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Wildcard has simply migrated its Wildpass NFTs to Ethereum mainnet and is planning to launch a token.
Wildcard is an upcoming, crypto-optional PVP battle sport I’ve been following for years. You play as a personality who can run round a 3D battlefield and throw playing cards that flip into highly effective creatures that autobattle one another. Folks that spectate Wildcard matches can be rewarded for watching and have interaction with the sport.
Wildcard is being developed by Playful Studios, whose CEO and co-founder, Paul Bettner, labored on video games like Phrases With Associates, Age of Empires, and Fortunate’s Story.
Why is Wildcard nonetheless not out but after greater than two years? Constructing a enjoyable sport is tough, however in Bettner’s view, constructing a great sport with crypto ties-ins makes it even tougher.
“I personally suppose it’s as a result of it’s like constructing video games whereas wandering by way of a minefield,” he tells me with a chuckle. “I’ve received two years of doing this beneath my belt and I’ve misplaced rely of the variety of instances the place unaligned incentives have tried to hijack the sport design and the main focus [away from] simply making an attempt to create a very enjoyable sport for a mass viewers, due to crypto.”
Merely put, Bettner needs to make a sport that you just’ll select over the rest in your Steam library as a result of it’s extra enjoyable.
“Crypto has this gravity to it, it has this set of forces which can be continuously making an attempt to tug the design of a client utility, or a client product, particularly like a sport, in sure instructions,” Bettner added.
Supply: Wildpass ground costs in Polygon
Wildcard initially launched the Wildpass NFTs on Polygon again in 2023 — which gave as much as 4,444 followers early entry to the sport’s growth. Bettner calls these holders, and the sport’s Discord server’s members, the “golden cohort.” They’re the core neighborhood he needs to make proud of the sport.
Wildcard founders Bettner and his spouse Katy Bettner beforehand attended the Sport Developer’s Convention prior to now as a part of the Polygon sales space, representing a part of the chain’s gaming ecosystem (which then additionally included the now-cancelled shooter Deadrop, which launched Founders Passes on Polygon).
Now, the Wildpass NFTs are leaving Polygon. The workforce migrated them to the Ethereum mainnet on Monday and coated the price of fuel for the transfer for holders.
Bettner tells me they’re not committing to anyone EVM chain shifting ahead, however they see the Ethereum mainnet as a great place for the genesis NFTs due to the chain’s liquidity. The mainnet has greater transaction charges than Polygon, although.
“The Wildpass just isn’t supposed to be an asset that persons are buying and selling each 5 seconds,” Bettner explains. For future Wildcard NFTs or rewards meant to be traded incessantly, it’s probably the workforce will choose one other EVM chain with decrease charges.
Wildpass stats from Magic Eden on Monday earlier than the transfer to ETH mainnet
Their WC token, which hasn’t been launched but, is in contrast to something we’ve seen lately as a result of this token shall be 100% community-owned, with zero workforce allocation or VC involvement. And it’s not a memecoin, both.
“I’m hoping we will set a brand new normal right here,” Bettner shares. The token received’t have workforce or VC allocations as a result of he doesn’t need the Wildcard neighborhood to really feel pitted towards the workforce or buyers financially if buyers instantly determine to money out and ship the token nosediving.
The latest favorable regulatory local weather with Trump’s election and the shakeup on the SEC has additionally made the workforce extra snug launching a token.
