Is ‘Reaper Actual’ the Next Big Thing in Crypto Gaming?
Move over, Axie Infinity—there's a new blockchain shooter in town. 'Reaper Actual' is slicing through the noise with play-to-earn mechanics that could redefine crypto gaming. But will it dodge the bullet of overhyped vaporware?
Built on Unreal Engine 5 with NFT weapon skins, this FPS promises real yield for headshots. Early alpha testers report earning 0.2 ETH per week—though that's about enough for a Starbucks run after gas fees.
The dev team's betting big on Web3 adoption, but let's be real: most crypto games still play like 2007 Flash games with a Ponzi scheme attached. If Reaper Actual delivers on its whitepaper, it might just survive the coming metaverse winter.
Just remember: in crypto gaming, the house always wins—especially when the house takes a 15% royalty on every in-game transaction.
By the numbers
Distinct Possibility has raised $30.5 million in funding for its project in a round led by gaming-forward VC firm Bitkraft and Brevan Howard Digital.
The Tezos Foundation, Delphi Ventures, Shima Capital, Hashed and others also invested.
$30 million in funding is substantial — and pretty unheard of in crypto gaming these days. But is it enough to make an ambitious AAA-level live ops shooter game with MMORPG elements and market it to the masses, competing against titles with nine-figure budgets?
Based on a post from an engineer at third-party game development studio Iron Belly, plus Distinct Possibility’s website, it looks like Distinct Possibility is using multiple outsourcing firms to build the game, including Iron Belly (which Shrapnel also used), Big Moxi, and Secret Dimension, in addition to its own team of over 40 staff.
Big Moxi has 47 employees listed on Reaper Actual’s site, and Secret Dimension has half a dozen. That means at least 93 people are working on the game, if the website’s numbers are correct.
Loading Tweet..There are other ways to get more cash besides VC funding, though, as we’ve seen other crypto shooters do in the past to varying degrees of success. Deadrop sold NFT avatars and in-game item packs (before it shut down), and Shrapnel has sold tokens and NFTs as well.
That said, it’s debatable whether selling items to prospective players ahead of time is a good idea, as it increases expectations and speculation around an eventual launch.
Blockchain-optional
Reaper Actual is using the EVM L2 Etherlink (that uses Tezos rollup tech) for its blockchain elements. Gamers will be able to trade in-game items as well as custom items they create using the Etherlink rails.
The game is also using Sequence’s full stack, according to the crypto gaming infra firm. Sequence offers software and tools for devs, including integrated wallets, custom marketplaces and other features, with a focus on supporting EVM-compatible chains.
I wonder how the mainstream gamers will react when they realize there’s a blockchain version of the game.
“We look at it as an awesome game first full stop. Then we have enabled an amazing ecosystem that is entirely optional,” Smedley told me in response to my tweet about the game.
“In fact play on Steam or Epic and you never have to look at it. We think people will take notice in how we are doing it. Ethically and fairly,” he wrote.
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