The Web3 studio Immutable X just released its ’Gods Unchained’ non-fungible token trading card game on the Epic Games Store. On June 21st, the blockchain-based game became available to Epic Games’ 230 million gamers and digital card trading enthusiasts worldwide.
Gods Unchained is one of the longest-running NFT games on the market. It was first released in June 2019, and by January 2022, reported 80,000 weekly active players. The NFT card game is similar to ’Magic: The Gathering Arena’ or ’Hearthstone,’ but each trading card is an NFT on the Immutable X blockchain (a Layer-2 blockchain on Ethereum), that players can own and trade on-chain.
Executive producer of Gods Unchained, Daniel Paez, said the listing signified a key moment in Gods Unchained history. He added that his team was “extremely excited to present our game to a completely new and truly massive audience of traditional PC gamers and TCG enthusiasts.”
The Epic Games Store is one of the most popular digital game distribution platforms in the world. Unlike its rival Steam, which announced in 2021 that it wouldn’t allow Web3 games onto its platform and even delisted some games for offering perks to NFT holders, Epic Games has been bullish on Web3 all year.
Unsurprisingly, news of the listing increased Immutable X’s on-chain activity by 20% within the first 24 hours. The project’s native cryptocurrency GODS token is also up 32% over the past seven days (at the time of writing). However, despite the pump, GODS token still has a long way to go to recover its all-time-high.
The move to Epic Games comes after Gods Unchained published a roadmap last month detailing plans for a soft mobile launch on iOS and Android, new game modes, and rewards for players sharing highlights online. Now Gods Unchained will coexist alongside some of the most popular games in the world, like Epic’s own ’Fortnite,’ as well as other Web3 games like ’Grit’ and ’Blankos Block Party.’
Epic Games Is Having a Big Year in Web3
Fans of Gods Unchained have reason to celebrate, as this latest move could onboard thousands, if not millions, of gamers into Immutable X’s ecosystem. But the fact that another Web3 game has been listed on Epic Games is no surprise. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve covered several articles this year about Epic Games in Web3. Here are some of the biggest stories.
On June 16th, Nike teased NFT sneakers and wearables in Epic Games’ online game Fortnite. The launch began with a sneaker hunt called “Airphoria,” where players were rewarded in-game skins and digital assets from Nike. Some are speculating that Nike has even built or aims to build its own NFT-based game using Fortnite 2.0.
Next, nine months ago, Star Atlas, a blockchain-based sci-fi game from ATMTA, launched a demo on the Epic Games Stores for owners of Star Atlas NFTs. Holders were able to explore a virtual reality 3D environment where they could see the ships and vehicles they invested in up close.
Lastly, a few weeks earlier, Epic Games made headlines when it released its first blockchain-based game on its marketplace. Blankos Block Party, created by Mythical Games, is a free multiplayer game where toys come to life in the form of avatars and players can build worlds, create games, socialize, have adventures, and party.
Although some online gaming distributors (like Steam), have been reluctant to embrace blockchain-based technologies, Epic Games appears to be moving full steam ahead in Web3. At Rarity Sniper, we’ll be checking in on Gods Unchained from time to time to see how many new fans are enjoying the game.