Blockchain Gaming World

Pixels goes open source, MapleStory Universe talks Action Modules, and The Sandbox get 12,000 sign-ups for its AI tools.

• [00:36] The Sandbox is quickly adding AI game creation tools.
• [02:45] The Sandbox reaches 12,000 sign-ups for its Studio tool.
• [05:05] YGG launches its first $5,000 Vibecode.game jam with Animoca's Mind AI tools.
• [07:30] MapleStory Universe changes its builder strategy, adding Action Modules.
• [11:18] Pixels' open source vision.
• [12:42] It's initially open-sourcing its frontend.
• [14:07] Pixels plans to open source its server too.
• [15:00] There will also be an asset-weighted community voting system for governance.

In episode 212, Jon talks to YGG co-founder Gabby Dizon.

• [00:48] Casual degen web3 gaming platform YGG Play is shutting down.
• [02:17] LOL Land launched well but overall revenue peaked in October 2025 at $3 million.
• [03:40][ Why was the crypto liquidation event on 10th October 2025 significant?
• [05:00] Why releasing more titles typically doesn't add revenue for crypto games.
• [06:19] Why this was a decision based on the market, not on the product.
• [07:35] Gabby's lesson is you can't control where liquidity flows to.
• [09:59] LOL Land, Waifu Sweeper and the YGG Play platform will run until 31st July.
• [11:26] As part of this restructuring, YGG has confirmed around 35 redundancies.
• [13:08] YGG will now focus on providing gaming data to AI companies i.e. world model training data.
• [14:15] In some way, this is a return of play-to-earn, just not earning in crypto tokens.
• [16:04] This data is useful, particularly for robotics and in-game agents.
• [18:33] YGG has already been working on this AI P2E with its AI Alerts system.
• [19:26] YGG was set up to allow people anywhere in the world can earn from technology.
• [21:20] YGG isn't shutting down. The founding team remains and it has 4 years of runway.
• [22:53] This doesn't mean web3 gaming is dead. This is just YGG's particular decision.

MapleStory Universe's Vibe Camp hackathon has closed with over 430 entries.

• [00:22] MapleStory Universe's Vibe Camp and the rise of web3 game jams in the AI era.
• [02:10] Why Verse8's AI platform made this hackathon easier to enter - over 430 entries.
• [02:48] Playing the Vibe Camp games -- many seems high quality.
• [03:12] MapleStory’s curation dilemma -- openness vs controlling the IP.
• [04:47] Axie Infinity has run the third playtest for Atia’s Legacy this week.
• [05:50] Combat was 8x8 bouts, 5 weapons. There was also a paid AXS tournament.
• [06:49] Axie Terrariums got an update with more ways of boosting your yield.
• [09:17] Terrariums generated $95,753 during its first week.
• [12:46] Wemade's founder has sold his 39% stake for around $600 million.
• [14:25] Why are Chinese-linked investors buying into Wemade?
• [17:38] What does the sale mean for Wemade’s blockchain strategy?
• [18:51] Avalon says it will be using Sony's Soneium blockchain (an Ethereum L2).
• [22:00] The blockchain will be used for ownership and payments but no wallets or gas.
• [24:40] EVE Online and EVE Frontier's Carbon game framework is now fully open source.
• [26:50] This is a key part of Fenris' vision for EVE Frontier as an open ecosystem.
• [27:20] MapleStory Universe vs EVE Frontier: two different blockchain philosophies.

Jon Jordan talks to Nexpace COO Keith Kim about MapleStory N's first year, and how AI will power the MapleStory Universe ecosystem in 2026.

• [01:00] MapleStory N’s first year - $31M revenue, 3.8M accounts, 650K engaged wallets.
• [02:10] How the profile was different for MapleStory N to traditional MapleStory gamers.
• [02:57] What we have done well is being agile and altering our strategy, adjusting quickly.
• [03:25] The pace of updates for MapleStory N is 3-5x faster than for a web2 game.
• [04:20] The Winter update - new maps, new bosses - has driven really good numbers.
• [05:06] From Feb 2026, MapleStory N started recouping more token value than it emitted.
• [05:40] June could be MapleStory N’s highest revenue and biggest NXPC token deflation.
• [09:45] In web2, players play for fun. In web3, some players spend as much as $100k a day.
• [11:12] Players really try to make money during the first 3 months of any blockchain game.
• [13:36] Our goal is to work out how we can add blockchain to make MapleStory more fun.
• [14:40] It took 6 months to gain confidence in our direction from the reaction of real fans.
• [16:05] When Keith realized the eye-opening power of AI for games.
• [17:13] Nexpace has been encouraging the team to build their own games with AI.
• [18:55] We're trying to consider the scenarios of how AI changes the game industry.
• [19:17] Initially, we were worried that game IP becomes less important in the AI era.
• [21:18] You have to let your fans use AI to extend your IP.
• [21:58] We hope our MapleStory Universe builders make more money than we do.
• [26:05] Some IP holders want to tightly control their brand. We just want to limit AI slop.
• [28:20] We need to change our view of what is high-quality content. It's up to the users.
• [30:04] This is a very exciting time to be a builder, especially with MapleStory.
• [33:38] Professional developers can also build proper businesses on MapleStory IP.

Axie: Terrariums goes live, Fishing Frenzy and Pudgy Party close down.

• [00:42] Sky Mavis is rebooting its vision for Axie land NFTs with Terrariums.
• [01:25] It builds on the complex learnings of the original Axie land game Homeland.
• [02:14] Homeland was an attempt to combine land-based gameplay and NFT staking.
• [04:31] It was a surprisingly deep resource-management game but a bad staking system.
• [07:10] Sky Mavis removed staking in early 2024, and everyone stopped playing Homeland.
• [08:39] Terrariums is the v1 attempt to rebuild a land NFT staking system using the bAXS token.
• [10:33] Terrariums will also be the base layer for land gameplay, which will be added over time.
• [12:48] Ronin idle mobile/browser game Craft World has announced 60,000 MAUs.
• [16:00] Craft World is a full onchain game but very accessible.
• [19:53] You can market it to a web2 audience and there's no talk of wallets or gas or tokens.
• [23:37] In Craft World, you can't buy your way to top status. Time is a key resource too.
• [25:28] Fishing Frenzy is shutting down. In contrast to Craft World, it was a crypto-first cozy game.
• [28:05] You can sustain crypto-first games for as long as players think they will get free rewards.
• [30:22] Pudgy Party is shutting down as Pudgy Penguins focuses on Pudgy World web portal.
• [33:00] Pudgy Party was good but lacked the marketing support required for a social game.
• [34:35] Pudgy World is cheaper and easier to operate and market as a platform.

The Sandbox announces its AI creation and distribution platform The Sandbox Studio.

• [02:05] The Sandbox announces The Sandbox Studio, its AI-powered creator tools.
• [03:00] Roblox as the obvious benchmark for AI-powered UGC in games
• [04:20] Did The Sandbox waste time in H2 2025 on Corners, its memecoin experiment?
• [06:40] What The Sandbox Studio actually is, and why it is still only in alpha
• [07:25] Why Sandbox’s old creator tools were already good, but never solved distribution
• [08:35] Roblox vs Sandbox: the importance of instant publishing and social concurrency
• [10:10] AI harnesses vs AI models
• [11:47] Will such specialist frameworks matter once foundation models get much better?
• [13:10] The big strategic question: do creators need The Sandbox Studio if AI can make games directly?
• [14:00] Sandbox’s plan to help creators publish to web, Telegram, Steam and app stores
• [15:30] Roblox’s massive advantage: creators publish inside an existing audience
• [16:40] Why The Sandbox’s lack of player concurrency remains its core problem
• [18:10] The missed opportunity of The Sandbox land as a connected world/map
• [20:15] Jon's launched his own AI game - Soccerverse Showdown
• [21:10] How the World Cup leaderboard idea evolved from a Soccerverse internal concept
• [22:35] Comparing Soccerverse Showdown with a more traditional fantasy-football game
• [24:48] How player influence in Soccerverse generates World Cup points
• [25:59] Why ROI may be more interesting than total points on the leaderboard
• [27:15] Claude Fable “did two weeks of work in three hours”
• [28:45] The feeling of publishing a first game after 25 years covering games
• [30:00] Nexpace as a strong example of blockchain and AI execution
• [30:45] MapleStory Universe revenue, Avalanche chain and ecosystem strategy
• [31:20] Verse8, Vibe Camp and AI-generated MapleStory experiences
• [32:05] First AI-built MapleStory-based games are now live on Verse8

Nexpace announced a $60,000 Vibe Camp for MapleStory UGC using Verse8 AI tools.

• [00:32] MapleStory Universe, Verse8 and the $60,000 AI UGC VibeCamp
• [04:00] Why MapleStory Universe is one of web3 gaming’s serious IP plays
• [05:03] How Verse8 lets users vibe-code games
• [06:10] Why AI-generated games work better with existing emotional IP
• [07:40] Nexpace’s ambition for third-party creators to out-earn the core team
• [08:40] EVE Frontier did a similar hackathon in March
• [09:45] It's like there's a new UA funnel: attracting builders, not just players
• [11:45] Soccerverse and World Cup experiments
• [12:38] The Grand Tournament: community-built fantasy football on Soccerverse
• [14:59] Buying player influence to boost your fantasy team
• [16:15] Jon’s Soccerverse Summer Showdown concept
• [17:24] How World Cup scoring maps to Soccerverse player influence
• [19:35] Using ROI scoring to stop whales simply buying victory
• [22:48] Why AI coding changes what game communities can build
• [24:46] FIFA Rivals hits 2.5 million downloads
• [31:22] Saga exits blockchain and pivots fully into AI agents
• [32:05] Why Saga came too late to blockchain gaming
• [36:43] Pixels cuts headcount and refocuses
• [41:37] Why Luke Barwikowski’s stubbornness still matters

Can Aavegotchi DAO takeover the project, the State of Pixels, and the rise of open source in the agentic era.

• [00:35] Aavegotchi dev Pixelcraft is one of the OG web3 gaming studios.
• [05:16] It's looking to hand over control of Aavegotchi to the DAO.
• [06:28] DAOs haven't been successful for reasons like coordination and authority.
• [07:25] It's a nice vision, but the reality is Pixelcraft ran out of money.
• [08:01] By 1st September, the DAO has to have decided what's happening going forward.
• [09:16] Why “gamey games” are harder to hand over to communities or DAOs.
• [09:55] State of Pixels. It's sustainable but not growing.11:30 Pixels is now considering adding open-source elements.
• [12:05] AI significantly changes what community developers can build in blockchain games.
• [13:50] The emerging pattern is surviving web3 games are moving to APIs, MCPs and agent access.
• [15:15] Why blockchain and AI fit together culturally and technically.
• [19:05] Define “game games” versus “non-game games”.
• [20:49] Why blockchain games should focus less on moment-to-moment fun and more on meta.
• [23:30] EVE Frontier, MapleStory and Soccerverse as examples of meta-focused web3 games.
• [25:25] These games have emergent experiences. They don't require constant content updates.
• [28:30] Don’t put things onchain to create value. Put existing value onchain so it can be realized.
• [32:40] Community-built Soccerverse fantasy football as a sign of where this goes next.
• [35:05] The first 10 years of blockchain gaming were about discovering what didn’t work.
• [35:40] AI plus blockchain will enable things the traditional games industry won’t build.
• [37:06] Why agents will become native players for blockchain games.
• [38:20] The future split: Mario-like gameplay games versus agent-filled systemic web3 worlds.

The big beasts arise as we talk EVE Frontier, MapleStory Universe and how Wemade's approach bests Ubisoft.

• [00:34] Jon attended EVE Fanfest 2026 in Iceland. What are his takeaways?
• [02:40] Why EVE Fanfest works beyond being just an event for players.
• [05:05] EVE Frontier is EVE Online if made from scratch now.
• [06:46] In Cycle 6 (out 25th June), EVE Frontier finally becomes more of an actual survival game.
• [09:28] Modular shipbuilding replaces fixed ships.
• [10:40] EVE Frontier is a game that rewards players who improve their manual gameplay skills.
• [11:55] “This is a game that makes EVE Online feel cuddly.”
• [13:58] Does EVE Frontier need non-EVE players?
• [15:30] The fundamental approach is blockchain as a unified API.
• [16:38] Why some CCP/Fenris developers want to work on EVE Frontier, not EVE Online.
• [17:38] How EVE Frontier is using AI for coding and prototyping.
• [19:10] Nexon is talking about MapleStory Universe, MSU 2.0 and VIBE IP.
• [22:11] MapleStory Universe did $31 million in revenue in year 1.
• [23:22] The real KPI for MSU 2.0 is the revenue third-party devs make.
• [25:55] Average EVE Fanfest attendee had played 7,900 hours of EVE Online.
• [30:50] Legend of Ymir has released the ability to mint and trade character NFTs.
• [32:00] Legend of Ymir NFT character trading was $77,000 on day 1.
• [34:40] Ubisoft is shutting down Champions Tactics’ web3 features on 27th May.
• [36:00] Ubisoft’s blockchain problems are a minor part of much wider issues for the company.
• [39:00] Champions Tactics was beautifully made, but too narrow in its addressable audience.
• [42:29] Wemade is iteratively learning. Ubisoft is scattergun, lacking learning loops.
• [44:30] The post-crash shape of blockchain gaming is now becoming apparent.

Jon Jordan talks to Verse8 CEO Kevin Lee about the challenges and opportunities for the AI game-making platform.

• [01:09] Kevin Lee’s background at Planetarium doing web3 investing and private equity.
• [02:56] Verse8 started as a WebGL engine project inside Planetarium.
• [03:31] We first realized the potential of AI technology for game-making in 2024.
• [04:44] By 2025, it was clear that LLMs could generate very high-quality and complex.
• [06:15] Verse8 can do hypercasual games, add crypto and other monetization.
• [08:15] Verse8 has 200,000 DAUs and 3.5 million MAUs.
• [10:40] We didn't design this as a web3 project but there's potential for degen experiments.
• [12:52] Verse8 could be “YouTube for games” because everyone can now make games.
• [14:20] Verse8's $5 million seed round and why Korean strategic investors backed it.
• [15:28] Investors also have agreements for use of their legacy IPs within Verse8.
• [17:44] In particular, there will be an integration with MapleStory Universe.
• [18:54] There are some technical limitations. You can't make open-world MMORPGs.
• [20:44] Verse8’s moat is its high performance WebGL game engine.
• [22:50] Everyone ger $10 of free tokens but then users have to pay for additional usage.
• [26:10] We're competing with Roblox, Steam, Epic and even YouTube for screen time.
• [31:19] Over the next six months we need to prove creators can generate real revenue.