A Complete Guide to Mythical Games: The Web3 Game Pioneers

Key Insights

• Mythical Games is a Web3 gaming pioneer founded by industry veterans (ex-Activision leaders) with a vision to let players truly own in-game assets through blockchain.
• The company secured significant investments, quickly becoming a “unicorn” with a valuation over $1 billion – demonstrating strong market belief in their blockchain-based gaming model.
• Their Mythical Platform streamlines blockchain integration for developers, hiding the technical complexities so that players can join games with just an email address.
• Blankos Block Party made headlines by being the first blockchain game on the Epic Games Store, yet its pivot from PC to mobile highlighted the challenges of keeping Web3 gamers engaged.
• Partnerships with major sports leagues and franchises – such as the NFL (NFL Rivals) and FIFA (FIFA Rivals) – show Mythical’s strategy of fusing blockchain with widely recognized brands.

A New Era of Gaming Dawns

In 2018, whilst cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology continued steamrolling their way into the mainstream, certain video game industry veterans saw a rising chance to change how players could interact with their favorite pasttime.

Mythical Games stepped forward with a vision to create quality video games where players could actually own their in-game items through the integration of blockchain technology. This ownership meant players could collect, trade, and even sell their digital assets, which had previously been tricky to implement in any meaningful way.

Founded in Los Angeles by former Activision executives and gaming industry leaders, Mythical Games quickly rose up as a leader in Web3 gaming, creating games that resonated with a growing audience of players searching for the cutting-edge.

Industry Veterans Champion a Potent Vision

Mythical Games was created by a formidable team with an impressive wrap sheet from all across the gaming industry. CEO John Linden was a studio head at Activision before founding Seismic Games. Chief Creative Officer Jamie Jackson was also from Activision as another studio head, bringing his experience working on massive franchises like Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, and Skylanders.

Other early team members included Rudy Koch, who led business development, and Chris Downs, who oversaw infrastructure. Together, this founding team’s experience with AAA game development gave Mythical Games solid credibility in an industry where blockchain games were still trying to gain a foothold.

The company’s leadership has changed over time, with executives like Arron Goolsbey (Chief Operating Officer), Kasper Mai Jørgensen (Chief Financial Officer), and Jung Suh (Chief Business Officer) joining to help develop Mythical as it furthers its reach.

Funding Success from Major Investors

Mythical Games have captured investor attention with their bold vision and potent team:

• 2018: Secured $16 million in early funding.
• 2019: Raised an additional $19 million.
• 2021: Landed a $75 million Series B.
  • Shocked the market with a $150 million Series C led by Andreessen Horowitz, lifting Mythical’s valuation to $1.25 billion.
  • Attracted a broad mix of investors, from traditional tech firms like D1 Capital to crypto-focused groups like Binance, plus sports-world heavyweights including the NFL’s investment arm, Patriots owner Jonathan Kraft, and Michael Jordan.
  • Unicorn Status: Hitting a $1 billion valuation milestone in under three years highlighted market confidence in Mythical’s blockchain gaming approach.
• 2023: Despite a down crypto market, Mythical still managed to raise another $37 million, though at a slightly reduced valuation, proving they could continue to attract capital even while many others struggled.

A Fresh Take on Gaming Economics

At the core of Mythical’s approach lies their Platform – a tech ecosystem powering their entire game portfolio. This system handles all the behind-the-scenes blockchain complexity that makes digital ownership possible, freeing up game creators to focus on what they do best: crafting engaging experiences instead of wrestling with blockchain technicalities.

The Platform offers everything developers need: tools to create and manage NFTs, marketplace capabilities for trading digital assets, and streamlined wallet management for players.

In the pursuit of adoption, Mythical have taken sensible steps to make sure blockchain gaming is accessible to everyone. Players simply sign up with an email, while all the technical blockchain mechanics occur unseen in the background.

Mythical met another milestone in 2022 by launching the Mythos Foundation to guide the ecosystem with more community input. They introduced the MYTH token, which pulls double duty as both a practical utility token for marketplace transactions and a governance tool, letting holders vote on important ecosystem decisions.

Their blockchain architecture has evolved significantly over time, too. Though initially built on Ethereum-based technology, Mythical announced in 2023 that they were switching to Polkadot – a strategic move to speed up transactions, cut fees, and better connect with other blockchain networks.

Breaking Into New Gaming Territory

Blankos Block Party

Mythical’s first big splash was Blankos Block Party – a vibrant multiplayer game built around digital vinyl toys called Blankos. When it hit open beta in December 2020, players could collect, personalise, and play as unique Blanko characters, each existing as an actual NFT that could be bought, sold, or swapped with other players.

Blankos made waves in 2022 by becoming the first blockchain game to land on the Epic Games Store – a massive step for Web3 gaming. To generate buzz, they teamed up with some unexpected partners: fashion house Burberry created exclusive Blankos, and electronic artist Deadmau5 designed limited-edition characters that quickly became collector’s items.

However, despite the initial excitement, Blankos struggled to keep players coming back. By late 2023, Mythical pulled the plug on the PC version and announced they were shifting focus to mobile instead. This move showed both sides of the coin – the game concept clearly had potential, but sustaining interest in the still-evolving Web3 gaming landscape proved tougher than expected.

NFL Rivals

NFL Rivals hit the App Store and Google Play in April 2023, marking a major win for Mythical. Created through a partnership with the NFL and Players Association, this arcade-style football game puts players in the General Manager’s seat, where they collect digital player cards as NFTs to build the ultimate dream team.

The game strengthened Mythical’s philosophy on Web3 gaming – allowing users to jump in and play without requiring any knowledge of blockchain. For those on the NFT side, the ownership of digital items held even greater appeal, greatly expanding the potential audience.
This balanced approach clearly worked – NFL Rivals racked up nearly a million downloads in its first month alone and even grabbed the #1 spot on App Store charts for sports and action games.

By early 2024, Mythical was boasting some impressive stats: over 5 million players and more than 1 million active wallets plugged into the game’s economy. They’ve kept the momentum going with regular updates and seasonal content drops (Super Bowl player cards were a massive hit), showing serious support for their games over the long haul.

Nitro Nation: World Tour

Mythical didn’t stop at their own games – they teamed up with Creative Mobile to bring blockchain features into the already-popular Nitro Nation racing series. When Nitro Nation: World Tour dropped in mid-2023, it let petrolheads collect, soup up, and race virtual cars – with many existing as tradable NFTs.

What made this stand out was the impressive lineup of over 65 licensed cars from brands car enthusiasts actually care about – Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lotus, and more.

By working with an established franchise that already had tens of millions of downloads under its belt, Mythical showed how blockchain could be woven into existing games without scaring off long-time fans, a smart play that bridged the gap between traditional and Web3 gaming.

Expanding the Ecosystem

Mythical’s game lineup keeps expanding, with exciting new titles in the works. They’re developing Epic Spell Wars: Magic Fight, a digital card game based on Cryptozoic’s cult favorite franchise. Beyond being fun, this game aims to show off how NFT ownership can add tangible benefits to trading card games better rather than just being a gimmick.

Two upcoming games showcase Mythical’s knack for teaming up with familiar brands.

There’s Pudgy Party, which they’re creating with the intensely popular Pudgy Penguins NFT crew, set to drop sometime in 2025. Then there’s FIFA Rivals, which builds on their sports game success but takes it to global soccer, developed with FIFA and aiming to launch around Summer 2025.

These partnerships are great examples of Mythical’s broad approach – whether they’re working with traditional sports giants like the NFL and FIFA or trending NFT projects like Pudgy Penguins, they’re finding ways to connect mainstream entertainment with blockchain tech that actually makes sense.

Challenges and Controversies

The Web3 roller coaster hasn’t been kind to many startups, and Mythical Games got its share of bumps along the way.

In late 2022, they faced some serious internal drama when three executives – including co-founder Rudy Koch – jumped ship to launch Fenix Games, a direct competitor. Mythical didn’t take this lying down and slapped them with a lawsuit, claiming they’d walked off with business plans. Though they eventually buried the hatchet in early 2024, the debacle exposed some growing pains they were experiencing during their rapid expansion.

Like many in the space, Mythical felt the sting of the crypto winter that stretched from 2022 into 2023. They had to make the tough call to trim their team through several rounds of layoffs, cutting around 15% of their staff. These painful belt-tightening moves showed how they were shifting gears from “grow at all costs” to “let’s actually survive” as investor excitement for blockchain gaming cooled considerably.

Perhaps most telling was their decision to pull the plug on the PC version of Blankos Block Party just a year and a half after its splashy Epic Games Store launch. This wasn’t just a minor pivot – it highlighted the real struggle of keeping players engaged in Web3 games beyond the initial hype. Their quick switch to mobile showed they weren’t afraid to change course when Plan A wasn’t panning out.

Can Mythical Games Shape the Future of Gaming?

Mythical Games has carved out a spot at the forefront of bringing blockchain into everyday gaming. They’ve locked down some seriously impressive partnerships with the NFL and FIFA, secured major backing from top investors, and built up a diverse game lineup spanning multiple genres. Through it all, they’ve stayed laser-focused on their vision of letting players actually own pieces of their gaming worlds.

The jury’s still out on whether Mythical will ultimately transform how we play games. They’re juggling some tough challenges: making blockchain simple enough for casual gamers, keeping players engaged beyond the initial “cool factor,” and navigating the regulatory minefield that seems to change every few months.

One thing can’t be denied, though – Mythical has forged crucial steps for the gaming industry. They’ve convinced established platforms like the Epic Games Store to welcome blockchain games, partnered with major sports leagues that wouldn’t give most crypto projects the time of day, and built out a complete ecosystem for digital ownership.

Whatever happens next, Mythical has helped legitimize Web3 gaming and pushed it into conversations where it wasn’t welcome before. As gaming continues to evolve, Mythical’s influence on our relationship with digital content is only going to grow stronger.