Immutable’s Gods Unchained, a blockchain card game built on Ethereum, is making a blitz toward the mainstream. To do that, they’ve hired a former Magic: The Gathering Arena executive and enabled in-game debit card purchases.
The blockchain game’s backers announced on August 8th that Chris Clay, previously the game director of MTG Arena, was transitioning to that same role at Gods Unchained.
A designer and game developer by trade, Clay helped Arena — the digital adaption of the popular MTG card game — garner millions of players and approximately $225 million USD in revenues during his time there.
Now, Clay will aid in steering Gods Unchained — presently the 30th most popular game in the cryptoeconomy across all blockchain platforms according to DappRadar — grow its community toward new heights with better features and designs.
There’s plenty of room to bloom, too, as Immutable just launched the eSport’s beta in July. On the announcement, Clay hailed the interesting possibilities of blockchain tech, saying it marked a “new frontier” for the gaming industry:
“Digital asset ownership on the blockchain lets developers support games and their communities in ways we’ve never seen before in electronic gaming. A blockchain card doesn’t just sit in a database, it has the ability to travel the world and know where it’s been. Esports pros, streamers, and artists alike can digitally sign and sell digital items to fans. Blockchain isn’t just for digital currency; it is laying the foundation for a whole new digital economy.”
Not Crypto Savvy? Jump In With Debit Card Purchases
Gods Unchained has proven to be quickly popular in the Ethereum community. To grow the game beyond that passionate but fledgling niche, its creators at Immutable — formerly Fuel Games — have now pivoted to also allow debit card buys of in-game assets.
Specifically, users will be able to use their debit cards to buy digital booster packs. That had previously only been possible through ether (ETH). Naturally, that shift should automatically make the game considerably more approachable to everyday players.
As Gods Unchained co-founder Robbie Ferguson explained on the news, the idea is to make it so anyone can play a blockchain game without first having to be a blockchain expert:
“To date, blockchain games have provided a niche group of individuals a fun and experimental game ecosystem of NFTs. But now is the time for mainstream adoption. We need these games to show value, and we don’t want ‘blockchain’ to sit as just another buzzword. Gods Unchained will become a game that any person can play, regardless of their blockchain familiarity. And the fun of the game will not be predicated on the underlying tech.”
A Few Recent Tweaks “Under the Hood”
On August 7th, the Gods Unchained team announced the game’s v0.16 update.
“While there hasn’t been a huge number of changes this time around, the dev team has been working under the hood to improve the overall game experience,” the team explained on Wednesday.
For one, management consultant and Ethereum community stakeholder Aftab Hossain applauded the fresh update and added his projection that the eSport would be the “first blockchain-based game to start to break through to mainstream audiences.”
.@GodsUnchained looks more gorgeous with every version. Now in open beta, launching into full release in a matter of months.
This will be the first blockchain-based game to start to break through to mainstream audiences. https://t.co/hTcEQ8oe9C
— DCinvestor (@iamDCinvestor) August 7, 2019
Of course, it remains to be seen if that forecast will ultimately bear out. Yet there’s no question that bringing in key talent like former MTG Arena game director Chris Clay and enabling debit card purchases are definite steps in the direction of the mainstream.
Making the game prettier and funner all the while doesn’t hurt either, right.
