Non-fungible token (NFT) games startup Mythical Games completed a Series B round of funding led by growth equity firm WestCap. Other participants included Gary Vaynerchuk’s VaynerFund and Galaxy Digital, amongst others. The funding totaled $75 million, bringing the aggregate amount of money raised by the gaming company to $120 million.
In traditional video games, players pay real money for in-game items that don’t have a use outside of the game, and that can’t be easily transferred or sold to other players. Billions of dollars have been spent on in-game assets (more than $50 billion/year) across the video game industry that are useless if players lose interest in the game or don’t need the digital item to play anymore.
Mythical Games is addressing this issue by turning the digital items into NFTs in their games. This way, the items can be sold to other players, with prices adjusted for the scarcity of the item.
The company has already launched its first game, Blankos Block Party, which currently has more than 100,000 NFTs. It will use part of the funding to expand the game’s reach through various gaming platforms.
Mythical Games also supports Mythical Economic Engine and Mythical Marketplace, which are platforms where consumers can develop and commercialize their own NFTs for in-game use.
The Economic Engine and Marketplace give a new space for content creators in the industry to develop and promote their art in a very competitive market. These platforms, alongside the play-to-earn model of the game, can enhance the interest and involvement of secondary stakeholders with Mythical’s games.
The private blockchain used to support Blankos Block Party and the company’s two platforms uses a Proof of Authority model that is more sustainable than the more common Proof of Work model used for mining NFTs. In addition, neither the game nor the marketplace require any cryptocurrency ownership for participation.
“Mythical Games has proven itself a leader in bringing the concept of player-owned economies and play-to-earn ecosystems to the gaming industry,” said Adam Bain, co-founder of 01 Advisors, one of the investors. “Mythical is well-positioned to bring blockchain gaming to the masses through developers and publishers, and we’re excited to be on board as they continue to evolve the global games market.”
Mythical Games was one of Forbes Disruptive Technology Companies to Watch in 2019 and a Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas in 2021. The team behind the company has experience with major gaming franchises such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.
Meanwhile, Animoca Brands subsidiary nWay is also developing a play-to-earn video game where the “earnings” are NFTs of the Olympics. Animoca, which recently raised $88 million at a $1 billion valuation, has partnered with Hedera Hashgraph to develop two gaming projects on its public distributed ledger.
