This Week in Crypto Games: 'Notcoin' Token Launch Date, 'Fantasy Top' Takes Over, and Rugging for Fun

The crypto and NFT gaming space is busier than ever lately, what with prominent games starting to release, token airdrops piling up, and a seemingly constant array of other things happening at all times. It’s a lot to take in!

Luckily, Decrypt’s GG is all over it. And if you need a quick way to get caught up on the latest moves around crypto video games, we’re happy to present This Week in Crypto Games.

Our weekend roundup serves up the biggest news from the past week, along with a few other tidbits you might have missed. We also showcase a few of our original stories from the week.

Biggest news

Notcoin launch confirmed: After missing a couple previous estimates, Notcoin has finally announced that the NOT token launch has a confirmed date. Notcoin’s NOT token, which will be minted on The Open Network (TON), will be listed on May 16. Binance and OKX are both running staking reward campaigns beginning on May 13.

Viral Telegram-based game Notcoin paused its gameplay in April ahead of its imminent token launch, but it didn’t come as quickly as expected. Originally planned for April 20 alongside the Bitcoin halving, the devs pushed the launch date back to ensure a smooth launch.

‘Notcoin’ Token Launch Date Confirmed With Binance, OKX Rewards as NOT Airdrop Nears

Viral Telegram-based game Notcoin paused its gameplay in April ahead of its imminent token launch, but it didn’t come as quickly as expected. Multiple launch estimates came and went, but now it appears that the NOT token really is just days away. Notcoin’s NOT token, which will be minted on The Open Network (TON), will be listed on May 16, the project announced overnight. At least three crypto exchanges—Binance, OKX, and Bybit—have lined up to support the rollout. OKX will hold a “Jumpstart” cam...

Fantasy Top dropped: A new crypto social media game has entered the lobby. Fantasy Top takes the core principles of fantasy football and swaps in 120 crypto influencers, traders, and content creators. And it’s dominating the crypto conversation right now.

Influencers who are turned into NFT cards, called heroes, are rewarded with a percentage of their cards’ trading volume, as well as part of the total pack sale revenue. A cool $1.25 million worth of ETH was distributed to Twitter influencers last week. 

 NFT Revolution

Why Ethereum Game ‘Fantasy Top’ Is Taking Over Crypto Twitter

What’s Crypto Twitter buzzing about now? A game built around Crypto Twitter, believe it or not—one offering sizable rewards and incentives for players. Fantasy Top is captivating the crypto faithful by transforming the industry’s biggest and buzziest social media personalities into Ethereum NFT trading cards on scaling network Blast. Players can crush rivals by creating card lineups that have the best real-world Twitter engagement during each competition, and earn crypto and in-game prizes in re...

Getting rugged is fun?: A new game launched last week turns minting Ethereum meme coins into a competitive game. Rug.fun is a two-phased 24-hour game that sees investors attempt to create and buy into the highest and lowest liquidity meme coins. Anywhere in-between when the timer hits zero? Then you’re getting rugged.

By the creators of Mint.fun, an NFT discovery site that was just acquired by Zora, the Context team airdropped the first token made using the protocol to victims of previous rug pulls. 

Rug.fun Turns Minting Ethereum Meme Coins Into a Competitive Game

Fancy creating your own meme coins and getting rugged? This might be the game for you. Rug.fun is a two-phased 24 hour game which sees investors attempt to create and buy into the highest and lowest liquidity meme coins. Anywhere in between when the timer hits zero? Then you’re getting rugged. This is as degenerate as it sounds. In the first 12-hour phase of the game, players are able to create or buy as many coins as they’d like. But only the top 10 coins will move into the second page, with al...

ICYMI

• Solana game MixMob: Racer 1 is set to launch on iOS and Android May 14.
• Charles Hoskinson claims that classic shooter Doom will run on Cardano layer-2 network, Hydra.
• Solana Overwatch-esque shooter Nyan Heroes pre-alpha V2 went live on Epic Games.
• The DAO behind popular NFT project Nouns has unanimously approved its esports arm to host three Super Smash Bros. Melee events later this year, providing about $146,000 worth of funding to bring them to life.

• Avalanche game first-person shooter Shrapnel now lets players buy tokens with credit/debit cards.
• Portal Fantasy, an online RPG available on Steam, has announced a play-to-airdrop campaign. 
• Another hero shooter The Machines Arena has been opening ranked lobbies on the weekends.
• Loaded Lions: Mane City, a city-builder game on the Cronos blockchain, launched its Season 2 gameplay after awarding more than $400,000 worth of CRO rewards and NFTs.

GG spotlight

Here are a few of our original stories from this past week that we think are well worth a weekend read:

 NFT Revolution

What Is Fantasy Top? The Ethereum Game on Blast Turning Crypto Twitter Into a Fantasy Sport

We’ve seen mash-ups of fantasy sports and NFT trading cards, but what about something with more crypto-native subject matter? Enter Fantasy Top. Built on Ethereum layer-2 network Blast, Fantasy Top takes the premise of fantasy football and other fantasy sports games, but swaps out pro athletes for crypto influencers. It’s like Crypto Twitter: The Game, and it’s more than just a surface-level riff on the social media sphere. Fantasy Top has gotten off to an electric start, dominating industry cha...

Game On: The Hottest Upcoming Gaming Token Airdrops on Ethereum, TON, Base and Beyond

Airdrop season is in full swing, with apps, protocols, and other projects seizing upon bear market vibes and regulatory shifts to finally drop their tokens—and potentially reward millions of crypto users in the process. What exactly is an airdrop, though? When it comes to crypto tokens, an airdrop is typically a way for a project to reward its early users and contributors by giving them a share of a newly launched token, all while spreading the tokens far and wide for decentralized governance. W...

Biggest Video Games Releasing in May 2024

With so many games coming out across so many platforms, it can be tough to sort through them all. This month's gaming menu offers up something for just about everyone: demanding strategy, intense action, horror, and family-friendly games appear on PC, consoles, and handheld systems. If you want something that will last you hundreds of hours or just an afternoon, then this list has those, too. This list even includes three games that fans have been waiting on for well over a decade. Here's what y...

Edited by Andrew Hayward