Crypto Unicorns sunsets its core land game...

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Sep 05, 2024

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TLDR :

Last week Double Jump.Tokyo (DJT) announced a $10M Series D, led by SBI Investment and Sony Group Corporation
- The capital will be used to “further deploy and support blockchain games, blockchain infrastructure, and related services”
- Additionally, the funds will be used to promote development on the Soneium blockchain to expand their Web3 content
DJT has been a Web3 game developer and investor for the past few years:
- The company launched My Crypto Heroes in 2018, Brave Frontier Heroes in 2020, and My Crypto Saga in 2021.
  - A key focus for DJT will be the launch of the SEGA-based IP game Battle of Three Kingdoms this year
- Over the years DJT invested in various Web3 games and companies, including YGG Japan, Epic League, Thirdverse, and Carv
- Furthermore, they also have close ties to OASYS, as they develop infrastructure on the chain and often partner up
Overall, gauging the company’s past launches you can see the focus has been on GameFi. These types of games that lean heavier into the crypto side of things often appeal to the Japanese audience

On the 30th of August, Crypto Unicorns sunset their core land game, pivoting into a fully on chain experience
- This decision was publicized after Townhall #60, clarifying the project’s scope and efforts have grown beyond what’s feasible
- Besides scaling down the game, they will also significantly reduce its team size from 80 to 15 members
  - Only the “Skeleton Crew” will remain, consisting of the core blockchain team and a handful from the LiveOps team
The transition to becoming a FOCG will assist them in their goals to create a deflationary economy that preserves the value of the assets within their ecosystem
- In the article is mentioned the core land game is the largest source of new token emissions next to staking rewards. Additionally, this means that players can no longer breed new Unicorns anymore
I believe we can expect many more announcements of studios downscaling or completing sunsetting operations in the next few months
- Be careful when it comes to any of the “large” Web3 studios that promised a large vision and raised a lot of money in the 2021 bull

The Web3 gaming publisher and developer Faraway announces two new games are coming to its ecosystem: Rebel Skies and Robo Battle Royale
- Rebel Skies is a TCG x action RTS, similar to Clash Royale, but in a horizontal format
  - A few Web3 games have attempted this format e.g. AOFVerse, WAGMI Defense, WonderWars, etc.
  - It had me wondering, why game devs keep pursuing this genre. Is it the Web3 genre fit, the large addressable market, or (relative) ease of developing these games?
- Robo Battle Royale (RBB) is a mobile BR, that will be published by Faraway and is developed by the Korean Studio Bird Letter
  - RBB’s unique angle is deeper character customization and a robot-like theme
  - The game’s Web2 version was launched a couple of months ago and has 100K+ downloads, the Web3 version will come in Q1 ‘25
Faraway’s game ecosystem has made some strides this year. I think they might come out of one of the surprise winners, with games like Dookey Dash Unclogged, Serum City, and especially Shatterline