships. [10:40] EVE Frontier is a game that rewards players who improve their manual gameplay skills. [11:55] “This is a game that makes EVE Online feel cuddly.” [13:58] Does EVE Frontier need non-EVE players? [15:30] The fundamental approach is blockchain as a unified API. [16:38] Why some CCP/Fenris developers want to work on EVE Frontier, not EVE Online. [17:38] How EVE Frontier is using AI for coding and prototyping. [19:10] Nexon is talking about MapleStory Universe, MSU 2.0 and VIBE IP. [22:11] MapleStory Universe did $31 million in revenue in year 1. [23:22] The real KPI for MSU 2.0 is the revenue third-party devs make. [25:55] Average EVE Fanfest attendee had played 7,900 hours of EVE Online. [30:50] Legend of Ymir has released the ability to mint and trade character NFTs. [32:00] Legend of Ymir NFT character trading was $77,000 on day 1. [34:40] Ubisoft is shutting down Champions Tactics’ web3 features on 27th May. [36:00] Ubisoft’s blockchain problems are a minor part of much wider issues for the company. [39:00] Champions Tactics was beautifully made, but too narrow in its addressable audience. [42:29] Wemade is iteratively learning. Ubisoft is scattergun, lacking learning loops. [44:30] The post-crash shape of blockchain gaming is now becoming apparent.
S7 · E6
May 13 · 33 min
210 | How Verse8 's AI smarts empower noobs and pros
Jon Jordan talks to Verse8 CEO Kevin Lee about the challenges and opportunities for the AI game-making platform. [01:09] Kevin Lee’s background at Planetarium doing web3 investing and private equity. [02:56] Verse8 started as a WebGL engine project inside Planetarium. [03:31] We first realized the potential of AI technology for game-making in 2024. [04:44] By 2025, it was clear that LLMs could generate very high-quality and complex. [06:15] Verse8 can do hypercasual games, add crypto and other monetization. [08:15] Verse8 has 200,000 DAUs and 3.5 million MAUs. [10:40] We didn't design this as a web3 project but there's potential for degen experiments. [12:52] Verse8 could be “YouTube for games” because everyone can now make games. [14:20] Verse8's $5 million seed round and why Korean strategic investors backed it. [15:28] Investors also have agreements for use of their legacy IPs within Verse8. [17:44] In particular, there will be an integration with MapleStory Universe. [18:54] There are some technical limitations. You can't make open-world MMORPGs. [20:44] Verse8’s moat is its high performance WebGL game engine. [22:50] Everyone ger $10 of free tokens but then users have to pay for additional usage. [26:10] We're competing with Roblox, Steam, Epic and even YouTube for screen time. [31:19] Over the next six months we need to prove creators can generate real revenue.
May 8 · 34 min
8 May 2026 | Weekly news roundup
The big news this week is CCP Games' MBO, rebranded as Fenris Creations and backed by Google DeepMind. [00:32] Fenris Creations (ex-CCP Games) has gained independence from Pearl Abyss for $120 million. [02:26] Pearl Abyss originally bought the company for $225 million in 2018. [03:26] Why CCP and Pearl Abyss were an awkward fit, culturally and corporately. [04:35] Pearl Abyss now has very successful games such as Crimson Desert so doesn't need CCP. [05:28] Fenris still owes Pearl Abyss $50 million for a loan. [06:52] CCP/Fenris has been loss-making for many years. [07:07] $60 million of EVE Frontier tokens have now been sold to investors. [07:47] The original unanswered questions around the deal - debt, operational capital etc. [10:28] Google DeepMind now has a minority stake in Fenris Creations. [11:30] Why DeepMind is interested in EVE Online as a learning environment for AI models and agents. [12:50] Long-term memory for agents is of particular interest. [13:50] Why DeepMind is a major credibility boost for the newly independent company. [14:48] DeepMind potentially reframes EVE Frontier’s significance as a blockchain game. [17:00] FIFA Rivals has launched its World Cup Legacy mode. [20:10] The Legacy mode allows people to play through the past 4 world cups and collect players. [23:30] Legacy players allows Mythical to better control the supply of rare NFTs. [24:35] Animoca Minds has launched a $10 million developer program. [30:49] Animoca has extended the exclusivity period for its reverse Nasdaq listing process.
May 1 · 32 min
1 May 2026 | Weekly news roundup
Reaper Actual raises capital, tracking FIFA Rivals NFT sales, and whatever happened to Wildcard's Thousands? [00:25] FIFA Rivals NFTs have finally migrated to the Pulse market. [02:55] Pulse uses USDC stablecoin for all NFT trading, even for in-app trading. [8:11] FIFA Rivals is fairly simple; 90 second mini-games and build your team. [10:12] Even powerful players are not too expensive: Guimaraes for $74, Haaland for $40. [13:40] Playful is shutting down its Thousands platform. [14:21] Unclear what might remain of Wildcard as a game, but the IP is continuing it seems. [16:18] Wildcard’s very weak Steam Early Access performance - less than 150 concurrent peak. [18:38] How the timing of the WC token launched on Arbitrum played into this decision. [19:37] Was web3 forced onto Wildcard by its crypto investors? [21:46] Reaper Actual raises more funding ahead of its Steam Early Access in mid-May. [24:26] Explaining the separate web2 and web3 versions of Reaper Actual. [26:49] Steam is a big problem for blockchain-adjacent games. [27:59] Reaper Actual’s blockchain-light messaging. [30:28] Choosing the “hill to die on” when it comes to web3 game design.
April 24 · 39 min
24 April 2026 | Weekly news roundup
FIFA Rivals moving to Pulse market, Verse8 x YGG hackathon results and Hytopia's worrying pause. [00:16] Mythical Games is migrating FIFA Rivals to the new Pulse marketplace. [02:46] But there's been some sort of delay. FIFA Rivals is the last of Mythical's games to migrate. [04:19] The significant change with Pulse is it uses the USDC stablecoin. [05:51] Why in-game item markets should use stablecoins, not volatile tokens. [07:20] With Pulse, you can sign in with email and/or external wallets like MetaMask. [09:54] Mythical Games has learned some hard lessons to get to this point. [15:44] Verse8 and YGG Play announce its Buidl Hack winners. [16:40] What Verse8’s AI game-making platform actually does. [20:00] Bank or Plank — the winning pirate board game is pretty good. [22:22] Roblox-on-blockchain platform Hytopia has paused operations while awaiting a tax refund. [28:00] Server costs, lost momentum and the blockchain game funding problem. [32:36] Why sustainable blockchain games need to start out with leaner teams. [35:16] Parallel Studios launches its trading card game on mobile app stores.
April 17 · 43 min
17 April 2026 | Weekly news roundup
EVE Frontier's hackathon deconstructed, Limit Break's first game, Xociety pauses, SANDchain completes testnet phase 1. [00:15] Deconstructing EVE Frontier x Sui $80,000 hackathon [03:19] There were 123 submissions. Largest categories were bounty boards, insurance, gate tolls. [07:20] Data was another key theme - escrow-style systems for buying and selling information. [10:05] 25% of submissions were sketchy, either weak, irrelevant, or unserious. [17:49] Limit Break has announced DigiDaigaku-themed mobile match game Puzzle Panic. [28:06] It's seems like a Trojan horse for Limit Break's deeper web3 NFT and token stack. [30:21] PC web3 shooter Xociety has halted development. [35:15] The team is attempting to restructure with a more web2 focus using the Xociety IP. [38:03] Sandbox’s ZK-based SANDchain L2 has completed its first testnet phase.
March 27 · 35 min
27 March 2026 | Weekly news roundup
Pixels' Stacked P2E rewards platform is live, Verse8 raised $5M, Wildcard's WC token is live. Jon has a new hat. [0:17] Jon wants everyone to know that he has a new GamesTX hat. [1:23] Pixels has launched Stacked, which is a P2E rewards platform (or engine!) for web2/3 games. [3:42] Effectively, Stacked is a productized version of the P2E layer in Pixels. [8:36] Stacked currently supports Pixels and Pixel Dungeons and will support Ronin and Sleepagotchi. [9:05] Rewards include PIXEL and will include gift cards and PayPal. [12:10] Pixels currently has a Return on Reward Spend of 3 -- $3 of spend per $1 of rewards. [13:34] AI game-creation platform Verse8 has raised $5 million in seed funding. [14:40] There's consumer version and also a pro version for game studios. Delabs is using it. [15:50] Verse8 has been used to make 25,000 games from 5,000 creators and 3.5 million MAUs. [18:33] The Sandbox's has launched the first playtest for its NEXT mobile battle royale game. [19:57] Wildcard has launched its WC token; currently priced a FDV of $600,000. [23:08] What are the key metrics for a sustainable blockchain game in 2026?
S7 · E5
March 26 · 34 min
209 | How Stacked reinvents P2E gaming rewards
Jon Jordan talks to Pixels' CEO Luke Barwikowski about Stacked, the company's new P2E rewards platform. [0:56] Introducing Stacked, the new rewards app from Pixels. [2:02] Pixels still believes in play-to-earn for web3 gaming, notably using data-driven rewarded play. [3:44] Stacked is the productification of Pixels' reward system that any game can plug into. [5:09] It allows you to distribute your onchain assets in a smart way. [5:19] The player-facing element is the Stacked app. There's also a b2b element, including an SDK. [7:41] This is like an ad network that categorizes player types using segmentation and reward testing. [9:29] You can also run an AI agent to help create new rewards to drive retention and engagement. [12:35] P2E is sustainable in Pixels right now in terms of Return on Reward Spend metric of 3. [16:10] F2P/P2E games require all different user types, from free to midcore spenders to whales. [18:54] Launching Stacked allows Pixel's game designers to not have to worry about rewards. [21:50] The PIXEL token will become a stake-only token, with other assets used for rewards. [24:20] Other companies, including web2 games, will be able to use Stacked as a white-label solution. [28:27] As well as P2E, crypto is also really useful for asset trading in games. [32:04] The web version of Stacked is out, and the app is in review via app stores.
March 20 · 39 min
20 March 2026 | Weekly news roundup
The Sandbox reveals mobile shooter NEXT, Wildcard's WC token goes live on 26 March, AlphaTON buys GAMEE. [2:29] The Sandbox has announced standalone mobile battle royale game NEXT. [2:47] The Sandbox's vision for mobile has never been strong. This is a new start. [4:55] More important than the game itself, NEXT is a symbol of agency and urgency. [6:50] You have to log into NEXT with your The Sandbox account. Some NFTs are interoperable. [11:50] Wildcard's 100% community WC token goes live on Arbitrum on 26th March. [15:33] The question is whether Wildcard can attract enough players to start the WC flywheel. [17:23] AlphaTON has acquired 60% of Animoca's GAMEE Telegram gaming platform. [24:07] Animoca has partnered with Ava Labs to push Avalanche in Asia and Middle East. [28:40] Jon's been messing around with Stripe's AI agent-centric Tempo blockchain. [32:50] He's also got Claude Code to automatically set his tactics in Soccerverse. [37:38] What happens to games when AI agents can play them better than humans?

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