Gods Unchained is an online strategy trading card game based on the play-to-earn model. Its trading cards are NFTs with real-world value based on their native GODS token.
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Gods Unchained is one of the gaming industry’s new forays into blockchain and cryptocurrency. It is a free-to-play online trading card game that is similar to Magic: The Gathering Arena. The Gods Unchained video game describes itself as the trading card game that “pays to play.” It is shaking up the normal model of gaming commerce where players purchase the game along with in-game items that they will never be able to sell back.
Players will be able to earn the native GODS token that acts as a payment method throughout the game. Rare cards have unique real-world value as they can be sold for GODS, which can be transferred to fiat money. This model gives players more incentive to play as they have complete ownership over the valuable assets they accumulate over time.
The game was first announced in 2018 when it made its first mythic card sale. Since then, they have sold millions of cards, raised $15 million in Series A funding and launched their first season of the game. The game is exploding in popularity, along with other NFT and crypto-based games that attract those who want to earn while having fun.
Who’s the Team Behind Gods Unchained?
Gods Unchained was founded by brothers James and Robbie Ferguson. After getting involved with Ethereum in 2015, the brothers went on to build the world’s first multiplayer blockchain-based game, the first blockchain trading card game and the first ZK Rollup for NFTs on Ethereum – Immutable X. Immutable X powers the Gods Unchained game, and has investors like Galaxy Digital and Coinbase. The development team building the game consists of former employees of Riot Games and Google.
James previously led a software development team at a billion dollar eCommerce company. He holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) from the University of Sydney. Through the online MIT curriculum, he taught himself coding and moved to Silicon Valley in 2014. Together with his brother Robbie, they have previously built multiple businesses, including an ecommerce platform that utilised machine learning, and a cryptocurrency arbitrage trading and lending fund.
Robbie previously built an automated capital gains tax platform at KPMG which was licensed to Australia’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. He became obsessed with Ethereum in 2015, and dropped out of a Computer Science/Law degree at the University of Sydney to found Immutable X. He was awarded the Thiel Fellowship in 2020.
The incredibly experienced Chris Clay, formerly of Magic: The Gathering Arena, took the position of game director. His love of gaming and creation led him to join Turbine Inc. in 2000, where he spent 15 years at Turbine working on massive multiplayer online games (MMOs) such as Asheron’s Call 1 & 2, Lord of the Rings Online and MOBA Infinite Crisis. Before joining the Immutable team as the Game Director for Gods Unchained, Chris spent the previous three years at Wizards of the Coast, working on Magic the Gathering: Arena – first as a Principal Designer and then as Game Director. Chris is passionate about building brand new economies which empower gamers and communities via NFTs.
How Does Gods Unchained Work?
Gods Unchained works much like other online strategy games, with their own version of currency like “gold” or “credits.” However, these currencies take players’ fiat money and convert it for a more pleasing in-game environment. The Gods Unchained in-game currency is its own actual money. Players may buy and sell their cards through the game’s marketplace to build a deck that will win more matches – gaining more cards as they win.
The game has been rising in popularity rapidly, with more players and more sales every month. They have done an excellent job of promoting the game and community with ranked events and tournaments. They are also looking to release a mobile version of the game that will allow them to reach more players worldwide.
What Makes Gods Unchained Unique?
Gods Unchained is one of the largest crypto and blockchain projects with this type of game. There are a large number of crypto-based mobile games, but bringing blockchain to an online strategy game could be a literal game-changer. Players have traditionally bought items from a game store that they don’t really own. Those games will license skins, weapons, armor and other items to you, but you usually will not be able to sell these items.
Gods Unchained mints items as NFTs on a layer 2 Ethereum network. By owning one of these cards, players own a valuable digital asset. Cards can be sold for the in-game GODS currency, which can be transferred to fiat money. The Gods Unchained project may solve a big problem in gaming; it can be quite expensive to gamers, with billions spent every year on in-game purchases. Gods Unchained gives players an opportunity to earn money and trading cards just by playing.
We may soon see a massive shift in business models across industries like gaming and music (with primarily digital assets) to NFT and blockchain-based operations and gameplay. Crypto also gives projects and gaming companies like Gods Unchained a unique way to profit as their native cryptocurrency rises in value.
The GODS Token
The GODS token is an ERC-20 token that players can use to buy and sell in the marketplace, create NFTs and gain rewards. There is a maximum supply of 500 million GODS tokens distributed across the game, player wallets, developers and public sales.
Players can store their GODS tokens in a web 3.0 wallet like MetaMask, along with their NFT cards. GODS also acts as a governance token on the platform. Players will be able to vote on issues that will affect the future of the game, making it a truly community-driven project.
As of July 2021, GODS token has not been released. The Gods Unchained team kindly warned those interested not to buy anything marketed as the GODS token until they make the official release announcement and list the token for sale. The team plans to airdrop 7% of the total supply to reward early players and supporters, before releasing it for public sale.
The Future of Gods Unchained
Gods Unchained is a hugely popular game with a following since 2018. It is redefining the industry with a new play-to-earn model, giving gamers the chance to earn money in a virtual economy. Games like League of Legends or World of Warcraft attract millions of players and command huge sums of money. Gods Unchained aims to change the status quo and ensure the play-to-earn model is viable in the long run. If giant gaming studios like Riot and Blizzard begin to implement in-game cryptocurrencies, this could further launch crypto and blockchain as a whole into mainstream adoption.
Gods Unchained will release the GODS token soon and it will be interesting to see how crypto and NFT marketplaces could work in future games. The game will be on many players’ radars, thanks to increasing popularity and heavily-watched tournaments.
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