Tezos-Powered Shooter ’Reaper Actual’ From EverQuest Creator Hits Alpha Testing Milestone
Gaming meets blockchain as Tezos stakes its claim in the shooter genre.
The Evolution of Play-to-Earn
EverQuest co-creator's latest project, Reaper Actual, enters alpha playtesting phase—built entirely on Tezos blockchain infrastructure. This isn't just another crypto game; it's a full-scale shooter experience from industry veterans who helped define MMORPGs.Why Tezos Matters for Gaming
Tezos continues to attract serious gaming developers with its energy-efficient proof-of-stake consensus and upgradable smart contracts. While other chains promise gaming revolutions, Tezos quietly builds actual playable experiences—because nothing kills immersion like $500 gas fees for a virtual grenade.The development team brings decades of gaming expertise to blockchain, ensuring gameplay comes first before tokenomics. Because let's face it—Wall Street might love speculative assets, but gamers just want things that actually work.
Alpha testing represents the first real stress test for both gameplay mechanics and blockchain integration. If successful, Reaper Actual could demonstrate that serious gaming and serious crypto can coexist—without making players feel like they're beta testing someone's get-rich-quick scheme.
Attack or defend a warehouse base. Image: Reaper Actual.
Gamers will find themselves on the island of Marova, which is involved in a brutal civil war. Players controlling characters called “Reapers” will be given missions from one of the five at-war factions. Users will rig their bases with a series of traps to prevent enemy Reapers from stealing their loot. While gamers can only control one Reaper at a time, any Reapers not currently in use will guard their base.
As promised by Smedley in a previous interview with Decrypt, players can optionally choose to purchase these packages with web3 elements—with a supply limited to 10,000. By purchasing this version, players will be able to trade Reapers, bases, and cosmetics as NFTs through a marketplace based on Tezos layer-2 Etherlink.
“Being able to give players true digital ownership of in-game assets is really important to our team,” Smedley told Decrypt. “After all, players should have the freedom to do whatever they want with the things they own in our game, and that's what this technology enables."
Smedley believes the player base trading on the crypto marketplace will grow to 30% over the next two years.
“We aren't limiting the number of copies we're selling to create FOMO. We're actually doing it for a simple reason—we playtest this thing every day and now we need players to tell us if we're delivering on the fun,” Smedley, CEO of Distinct Possibility Studios, said on X. “ This is an actual working Alpha of our game. Many features aren't there yet but we're going to be updating frequently and spending a lot of time listening to our players,” he added.
I also want to set expectations. This is an actual working Alpha of our game. Many features aren't there yet but we're going to be updating frequently and spending a lot of time listening to our players. That's going to happen in our Discord server and in the forums there
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) September 30, 2025
The CEO encourages playtesters to livestream the game and share their thoughts on Discord, as the studio is actively looking to improve the alpha build.
This is a MOVE that leans into crypto gaming’s history of building in public, which became synonymous with the industry. However, the approach has resulted in several games failing in public as pressure mounts during the earliest phases of development.
Popular crypto shooter Off the Grid deviated from this standard last year by requiring early access players to sign non-disclosure agreements to keep the public’s first impression squeaky clean. And, in many ways, it worked with a massive October launch as traditional gaming livestreamers went viral playing the game.
Reaper Actual will not require an NDA, meaning first impressions of the game will quickly spread on Wednesday after it goes live at 9 AM PDT.
After the announcement of Reaper Actual, fans of Smedley’s previous work appeared frustrated that the game wasn’t a new PlanetSide title and angry with its use of crypto.
“Really disappointed with the Web3 integration, all of my excitement yesterday is gone,” one X user posted in July. “If the goal of the game is financial reward, then the focus is definitely not on what I want from a game,” another replied.
Really disappointed with the Web3 integration, all of my excitement yesterday is gone. Crypto is a giant red flag, this game is DOA. Back to Planetside 2 I go.
— Motleyorc (@motleyorc) July 3, 2025
Smedley defended his game and usage of crypto in a stream of social media posts, stating that the use of crypto is entirely optional and its primary goal is to be fun—not make money.
“I’m not a fan of ‘play-to-earn’ or mechanics like that. I also don’t like seeing tokens being viewed as a slot machine,” he said. “For us, it’s an ecosystem play. No different than [the] Steam Community market except that it’s way more transparent.”
With part of his community already apprehensive about Reaper Actual, all eyes are on its Foundation Alpha launch.
