There has been a meteoric rise in the popularity of NFTs with creators scrambling to find novel use cases for the digital assets. Scarcity and hedonistic benefit are two of the fundamental core elements of game design that also align well with NFTs. Mythical Games is building a player-owned economic engine to seamlessly bring NFTs to games along with a marketplace where these assets can be transacted safely and securely. The company just launched early access for Blankos Block Party, its first title and an open-world multiplayer game, that allows users to earn, buy, and sell characters in its marketplace with plans to open up the marketplace technology to publishers, developers, and creators.
LA TechWatch caught up with COO Jeff Poffenbarger to learn more about building an ecosystem for blockchain-based gaming, the company’s strategic plans, and latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised to $110M, and much, much more.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We raised $75 for our Series B. Our round was led by WestCap Group, and included 01 Advisors, Gary Vaynerchuk’s VaynerFund, as well as existing investors Galaxy Digital, Javelin Venture Partners, Alumni Ventures, and Stuck Capital.
Tell us about your product or service.
At Mythical we’re focused on bringing the idea of a player-owned economy to life, and that starts with our Mythical Engine. This engine both provides publishers, developers, and creators the ability to tokenize digital assets (NFTs), but also the tools to create a marketplace where those NFTs can be bought and sold safely and securely.
What inspired the start of Mythical Games?
The idea and promise of a game economy where players, publishers, developers, brands, and creators can participate securely and safely.
How is it different?
Well, as it currently stands, there aren’t many ways to trade, buy or sell video game-related assets securely and safely.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
We’re currently focused on delivering our games and marketplace to consumers that play, or have an interest in, video games, so that market is quite large. We’re also uncovering new markets of collectors and speculators that may not play games, but are interested in the collectable assets.
What’s your business model?
Right now, we’re focused on a free-to-play game that offers players the ability to purchase in-game items. We have a marketplace where users can buy and sell those items, for fiat currency, to other users. We get a small percentage of those transactions.
How has COVID-19 impacted the business?
Of course. Our business is highly collaborative, and we’ve had to learn to work together remotely. We’ve also had to learn to hire remotely, as we have grown our company 2x since the pandemic.
What was the funding process like?
Lots and lots of meetings with investors to find out if our short and long-term vision resonates with them.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
Time is always a big challenge. Once you start the process of closing a round, and depending on the number of investors, you are constantly shifting and negotiating amounts, up until the last minute.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
We’re offering a service that currently doesn’t exist in the world of AAA video games.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We plan to fully launch our marketplace and announce a few new initiatives. Stay tuned!
What advice can you offer companies in Los Angeles that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Make sure you’re hiring for roles you need in the short-term and putting a pin in the roles you need to help with mid to longer-term goals. We’ve had a term here called “success-based hiring” and that is hiring based on how you define success – fundraising, product release, etc.
Make sure you’re hiring for roles you need in the short-term and putting a pin in the roles you need to help with mid to longer-term goals. We’ve had a term here called “success-based hiring” and that is hiring based on how you define success – fundraising, product release, etc.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
Since we’ve raised our Series B round, we plan to hire the right people that will help us deliver on our short and long-term visions.
What’s your favorite outdoor activity in LA?
Hiking! I am fortunate to live close to a gateway to a lot of trails in the Santa Monica Mountains.
