By
Andy Watson
April 26th, 2024
Blankos Block Party is a free-to-play multiplayer party game built around unique collectible digital vinyl toys called Blankos. These non-fungible tokens that can be purchased, upgraded, and sold within the game.
Fortnite creator Epic Games has listed its first NFT-powered Web3 title, Mythical Games’ Blankos Block Party on its store. The latest game became the first Web3 title published on the marketplace of Epic Games. Mythical Games’ title had previously been made available on its own websites after going into open beta in December 2020.
In June of this year, the company revealed that Blankos had collected more than one million users to date. According to a press release, Epic Games’ latest launch comes less than a year after Mythical Games raised $150 million in a Series C funding round at a $1.25 billion valuation.
Blankos Block Party is a free-to-play multiplayer party game built around unique collectible digital vinyl toys called Blankos. These non-fungible tokens that can be purchased, upgraded, and sold within the game.
The game was co-developed by Mythical Games and Third Kind Games. The company announced plans in June to release the free-to-play title to the Epic Games Store this year, although it was uncertain if it would be the first game of its kind to enter the market.
Grit, a Western-themed shooter by Gala Games, was supposed to be the first Web3 title for the system, but it hasn’t yet been made accessible. Blankos Block Party, which is inspired by designer/vinyl toy culture, enables users to interact and play in a vibrant online setting. In the game, NFTs are used to symbolize unique product like avatar styles and accessories that can be purchased and sold through the game’s marketplace.
Since its release, the game has enlisted a number of corporate and artist partners for limited-edition releases, including Deadmau5, Burberry, and Atari. Owning NFTs is however not required to play the game.
In comparison to its main rival, Valve’s Steam marketplace, Epic Games Store has adopted a different strategy for Web3 gaming, boasting more than 194 million total players by the end of 2021. In the fall of last year, Valve said that publishers could not upload games to Steam that in any way involved NFTs or cryptocurrencies. Tim Sweeney, the founder and CEO of Epic Games, responded by tweeting that while the company itself didn’t intend to use NFTs or Web3 technology, it would permit other creators to do so as long as they complied to legal requirements and market norms.