When Blizzard retrospectively airdrops NFTs
Running down a dream
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One of the great things about a blockchain game is you can kickstart your player base in all manner of interesting ways, especially if you’re an existing game.
This is not a difficult thought experiment.
Blizzard airdrops NFTs to Battle.net account holders based on their lifetime gaming metrics including hours and dollars spent.
Diablo V and World of Warcraft Evolved marketplaces launch, breaking all internets and blockchains in a combined shriek of joy twisted with utter despair that is only heightened as many naysayers immediately retire as they sell off the wasted hours of their twenties and have more time to troll on Twitter (from their new holiday homes in Malibu).
Fans of Ultima Online and Meridan 59 demand equivalent rights and start lawsuits. Developers of Asheron's Call and Star Wars Galaxies start sorting through boxes in their garage for old server code.
A chain of events
Activision follows up with Call of Duty: Unchained and Rockstar with GTAverse. EA Sports FC announces it’s rewarding all activity in prior FIFA games with a special Head of Gianni Infantino meme NFT.
In desperation, Sony physically helidrops Lambos to top Gran Turismo players. Nintendo schedules a special Game Direct…
Maybe not exactly as described but I think this is coming because why wouldn’t it?
What we’re currently seeing in the market are the incredible efforts of startups trying to build new IP, because the start of a new cycle is always the best time to attempt to break new IP and they can’t afford to buy existing IP.
Similarly, sector incumbents are very nervous of annoying the existing communities of their successful titles by bringing blockchain to those experiences.
That’s created a big gap in the market. But once the first penguin makes the leap, the rest of the waddle will follow.
This Substack is sponsored by Hiro Capital: “We aim to be good people and we like to work with and invest in good people.”
Product news
Forthcoming PC shooter Shrapnel is one blockchain game I’ve got my eye on, and it’s now minting its first assets.
Although it will run on Avalanche, the mint is happening on Ethereum via OpenSea, with Aninki, the first of its five operator characters, having completed its 0.05 ETH whitelist mint, with the public mint (also 0.05 ETH) kicking off today.
Pre-reveal, NFTs minted via the whitelist are currently selling for about 0.1 ETH, although that will presumably drop towards 0.05 ETH as supply from the public mint kicks in.
For those wanting to know more about the project, I spoke to Shrapnel’s Don Norbury in March.
From Terra To Solana news
While the collapse of the Terra blockchain hit crypto prices generally, the impact on studios developing on the technology has been more existential. What to do next?
Well, Solana has an answer — hint Switch to Solana — and with the announcement of a new $100 million ecosystem fund, it has the money to incentivize that thought too. Significantly the fund is particularly focused on South Korea, which is where Terra is based and where it previously gained much of its developer traction.
Most notably Com2uS’ C2X gaming blockchain was originally built on Terra. It’s since announced it’s considering its options to either switch to another Layer 1 blockchain or establish its own mainnet and sidechains.
Cute Dinos Playing Basketball news
Even if the current trend for NFT PFPs is “No Discord, No Roadmap”, there are NFT collections putting in the hard graft to build functionality and hence community on top of their jpegs.
One such is Chibi Dinos, which is a collection of cute basketball-playing chibis mashed with dinosaurs that launched in August 2021.
Of course, it’s building out the Chibiverse, including various hoops games, but in the meantime it’s tapping into the NBA Finals’ energy with Primal Pick’em — a simple prediction game that allows players to earn the HOOP crypto prior to its public launch.
Chibi Dinos is also notable for its player partnerships, with the likes of Bobby Portis, PJ Washington, Terrance Mann, Andre Drummond and Ty Jerome involved in the project in various forms.
Wooden Space Rescuers news
I’m not sure who cares about Thunderbirds — the 1960s puppetry TV show. It’s a pretty cult thing in the UK, I guess. And they’re getting NFTs.
Working with Reality Gaming Group, ITV Studios is launching various assets ranging from characters to vehicles and locations. First up, there will be a generative PFP drop in August that will also integrate with The Sandbox via a free 3D voxel avatar, as well as allowing holders to claim a free vehicle NFT.
There will also be a staking option called Rescue Mission, so users can “rank up and earn unique prizes”, in which funds generated will be used to aid charities and good causes around the world.
Jon, how do we begin to advise Blizzard on their retro-NFT airdrop strategy? I'm there.