"Headwinds" make another crypto gaming studio shut down its doors...
GC ALPHA 78
MARKET TALK
TRUMP BILLIONAIRE CLUB GAME
Remember how Trump said he was planning to build a crypto game back in April this year? Well…that idea is becoming a reality, with the “Trump Billionaires Club Game” (TBC)
In GC News 115, we covered the news when it first came out, so we already have some background information on the game and the team developing it
The game is quite similar to Monopoly GO! (as was mentioned back then). TBC is a roll-the-dice game on mobile and web, “where every move is a chance to Build your Empire. Buy and Grow Businesses, Collect Big Profits, and try your Skill in the Stock Market”
As part of their upcoming launch, players can pre-register to not only get notified when the game releases, but also compete on a leaderboard for $1M in prizes (in $TRUMP coin and other rewards)
Players generate points by holding $TRUMP in their Open Loot account and by referring friends. Furthermore, completing certain tasks adds to your balance as well
TBC announced an official partnership with Open Loot. I assume mainly to make use of its marketplace and players (and liquidity)
Other rewards that players compete for include Mystery Box Prizes, which include in-game currencies and materials. Plus, NFT Statue Rewards, which are placeable in-game and only have cosmetic value
At the bottom of the game’s website, it says: “Trump Billionaires Club is not designed, manufactured, distributed, or sold by Donald J Trump”. Freedom45Games LLC uses the name, image, and likeness under a licensing deal
Last time, we found out Bill Zanker is behind the initiative. He was part of the team behind the FIGHT and TRUMP memecoin and the Trump-based card NFT collection
It’s funny to see how major meme tokens (e.g., SHIBA, PEPE, DOGE, etc.) and NFT collections have tried to “legitimize” themselves by building something in the gaming space. Add some type of utility and hope that it affects the price
Based on the official announcement of the game, we saw the price go up by ~10%, but it quickly retraced
The game is scheduled to launch at the end of this month (the 30th). Personally, I don’t see TBC having a positive impact on the broader crypto gaming space because I don’t expect it to do very well, based on how this team operates. But we’ll see…
CHRONOFORGE IS SHUTTING DOWN
In other news, ChronoForge (CF) announced it’s shutting down its services by December 30th. Like the 50 or so other studios that closed their doors this year, CF ran out of money: “Unfortunately we have been unable to find sufficient funding or an acquirer to continue on”
The team mentioned how personal finances from the founders had to support the studio since July, and the team had to be reduced by 80% since then
Additionally, it was added how they continued to improve the game (without a marketing budget), didn’t generate enough revenue to sustain themselves, lost codevelopers, and faced the “terrible” web3 gaming sentiment
Through the years, CF raised through a couple of NFT mints and a strategic (token) round in March 2024. Many of its collections promised access to the token (despite never releasing one)
In total, CF has released 6+ NFT collections (there’s a bunch of limited and variable ones). Here are a couple examples:
The first mint happened in January 2022, when the project was still called PxQuest. There were 5000 pieces in this collection, minting for 0.125 ETH, equal to ~$2M raised with the price of ETH back then
In December 2023, they released a Support Airship NFT collection, during which they raised an estimated ~$600K
More recently, in March 2025, CF released a 5000-supply Totem NFT collection at 0.039 ETH each, but only 3630 were minted (~$300K raised)
During the 2024 round, the team raised $3M, and had figures like Alex Becker, Faze Banks, Ellio Trades, Ivan in Tech, and other crypto celebrities on its cap table. This was when “private” rounds were very popular (and many got burned)
I’d estimate they raised a total of $7 - $8M through the NFT sales and round
While a tiny percentage of lean teams might be able to develop a (successful) MMORPG for this budget, Minted Loot Studios couldn’t (like many others). The budget didn’t match the scope or vision of the game
I wouldn’t say the game had lots of potential, but it was simply incomplete. Almost all of the other crypto gaming studios that shut down saw the same fate: an incomplete game (that doesn’t generate revenue) and not being able to raise again to finish the product
CF reached Early Access, but was still very incomplete
On this topic, some studios have managed to effectively monetize their games through early builds (without overpromising) and slowly build out their game this way. You could say this is the “crypto-indie studio model”
For context, the game was being developed by a team of around 50 in collaboration with codevelopers from Tantalus Media and Ammobox Studios
Overall, it felt like another punch in the gut to crypto gaming. However, was it a surprise? Not really. Just another reminder that the few teams in the industry left, with a big vision, and no means of extending their runway (through revenue, venture capital, or a token/NFT), will crack sooner or later
ON THE RISE
Disclaimer: None of this information should be taken as financial advice. My writings only represent my personal opinions. DYOR + I will hold some of the assets mentioned in this newsletter.