In 2018, as cryptocurrencies and blockchain expertise surged into the mainstream, a gaggle of seasoned recreation trade veterans noticed a possibility to rethink how gamers work together with their favorite pastime.
Legendary Video games emerged with a daring imaginative and prescient: to create high-quality video games the place gamers might personal their in-game belongings by way of blockchain. This meant gamers might accumulate, commerce, and promote digital gadgets—one thing beforehand troublesome to implement in a significant manner.
Based in Los Angeles by former Activision executives and different trade leaders, Legendary shortly positioned itself on the forefront of web3 gaming, capturing the eye of a rising viewers anticipating the following evolution of play.
Key Insights
- Based by ex-Activision leaders, Legendary Video games empowers gamers to really personal in-game belongings
- The corporate secured vital investments, shortly turning into a “unicorn” with a valuation over $1 billion
- The Legendary Platform abstracts blockchain complexity, letting gamers join with simply an e-mail
- Blankos Block Celebration grew to become the primary blockchain recreation on the Epic Video games Retailer
- Titles like NFL Rivals and FIFA Rivals present Legendary’s technique of mixing blockchain with international manufacturers
Supply: Blankos Block CelebrationTrade Veterans with a Daring Imaginative and prescient
Legendary was based by a powerhouse staff. CEO John Linden was beforehand a studio head at Activision and founding father of Seismic Video games. Chief Artistic Officer Jamie Jackson additionally held management roles at Activision, having labored on blockbuster titles like Name of Responsibility, Guitar Hero, and Skylanders.
They had been joined by Rudy Koch (Enterprise Improvement) and Chris Downs (Infrastructure), each of whom introduced deep AAA improvement expertise—essential in an trade the place blockchain video games had been nonetheless discovering their footing.
Over time, the management staff expanded to incorporate Arron Goolsbey (COO), Kasper Mai Jørgensen (CFO), and Jung Suh (CBO), serving to information the corporate by way of its subsequent part of progress.
Speedy-Fireplace Fundraising and Unicorn Standing
Legendary shortly gained investor curiosity:
- 2018: $16M seed spherical
- 2019: $19M in further funding
- 2021: $75M Sequence B
- 2021: $150M Sequence C led by Andreessen Horowitz, reaching a $1.25B valuation
- 2023: One other $37M raised through the crypto downturn, albeit at a barely decrease valuation
Their investor listing is a who’s-who of conventional tech, crypto, and sports activities—that includes names like D1 Capital, Binance, Jonathan Kraft, and Michael Jordan. Hitting unicorn standing in underneath three years signalled severe perception of their blockchain-enabled gaming mannequin.
Supply: Nitro Nation: World TourReinventing Sport Economics with the Legendary Platform
On the core of Legendary’s ecosystem is the Legendary Platform, which handles all blockchain operations behind the scenes—NFT creation, asset buying and selling, pockets administration—so builders can deal with gameplay.
The platform simplifies onboarding: gamers can begin taking part in with simply an e-mail, while all blockchain transactions occur within the background.
In 2022, Legendary launched the Mythos Basis to additional decentralise governance. The $MYTH token powers market transactions and offers holders voting rights in ecosystem selections.
Initially constructed on Ethereum-based tech, Legendary migrated to Polkadot in 2023—aiming for quicker, cheaper, and extra scalable operations throughout networks.
Breaking Floor in Web3 Gaming
Blankos Block Celebration
Supply: Legendary Video gamesBlankos Block Celebration marked Legendary’s first massive transfer. Launching in open beta in 2020, the sport let gamers accumulate, customise, and play as digital vinyl toy NFTs known as Blankos.
In 2022, it grew to become the primary blockchain recreation featured on the Epic Video games Retailer. Collaborations with Burberry and Deadmau5 boosted its visibility, turning sure Blankos into sought-after collectibles.
However sustaining long-term curiosity proved troublesome. By late 2023, Legendary shut down the PC model and shifted its focus to cellular—highlighting each the promise and pitfalls of early web3 gaming.
NFL Rivals
Supply: Legendary Video gamesLaunched in April 2023, NFL Rivals gave gamers the possibility to behave as Normal Managers, accumulating and managing NFL gamers as NFT playing cards.
The sport strengthened Legendary’s perception in seamless blockchain integration: customers might play with out understanding NFTs, however those that wished to interact with possession might achieve this. The consequence? Practically 1 million downloads in its first month and #1 rankings in sports activities and motion classes on the App Retailer.
By early 2024, the sport had 5M+ gamers and over 1M energetic wallets, sustained by common updates and seasonal drops—like Tremendous Bowl-themed playing cards.
Nitro Nation: World Tour
Supply: Legendary Video gamesIn partnership with Artistic Cellular, Legendary launched blockchain mechanics to the Nitro Nation racing sequence. Launched in 2023, the sport let gamers race and customise NFT-based vehicles.
With over 65 licensed automobiles from manufacturers like Aston Martin and Jaguar, the sport stood out by merging blockchain with a confirmed franchise.
It demonstrated how web3 parts might complement, not disrupt, established gameplay experiences.
Increasing the Ecosystem
Legendary continues to develop its portfolio with new video games and collaborations:
- Epic Spell Wars: Magic Struggle – A digital card battler based mostly on Cryptozoic’s cult sequence, with NFT mechanics baked into card possession.
- Pudgy Celebration – Set to launch in 2025, this social gathering recreation faucets into the huge recognition of the Pudgy Penguins NFT model.
- FIFA Rivals – Launched in early June 2025, the sport expands on the NFL Rivals mannequin to deliver blockchain gaming to soccer (soccer) followers globally.
These tasks underscore Legendary’s cross-sector technique: from conventional sports activities to NFT-native communities, they intention to bridge mainstream tradition with blockchain tech.
Supply: Legendary Video gamesChallenges and Rising Pains
Web3’s volatility has not spared Legendary.
In late 2022, co-founder Rudy Koch and two different execs left to kind Fenix Video games—prompting Legendary to file a lawsuit alleging they took proprietary plans. The dispute was settled by early 2024, nevertheless it highlighted inner friction throughout speedy scaling.
The broader crypto downturn additionally hit arduous with Legendary shedding round 15% of its workforce in 2023, shifting from an aggressive progress part to a extra sustainable trajectory.
The shutdown of Blankos’ PC model mirrored one other sobering reality: novelty alone isn’t sufficient to maintain gamers engaged. Legendary’s fast pivot to cellular reveals a willingness to adapt, but in addition the powerful actuality of sustaining web3 curiosity.
Supply: Legendary Video gamesCan Legendary Video games form the way forward for gaming?
Legendary Video games has made vital strides in pushing blockchain into mainstream gaming. With high-profile partnerships, main funding, and a rising recreation lineup, the corporate continues to champion digital possession in gaming.
However challenges stay. Web3 tech should turn into much more invisible to customers, gameplay must evolve previous the “NFT novelty” part, and regulatory uncertainty looms giant.
Nonetheless, Legendary has already moved the needle. They’ve introduced blockchain video games to platforms like Epic, labored with manufacturers just like the NFL and FIFA, and constructed a fully-fledged ecosystem that others now look to as a mannequin.
Nobody is aware of if web3 gaming will go totally mainstream—but when it does, Legendary will doubtless have performed a defining function.
