Last week, we announced the launch of Polyient Games, the first investment firm and startup ecosystem wholly dedicated to non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

We followed this announcement with the news that Polyient recently made an investment in Blockade Games, the blockchain game development studio behind the highly anticipated upcoming RPG title Neon District.

I wanted to take a few minutes to share more on why Blockade Games is a great fit for Polyient Games.

Blockchain Gaming Thought Leaders

When studying the NFT and blockchain gaming landscape, the team behind Blockade Games immediately stands out.

Co-founded by CEO Marguerite deCourcelle, CTO Ben Heidorn, and Lead Artist Diego Rodriguez, Blockade Games has quickly cemented itself as a founding pillar of the young industry.

Chalkboard Neon District artwork created by Diego Rodriguez following a brainstorming session at the Polyient offices.

The combination of their technical and creative approach to development has taken the concept of “growth hacking” to the next level. Between their creative puzzles, unique NFTs, and focus on collaborations, Blockade Games has undoubtedly helped to establish the ethos of the industry moving forward.

Key team additions including Andrea McGinty as COO and Chris Chapman as Executive Producer has round out the executive team as it looks to execute on key business development and game-related milestones.

Blockchain Technology Positioned For Mass Adoption

While Blockade Games is perhaps most well known for its game development activities, the team has actively been creating a blockchain game developer platform. Currently in beta, this platform provides developers of all sizes with the tools necessary to seamlessly integrate blockchain elements into their games.

By providing the infrastructure between the blockchain and the game client, including NFT smart contracts, wallet and payment integrations, and transaction management, Blockade Games is positioning itself to function at the center of the next wave of blockchain game adoption.

Industry-Leading Game Portfolio

Blockade Games has been developing one of the most attractive game IP portfolios in the entire industry. Led by its headliner, Neon District, these games double as a testing ground for the technologies Blockade Games is producing. This feedback loop allows for quicker product iteration, a necessity to keep up with the pace of development found within this industry.

Neon District, which is set to release in summer 2020, has also helped pioneer some unique economic and user engagement models that we believe will be a cornerstone of the industry moving forward.

First, Neon District was one of the first major games to issue what are known as founder’s keys, which are NFTs that function essentially as lifetime membership rewards cards. These keys have enabled Neon District to have access to an early tester community and gamer-investor pool.

In fact, we are moving to build off this model with Polyient Games Founder’s Keys (PGFKs), a new collection of NFTs that will provide holders with varying levels of lifetime benefits across the entire Polyient Games Ecosystem. More information will be available to the public in the near future.

The second unique model that Blockade Games has helped push forward is the concept of “Celebrity Assets”, or high-valued NFTs that provide unique perks to holders and the community.

Back in mid-2019, Blockade Games sold a Neon District boss character (Baus) for $25,000 (141 ETH). This NFT was purchased by an indie game developer and there are now plans to uniquely monetize the Baus, opening the door to a whole new economic layer not available in traditional gaming.

When thinking about blockchain gaming interoperability, the best place to start is likely with these types of NFTs, especially given the current technical and design implications of cross-game items.

We know that Blockade Games has a lot planned for Neon District and the other titles within their growing portfolio.

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Our take on Blockade Games is perhaps best summarized by Polyient CEO, Brad Robertson:

“As we looked over the evolving blockchain-gaming landscape, Blockade Games stood out in terms of its leadership, technology, and momentum. Blockade shares Polyient’s commitment to blockchain innovation and they are already carving out a significant slice of the growing blockchain gaming ecosystem. We’re excited to support that growth.”

For you gamers out there, Neon District can be added to your wishlist on Steam.

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We’re excited to engage with the community and continue to share what we’ve been working on — follow us on Twitter to keep up to date on all the latest news and sign-up for alerts directly on our website.