‘The stigma of blockchain gaming is lifting’: Ubisoft-backed Guild of Guardians aims for mainstream success
Fantasy-action RPG Guild of Guardians already had a big representative in crypto gaming, but with the support of gaming industry giant Ubisoft now filled in the quiver, the game seems to have leveled up. Stockhead spoke with Game Director, Derek Lau…
Hi Derek. Ok, the old “elevator pitch” question… can you describe the Guild of Guardians (GoG for short) to me? Preferably before the elevator in an imaginary two-story building reaches the first floor?
No issues. Guild Of Guardians is a mobile, team-based, action role-playing game where players summon their team of Guardians, battle through dangerous dungeons and join a guild to defend the fantasy world of Elderym.
Ace. Sounds exactly like Power rings, but without the architectural-based subplots and other boring bits. The elevator seems stuck, so what else would you like to mention about it beforehand?
So far we have around 300,000 players on the waiting list, and the game is set to hit mobile in 2023. It’s completely free to play and is especially unique in terms of how social the game is, as well as the fact that it’s true digital ownership in the game.
Digital asset ownership is the way. I’ve seen footage of the game and it looks like a frenetic, action-packed dungeon crawler. Glove on steroids. What would you identify as its creative inspiration?
It was inspired by a mix of the best mobile gacha games, as well as Diablo and Dungeons & Dragons. Think something similar to Diablo, but with non-fungible tokens [NFTs] provides true ownership of in-game assets.
However, the Guild of Guardians is also working hard to bring its own style and identity to the table. While it will be familiar to fantasy RPG fans, it is also unique and will definitely create its own personality.
“The Stigma Around Blockchain Games Is Growing”
Tell us how the recent Ubisoft support (Assassin’s Creed; Far Cry) came about. What can you tell us about it? Are there any $$ numbers you can attribute to that?
There are no numbers I can share, but the support came as part of Ubisoft’s sixth season of its Entrepreneurs Lab program. Guild of Guardians was chosen as one of the new startups working with the company to create tomorrow’s entertainment and technology.
Ubisoft recognized the potential that GoG has to positively impact entertainment, develop social bonds and provide opportunities for players to learn and explore the Web3 in a sustainable and fair way.
Can you give us a sense of the scale of this support and its significance for the GoG project?
Yes, working with Ubisoft is a big boost for what we’re trying to do. While we are committed to success no matter what, there is no doubt that having the backing of such a big industry name will allow us to reach more people and show them what the Guild of Guardians is capable of.
We were also able to contribute to their program by sharing our own experiences and linking to other Ubisoft-supported projects. So for that purpose it is quite significant.
Do you see the transition between the mainstream/traditional gaming sector and crypto/NFT gaming starting to strengthen?
I think this is just the beginning of much more collaboration between the traditional gaming world and blockchain gaming. It’s been slow, and many gaming companies are wary of change, but the stigma surrounding blockchain gaming is lifting.
Traditional game publishers and developers are now considering ways to integrate web3 technology. The more we continue to show the world that GameFi doesn’t have to be derivative or exploitative, the more developers will start to get on board.
But… NFT gaming critics may in some cases be right to worry
The negativity shown towards NFTs and NFT economics by mainstream players is well known. Do you understand where it comes from? And do you think it will decrease with time?
There are countless reasons behind the stigma surrounding NFTs. First and foremost is the precedent of players being exploited by companies through things like loot boxes and pay-to-win games. They hear NFTs and think they are microtransactions 2.0. What’s worse is that in some cases they may have a right to worry.
In the wrong hands, NFTs can really become an extension of the worst elements that have emerged around gambling.
But it doesn’t have to be that way, and that’s a big part of what we want to show with Guild of Guardians. We create a game with a balanced in-game economy that allows users to build meaningful value without incentivizing just running the platform for profit.
If gamers and other developers can see a popular title implementing blockchain and NFTs in a way that actually improves the experience, they will almost certainly understand the benefits.
So getting the in-game economics right – is the most important thing you think blockchain games need to achieve to further the growth of this sub-sector of crypto?
Well, I actually think creators and players seeing a fun, working game on the market will be a big part of the general acceptance and subsequent growth of web3 games. But building better infrastructure for these titles will definitely be important as well.
Right now everything is kind of experimental, but not every company wants to reinvent the wheel. Promoting sustainable practices and creating infrastructure for future IPs will help the field grow. So far, we are one of the most anticipated and forward-thinking games, and we aim to continue to pave the way for others to follow.
What does a well-balanced in-game economy look like for GoG?
GoG builds a carefully weighted economy that blends the ability to increase real value with incentives to reinvest and continue to engage. We don’t want players to approach this as a job or a money-making scheme; we want them to come for entertainment.
We think decentralized assets can improve that, but they need to be implemented carefully. The Guild of Guardians will bring joy, entertainment and social value to players beyond just the economy, and that will lead to a sustainable economy.
Built on Aussie-founded technology – Immutable X
GoG is published by Immutable (an Australian company) and builds on the Immutable X platform – isn’t it? What benefits does that protocol bring to the game?
Yes that is correct. And building on Immutable X offers a wide range of benefits… It’s a layer 2 solution for Ethereum, so we still get the security of the underlying Ethereum network while getting a huge boost in throughput, clocking in of around 9,000 transactions per second.
There are also no network fees for minting or transferring NFTs, which is incredibly important to building functioning GameFi economies.
Best of all, however, the network is completely carbon neutral, which will contribute to the current image of NFT platforms being bad for the environment.
So will Ethereum’s Merge to Proof of Stake, no doubt. Can you summarize the main factors you think will make GoG a success?
So we have almost 300,000 players already registered, with over 600,000 members joining our wider social media community. We have a strong team and are well funded, with $24 million [USD] in sales and with Immutable recently completing a $200 million Series C.
We have full confidence in the game, as our early demos have shown promising metrics and feedback from our player community.
“The pie is big enough for everyone”
What will success look like for GoG? Mainstream adoption?
For us, success means building an incredible game that integrates millions of players into web3. So, yes, that means paving the way for mainstream adoption by the rest of the gaming industry, and ultimately expanding GoG into more than just a simple mobile game.
What’s coming up for GoG that you’ve pumped up? Any eSports tournaments on the horizon, for example?
We’ve got a couple of really exciting partnership announcements lined up, which we’ll be detailing soon. And of course we look forward to the game’s official launch. When that happens, there will be a series of tournaments, contests and other events to keep users engaged.
Where do you think GoG sits in the GameFi landscape? Is the competition for attention fierce? Any crossover possibilities with other games/metaverse projects?
While all entertainment products are technically competitors for users’ attention, we also know that Guild of Guardians will tap into an entire ecosystem of other games that players will explore in Web3. Ultimately, the pie is big enough for everyone, and we also compete with traditional mobile RPGs.
But yes, we feel working on other titles is a great way to gain exposure and help both ecosystems grow. Last year we partnered with The Sandbox to enable Guilds of Guardians heroes to become playable in the metaverse. We expect many more types of crossovers with other metaverse worlds in the future.
“GoG withstands the bear market”
Finally, where do you think crypto/web3 gaming is headed this year? Do you believe that the good projects can survive the bear market and come out stronger on the other side?
We see the bear market as a good time for projects to develop without the volatility or hype that rising asset prices tend to bring. Studios can work on having the infrastructure in place before the next big cycle.
Weaker projects, or those created solely to extract value, tend to get washed out, leaving more room for authentic projects to thrive.
Can GoG make it through some bear rescue relatively unscathed, even if a crypto winter sets in further?
We definitely see GoG as one of the projects that can withstand the bear market. We do not need the value of our possessions to be the measure of our success. As long as there are players looking for meaningful and robust experiences, we have no plans to go anywhere.
The views, information or opinions expressed in the interview in this article are solely those of the interviewee and do not represent the views of Stockhead.
Stockhead has not given, endorsed or otherwise assumed responsibility for any financial product advice contained in this article.
