It's tough to keep tabs on the ever-changing crypto gaming space, thanks to the constant flow of news: everything from big game launches and fun degen experiments to token price swings and occasional project collapses. It's a lot to follow.
Luckily, we're plugged in at Decrypt's GG. We cover the biggest happenings throughout the week, and then this weekly roundup provides a quick way to catch up, as well as find a bunch of other little bits of news from throughout the week.
Top stories
Reaper Actual revealed: Game industry veteran John Smedley has launched Distinct Possibility Studios with a new blockchain-integrated first-person shooter called Reaper Actual. The PC-based open-world multiplayer game features what Smedley said is the largest FPS map ever created—four times larger than Call of Duty: Warzone's Al Mazrah.
Set on the war-torn island of Marova, players become "Reapers" who upgrade and defend bases while navigating conflicts between five AI-controlled factions. The game combines elements from Call of Duty: DMZ, Escape from Tarkov, and Rainbow Six Siege, Smedley told Decrypt.
Game industry veteran John Smedley—who helped bring games like EverQuest, H1Z1, and Planetside to life as president of Sony Online Entertainment (later Daybreak Game Company)—is back with a new studio, Distinct Possibility Studios, and a blockchain-powered debut first-person shooter called Reaper Actual.
And while blockchain games have typically found a muted or hostile response from traditional gamers, Smedley believes his game could bring in “millions and millions” of players due to the shoote...
Following a $30.5 million funding round, the pre-alpha Foundation version is set to release soon, requiring players to purchase a limited-edition base—either as an NFT on Tezos layer-2 network Etherlink, or via supporting Web2 platforms. The full release arrives early next year with a similar access scheme, before going free-to-play approximately six months later. Items will be tradable on both Web3 and Web2 marketplaces.
"This is the type of game that can bring millions and millions of people in, if the history of the games I've worked on are any evidence,” said Smedley. “We're going to be able to sell Web2 players on this idea of Web3 done right.”
MapleStory moves ahead: MapleStory Universe is the crypto-powered evolution of the beloved 20-year-old MMORPG franchise. The ecosystem centers around MapleStory N, a PC-based game that recreates the original side-scrolling experience for its 260 million-strong player base, with in-game items as NFTs on the Avalanche-based Henesys L1 network.
MapleStory Universe is the new crypto-fueled ecosystem for the two-decade-old cult classic role-playing game series, MapleStory. After launching its flagship game last month, the developers are hoping to release more than a dozen mobile and web experiences by Q1 2026 that complement the core MapleStory N game.
MapleStory N is a PC-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that looks and feels like the original side-scrolling game that amassed 260 million players. In-game item...
Developer Nexpace plans to release over a dozen mobile and web experiences by Q1 2026 to complement the core game, Nexpace Head of Strategy Keith Kim told Decrypt. These lighter applications will allow players to grind, level up, and enhance items during commutes or breaks, addressing the reality that the original fanbase has grown up and has less time for intensive PC gaming.
The vision mirrors EA FC's Ultimate Team model, where mobile apps support console gameplay. A web app for item enhancement launches in late July/August, followed by a character rental system by Q1 2026. Kim said that third-party developers will help build some of these experiences using API keys, with the game eventually transitioning to a permissionless system with NXPC token rewards.
ICYMI
- Ubisoft added AI agents to its Arbitrum-based blockchain game Captain Laserhawk: The G.A.M.E., in a team-up with developer LibertAI. Tied to NFTs, the agents can vote on behalf of players in the game's governance matters.
Ubisoft is handing control to AI in its latest blockchain experiment, Captain Laserhawk: The G.A.M.E., launching a new text-based governance experience to the Ethereum-based game this week at ETHCC in Paris.
In the game, AI agents tied to NFT-based characters don’t just exist—they vote, govern, and evolve based on player choices.
Developed in partnership with French AI developer LibertAI, the latest Captain Laserhawk twist introduces AI-powered features to the existing NFT characters called Niji...
- Major esports team Ninjas in Pyjamas has established a Bitcoin mining unit, and expects to mine upwards of $6.5 million worth of BTC monthly based on its total hashrate.
- Bitcoin layer-2 network Botanix launched its mainnet last week, along with an educational game called Bitcoin 2100 that pays out real BTC rewards to players.
- Token Yugijo, a coin-flipping betting game, launched on Ethereum layer-2 network Optimism. Bella Protocol's game features an AI companion.
Which offers better odds: a coin flip or trading in the meme coin trenches?
That’s the question that crypto degens playing the recently launched Token Yugijo coin flip game are asking themselves. It is as simple as you think: wager USDC, pick heads or tails, flip the coin, and pray that you win.
Creator Bella Protocol—an AI-powered decentralized finance suite—claims that the game is transparently fair and verifiable on-chain due to its use of ARPA Network's Randcast.
That is a stark difference...
- Scor on Sweet, a Telegram gaming app, has launched Flappy Racquet—a Flappy Bird-inspired tennis game featuring real-world tennis stars like Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios. The SCOR token airdrop is on the horizon.
- Ronin game Realms of Alurya has shut down for good, just weeks after developers said they'd lost funding and were looking for ways to keep building.
- Meme coin project Floki launched its long-awaited Valhalla metaverse game last week.
- The upcoming Steam launch of Off the Grid will begin on the GUNZ testnet, offering a similar level of behind-the-scenes blockchain integration as the Xbox and PlayStation versions. Steam has limitations on crypto and NFTs, however, so Gunzilla says it will "work with Valve to meet platform guidelines."
- Endless Clouds launched its END token airdrop tied to Treeverse, with token claims opening up Friday.
- The Xai gaming network handed out about $1.25 million worth of XAI tokens to NFT holders.
- The Echelon Foundation burned 11 million PRIME (about $26 million worth) to try and "right-size the PRIME ecosystem" PRIME is the token behind card game Parallel.
Weekend reads
Bitcoin is hovering just below its all-time mark of nearly $112,000 set in May, maintaining recent momentum as analysts project another record surge in the near future.
If you’re keen on stacking satoshis however you can, then here’s one way that won’t cost you anything but time: You can earn Bitcoin by playing a bunch of free games. Decrypt’s GG has been covering the rising trend of free-to-play mobile games and apps that offer up small bounties of Bitcoin for playing levels and seeing ads all...
Mythical Games released its blockchain-powered mobile soccer game FIFA Rivals two weeks ago, and we’ve been testing it out to see if this iOS and Android game is worth your time.
Due to the sheer size of the soccer fanbase, Mythical Games told Decrypt that it believes the title could be 20 times larger than NFL Rivals, its most popular crypto game that launched two years ago.
In a nutshell, FIFA Rivals feels like an even more simplified, crypto-infused, and online-playable riff on Score! Hero, a...
It's July, and we're living in a post-Switch 2 and Death Stranding 2 world.
We're in the doldrums of summer for real now, and while the game release calendar is anything but empty, it's not quite so packed with high-profile releases as it is in other parts of the year.
This month brings us Nintendo's second big release for the Nintendo Switch 2 in Donkey Kong Bananza, fresh remakes of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4, as well as Super Mario Party Jamboree, and a bunch of smaller new games worth...
GG Newsletter
Get the latest web3 gaming news, hear directly from gaming studios and influencers covering the space, and receive power-ups from our partners.
