Next-Gen Game Developer Mythical Raises $75M for Playable NFTs

Mythical Games is opening its non-fungible token (NFT) platform to external game developers following a $75 million funding round.

The primary game in development, Blankos Block Party, includes animated NFT game characters as well as customizable aesthetics players earn through gameplay. Players in the beta version already hold more than 100,000 NFTs, and as the audience continues to grow, Mythical expects these rare assets will accrue value in the secondary markets.

A bevy of investors found that thesis worth backing. WestCap Group, primarily backed by former Airbnb and Blackstone executive Laurence Tosi, led the Series B round, with participation from Gary Vaynerchuk’s VaynerFund, Galaxy Digital, Javelin Venture Partners and others.

The eight-figure round suggests that investor interest in NFTs remains strong even as NFT markets have cooled since their March peak.

The broader goal of Mythical is to “bring blockchain gaming to the masses,” said Adam Bain of investor 01 Advisors. With the additional funding, Mythical aims to build a ”platform for game developers to create their own player-owned economies,” the firm said in a press statement.

Traditional game platforms discourage transferring or selling of items owned by players, spawning the use of black and gray markets where users become vulnerable to potential scams. Some games even punish players who participate in these trades by banning them from  the game site. NFTs represent a potentially new model.

Mythical said transactions occur on its own private blockchain. In June 2020, Rudy Koch, the firm’s co-founder, said it intended to run on the EOS mainnet. Whether that’s still the case is unclear.