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Gods Unchained Goes Mobile: Play-to-Earn NFT Game Launches on Google Play and Apple App Store

Gods Unchained Goes Mobile: Play-to-Earn NFT Game Launches on Google Play and Apple App StoreOn Thursday, the creators of the Immutable X-powered non-fungible token (NFT) game Gods Unchained announced that the game is now accessible on mobile devices. The Gods Unchained application has made its debut on both the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store across the globe. God’s Unchained Launches Mobile Application The popular play-to-earn strategy card […]

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Web3 game Gods Unchained releases ‘Sealed Mode’ to mimic paper card games

Immutable’s Gods Unchained game launched a new tournament mode that allows players to build a deck with random cards.

Web3 game Gods Unchained released a new gameplay format that allows players to compete with semi-random cards they receive at the start of a tournament. Called “Sealed Mode,” the format is intended to reward highly skilled players, even if they don’t have a large or expensive card collection. The new format was announced via a blog post on Sept. 13.

“Sealed deck” tournaments are common in paper collectible trading card games such as Magic: The Gathering, but are relatively rare in digital trading card games.

According to the post, players can participate in sealed mode if they pay an entry fee of 15 Gods Unchained ($GODS) tokens, worth approximately $2.65 at the time of publication. Once they pay this fee, they receive a random selection of three gods they can choose to build a deck around. In addition, they receive 60 random cards drawn from multiple Gods Unchained card sets, including Etherbots, Mortal Judgement, Winter Wanderlands, and others.

Although the pool of cards is semi-random, it also contains a minimum number of cards of specific types to ensure that a viable deck can be built with it. For example, each pool has at least 12 cards that cost 3 mana or less.

Related: What is Gods Unchained, and how to play it

Out of each player’s pool of 60 cards, they must build a minimum 30-card deck, the post stated. The players must build their decks entirely out of the cards provided and cannot use cards from their own personal collection.

After building a deck, players compete until they either lose three matches or win seven. The players with better records at the end of the tournament receive more rewards than the players who have worse records. Some cosmetic rewards are only available in sealed mode and can only be obtained by players who win four matches or more.

'Sealed mode' in Gods Unchained is meant to be similar to 'sealed deck' or 'draft' tournaments for face-to-face card games like Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokemon, and Magic: The Gathering. Players of these games often use sealed formats to collect cards. However, because most digital card games do not allow players to 'own' their cards in any meaningful sense, sealed tournaments were virtually unknown in the digital card game world. In Gods Unchained, each card is represented by a nonfungible token stored on the Immutable X network, a layer-2 of Ethereum.

Gods Unchained was one of the first Web3 video games released by Immutable. In May, Immutable stated it was developing a wallet application called “Passport” that would allow gamers to log in without needing to copy down seed words. On Aug. 15, Immutable released its zkEVM testnet, which it claimed will help scale Ethereum for video game players.

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Immutable zkEVM begins testnet phase with 12 Web3 games in development

The Web3 gaming company announced that its fully Ethereum-compatible network is now available for public testing.

Web3 gaming platform Immutable has commenced public testing of its Immutable zkEVM in collaboration with Polygon Labs.

Work on the zero-knowledge Ethereum virtual machine (zkEVM) network began in March after Immutable announced a partnership with Polygon Labs. Polygon's own 'holy grail' Ethereum-scaling zkEVM hit mainnet on March 27. 

In an Aug. 14 announcement, Immutable said its zkEVM will give game developers access to lower development costs, and the security and network effects that come with the Ethereum ecosystem.  In March, Immutable co-founder and president Robbie Ferguson said the zkEVM is aimed at increasing ownership rights for Web3 gamers. 

Immutable zkEVM developer documents. Source: Immutable.

Over 20 gaming companies have partnered with Immutable to support the launch, including GameStop, TokenTrove marketplace, Web-based game distributor Kongregate, game designer iLogos, and others, according to Immutable.

At least 12 games have already started building their Web3 titles on zkEVM, it added. These include CoinArcade, Galaxy Commanders, Medieval Empires, MetalCore, Meta Toy, DragonZ SAGA, Rune Realms, Shardbound, Infinite Victory, EF Defense, and SimWin Football. MetalCore in particular has announced a beta launch date of September 15 on Immutable zkEVM.

Immutable zkEVM testnet will use zero-knowledge proofs to secure transfers between itself and Sepolia Ethereum, allowing developers to test out how the mainnet version will work once it launches.

The network is fully compatible with Ethereum applications, meaning that developers can port Ethereum projects over to it with minimal changes, Immutable stated. The team will also be deploying an “Immutable Relayer for currency abstraction and gas sponsorship” soon, which will allow developers to create gas-less wallet accounts.

Immutable chief technology officer and co-founder Alex Connolly expressed his view that the new network will be “irresistible” to developers, stating:

“This chain, combined with our suite of platform products, is the first end-to-end EVM solution dedicated exclusively to making games successful. We’re already seeing a massive influx from games, players and partners that will make the Immutable ecosystem irresistible for the next generation of web3 games."

Immutable is the developer of the Gods Unchained Web3 trading card game, which was originally launched on Ethereum. In April 2021, the company launched its first zero-knowledge-based layer 2 network Immutable X in an attempt to lower transaction fees for players of its games.

Related: Immutable’s Gods Unchained launches on Epic Games Store

However, that network is not fully compatible with the Ethereum virtual machine (EVM), the computation engine that Ethereum uses. For this reason, users of Immutable X must create derivative keys through a web interface in order to use the network. By contrast, users should now be able to simply switch networks within their wallets to access Immutable zkEVM.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has recently weighed in on the benefits and disadvantages of zkEVMs, saying that they may cause data inefficiency and latency issues but may also greatly improve the scalability of Ethereum.

‘BITSANITY’ — Records broken with $70B in volume for Bitcoin stocks, ETFs

Immutable’s Gods Unchained launches on Epic Games Store

The trading card game, which features NFT cards, will now be available to Epic Games’ 230 million customers.

Immutable Games’ Web3 trading card game Gods Unchained is now listed on the Epic Games Store and is available to its 230 million customers, according to a June 21 announcement.

Gods Unchained is a collectible trading card game similar to Hearthstone or Magic: The Gathering Arena but with cards players can own and trade. Each card is represented by a nonfungible token (NFT) on the Ethereum layer-2 network Immutable X. The game was released in June 2019 and grew its player base over the next two years to reach 80,000 weekly active players in January 2022.

The Epic Games Store is a digital game distribution platform similar to Steam or GOG.com. Over 230 million PC gamers use Epic Games to find new games to play, according to the developer’s “2022 Year in Review” post from March.

Epic Games Store homepage. Source: Epic Games

Daniel Paez, executive producer of Gods Unchained, sees the Epic Games listing as a pivotal moment in the game’s history. “It is hard to overestimate the significance of Gods Unchained’s launch on Epic Games Store, one of the largest PC gaming platforms in the world,” he stated. “We are extremely excited to present our game to a completely new and truly massive audience of traditional PC gamers and TCG enthusiasts.”

Related: What are Web3 games, and how do they work?

The listing comes at a time when Web3 publishers continue to counter hostile actions from Steam, the world’s largest PC game distributor. In October 2021, Steam announced that Web3 games were not welcome on its platform while also delisting Age of Rust due to the perks the game offered to holders of its NFTs.

In March, former MetaMask team members released a rival distribution platform called Hyperplay to combat Steam’s action. Hyperplay provides access to the Epic Games and GOG.com stores from within its interface and offers its own list of Web3 titles. On June 8, the Hyperplay team raised $12 million to further the platform’s development and expand its reach.

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What is Gods Unchained, and how to play it

Gods Unchained is a blockchain-based card game where players have true ownership of their assets. This guide has all you need to know.

The game-changing possibilities that blockchain spurs through immutability, tokenization and decentralization are immense. The technology has significantly expanded the scope of traditional trading and collectible card games by democratizing the ideals of ownership, scarcity, interoperability, transparency and play-to-earn (P2E)

The excitement factor of trading card games (TCG) — previously confined to school lunch tables and enthusiast get-togethers — has now truly gone global, thanks to blockchain gaming.

Gods Unchained embodies the future of trading card gameplay. It taps into the rich world of marvelous mythical gods and their strengths and weaknesses, represented by over 1,500 unique cards.

What is Gods Unchained?

Gods Unchained is a digital trading card game with fast-paced gameplay and strategic deck building. To succeed in the game, players must align themselves with one of six gods, build decks of 30 cards, and use strategic gameplay to outsmart, subdue or decimate their opponents.

Each game involves tactical decision-making, resource management and card-based combat, with the ultimate goal of reducing the power of the opponent’s guard to zero.

The power behind Gods Unchained

If you are wondering who is behind Gods Unchained, it’s none other than Immutable, an Australian-based game development studio.

The studio is also working on several projects in the gaming and blockchain space, including a nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace, a metaverse gaming offering and a decentralized gaming platform. Gods Unchained offers a diverse collection of cards, a constantly evolving meta, and frequent updates and events, making it an exciting game for players.

The story

Gods Unchained is a blockchain-based trading card game that takes players on a journey through the rich fantasy world of Eucos. Valiant mortals wield powerful magic to overcome epic battles while navigating the conflicting whims of the six domain gods. The gods have been defeated and imprisoned by the titans, who have corrupted the world and enslaved humanity. But a few humans have become god-like, using their powers to fight the titans and liberate humanity.

Players collect and trade digital cards featuring the champions, spells, artifacts, and creatures of Eucos. Through intricate artwork and stats, each card reveals a diverse story from both grand and intimate perspectives. Expansion sets like “Light’s Verdict,” and side stories like “Winter Wanderlands,” constantly add fresh stories, content and characters.

Gods Unchained offers engaging gameplay, and as the stories of Eucos continue to unfold, players can look forward to many more exciting adventures in this vibrant and ever-evolving world.

Gameplay overview: How to play Gods Unchained

Players are matched against each other in a test of skill and strategy. They take turns playing cards, making moves and using their gods’ powers to gain the upper hand. The goal is to reduce the opponent’s health to zero and emerge victorious. The game is fast-paced and action-packed, with plenty of twists and turns to keep players on their toes.

Choosing gods and their powers

Gameplay begins with the players aligning one of the six gods or goddesses of light, death, nature, deception, war and magic. Each god has a unique set of cards, strengths and weaknesses, and choosing the right one can give the players a strategic advantage in the game.

When starting the game, the players must also choose one of three unique god powers that provide special abilities and advantages throughout the game. These god powers can turn the tide of a game, create a powerful advantage or launch a surprise attack on opponents. They are designed to be potent but not game-breaking, so players can still enjoy a fair and balanced gameplay experience.

Creating card decks

Next, the players strategically create their decks of cards. A maximum of 30 cards are allowed, each with unique abilities, stats and artwork. Players can use various combinations of cards to build a powerful deck to defeat opponents.

A deck full of devastating spells can be the key to success. Some prefer a brute-force approach with a deck full of powerful creatures. With so many card options, the possibilities are endless.

Playing the game

The game begins with players entering the mulligan phase, where they can reshuffle cards in their deck that may not be useful in the early stages. It’s wise to shuffle away cards that require more mana (but more on mana later).

Players then use their cards to attack the opponent’s cards or their gods. Each card has an attack and health value, and is removed from play when its health is zero.

Players can also use their god power to gain an advantage over their opponents. Each god power provides a unique ability that can be used once per turn if the player has enough mana to activate it.

As the players rank up, they’re rewarded with resources like flux, favors, starts, the native GODS tokens, card packs and more.

Understanding mana

Mana is a key resource in Gods Unchained. Each card in a deck has a mana cost, and the player must have enough on their mana wheel to play it.

The mana system is a critical gameplay component that requires players to manage their resources to play their cards and gain the upper hand.

Game modes in Gods Unchained

Gods Unchained gameplay offers a variety of game modes for players to enjoy. Each delivers a unique experience, challenging players to build their decks and master the game’s mechanics.

Ranked matches

This is the primary game mode, where players compete against others of a similar rank. Each win earns the player experience points, stars and ranking points, which help them progress up the ranked ladder.

Players can climb up to the following ranks: Rusted Bronze, Purified Bronze, Rusted Iron, Purified Iron, Impact Meteorite, Astral Meteorite, Twilight Shadow, Midnight Shadow, Auric Gold, Solar Gold, Ethereal Diamond and Mythic.

Daily play and earn

This is the primary way players earn in-game currency. Players get new decks to play with each day and earn GODS for completing daily objectives and winning matches.

The Weekend Ranked Event takes place every weekend and rewards players with valuable card packs from the game’s latest expansion sets.

Tutorial missions

New players go through tutorial missions that guide them through the game’s mechanics and reward them with card packs after completion. They are highly recommended for new players to become familiar with the game and build their card collection.

Solo mode

Gods Unchained also features a solo mode where players can practice battling against an AI opponent, testing new decks and strategies without worrying about their ranking or rewards.

Direct challenge

Players can challenge their friends to a game of Gods Unchained by generating a unique code for them to join.

The heart and soul: The cards and deck

Each deck consists of 30 cards that players assemble before the battle. Decks represent their playstyle, and a carefully constructed one is the key to victory. The cards depict specific attack and health values, and the amount of mana required to play.

Gods Unchained cards are categorized based on their domain (i.e., which gods or goddesses the cards align to). Cards not belonging to a particular domain are considered neutral and can be used in any deck.

The game is played with three card categories:

  • Creature cards: These attack the opponent’s choice of god or creatures. Players can have up to six creature cards on the board at once.
  • Spell cards: These cast spells determined by their text. Once used, they are sent to the void.
  • Relic cards: These give players supporting options or allow their god to attack directly. Only one relic card can be active at once, and casting one will replace the previous one.

Creating a winning deck can be challenging for beginners, so the game offers six options for starter decks.

Gods Unchained also features card sets, which are collections of cards grouped by event or theme (free-to-play, promotional, expansion and one-of-a-kind). As with most digital trading card games, regular rollouts of new sets are always expected.

Based on in-game card quality, Gods Unchained cards can also be classified into plain and shiny:

  • Plain cards: Non-NFT cards with gray borders; earned by playing the game. They are not tradable on any marketplaces. However, two or more of the same plain card can be transformed into an NFT shiny card by forging (i.e., fusing) them using GODS and flux.
  • Shiny cards: The Gods Unchained NFT cards. Variants include meteorite, shadow, gold and diamond.

Specific Gods Unchained cards pertain to card tribes that mark the faction they belong to and feature unique in-game abilities. For example, Anubian cards can draw discarded creature cards back from the void. Gods Unchained tribes include Aether, Amazon, Anubian, Atlantean, Dragon, Guild, Mystic, Nether, Olympian, Structure, Viking and Wild.

Finally, based on rarity, cards in Gods Unchained can be identified as:

  • Common (gray gem)
  • Rare (blue gem)
  • Epic (purple gem)
  • Legendary (yellow gem)
  • Mythic (red gem)

With so many card permutations and combinations, gameplay possibilities are virtually limitless.

GODS: The blockchain token for the Gods Unchained ecosystem

The Gods Unchained native utility token, GODS, issued by Gods Unchained, is central to the game experience — holding relevance in almost every aspect of the Gods Unchained ecosystem — and enriches its engagement loop.

With a fixed supply of 500 million, players can get GODS rewards in various ways. In daily play and earn, players receive fragments based on their rank and win rate, which are converted to GODS tokens at the end of the event.

The conversion rate depends on the number of active players, rank and daily prize pool. Through the “Offering of the GODS” manual staking, GODS tokenholders can also get additional GODS rewards for actively contributing to the ecosystem through playing, trading, purchasing and forging during every reward period.

Beyond gameplay and staking, the GODS token is also designed to reward players for their contributions to growing the game, and building a thriving ecosystem through community events, surprise rewards, content creation, referrals and more, with 61.5% of GODS supply allocated toward ecosystem development.

The beauty of favor and sanctum

Based on the idea of pleasing the gods, Gods Unchained enables players to build a resource called favor. This can be used to buy powerful cards across the realms from the sanctum, where gods watch the battles.

Favors are essentially rewards for moves that appeal to the gods. Favor resets at the start of each new game. This adds another layer of strategy and minimizes predictability, ultimately making gameplay all the more exciting.

Unlocking NFT possibilities with flux

Akin to favors, Gods Unchained features flux, which are resources that cannot be bought or sold. They can be earned only through wins. The amount of flux earned is determined based on the player’s rank and games played in The Gauntlet of the Gods challenge.

Flux and GODS can be used to forge two or more copies of a core card to create an NFT card that can be sold across NFT marketplaces. Essentially, players can create real-world digital assets. In parallel, it qualifies as a P2E NFT card game.

Stars and the star store: Yet another rewards avenue

Stars are another off-chain resource tied to player accounts. When players win a ranked game, they are awarded a “Star Vial” containing a random number of stars.

Players can receive six Star Vials:

  • Nebula Vial: 40 to 60 stars
  • Giant Vial: 100 to 200 stars
  • Supergiant Vial: 200 to 300 stars
  • Supernova Vial: 400 to 600 stars
  • Galactic Vial: 1,000 to 1,200 stars
  • Universal Vial: 2,000 to 2,500 stars

Once a vial is opened, the player may also be upgraded to the next level. Players can exchange stars for cards via the star store’s rotating list of options, ranging from commons to legendaries. NFT cards are not available in this store. With such rewards, this blockchain-based game is beyond any typical online collectible card game.

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Blockchain gamers surge as users attempt ‘stacking crypto:’ DappRadar

Despite the FUD, blockchain games surged in active users in September, while God’s Unchained cracked the top 10 in terms of total NFT sales volume of all projects.

User activity on blockchain gaming decentralized applications (DApps) surged in September, with a host of games posting significant increases in the number of active users.

According to data from DappRadar, seven out of the top 10 games in terms of the number of “unique wallet addresses interacting with dapp’s smart contracts” increased over the past 30 days, with all of the top five games being in the green during that time frame.

At the time of writing, the DApps registering growth in the period include Web3 gaming platform Gameta, and blockchain-based games Alien Worlds, Solitaire Blitz, Benji Bananas and Splinterlands, Farmers World and Arc8 by GAMEE. 

In a Sept. 27 blog post, DappRadar noted that eight of the current top 10 blockchain games are mobile-first, which could eventually “bring millions of users to the blockchain,” noting: 

“Dapp games like Gameta, Benji Bananas, Upland, and Trickshot Blitz let anyone with a mobile device earn crypto with little prior knowledge, investment, or risk.”

“Using daily activities like hyper-casual mobile games as a hook ensures users find fun once they interact, while solid tokenomics can encourage everyday use and retention,” it added. 

DappRadar said one of the possible reasons for a rise in popularity of blockchain games despite the bear market, is the idea of “bleed in the bear and run in the bull:”

“The idea that stacking crypto and investments in a bear market pays off in the bull is almost proven at this point.”

The biggest uptick in users came from Animoca Brands’ Benji Bananas (Polygon), which saw a 2016.54% increase over the past 30 days. Notably, this game was a Web2 mobile app until March this year. Animoca then introduced play-to-earn (P2E) elements via the Bored Ape Yacht Club-affiliated Ape Coin (APE).

While it is unclear what specifically saw the number of Benji Bananas users increase by so much, it did host a P2E gaming event this month that offered a series of valuable in-game NFTs to the winners.

Blockchain gaming DApps activity: DappRadar

Out of the top 10 games, only Axie Infinity, Trickshot Blitz and Upland saw decreases over the past 30-days.

The increase of blockchain gamers this month comes as publications such as Bloomberg note in a Sept. 28 article that the highly correlated NFT market trading “frenzy is almost dead.” It points to overall NFT trading volumes dropping 97% since January as evidence of such.

As Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu pointed out via Twitter on Sept. 30, purely looking at the metric of NFT sales volume doesn’t necessarily paint the whole picture in NFTs or gaming.

Siu highlighted that NFT prices have generally declined in accordance with the price of their paired assets such as Ether (ETH), while many games — that don’t often grab the headlines — require NFTs that are relatively cheap. He instead emphasized that user activity and the number of people entering Web3 is where the focus should be.

Gods Unchained breaks 10 top NFT sales

Meanwhile, NFT-based card battle game Gods Unchained has seen its NFT sales volume creep into the top 10 in NFT sales volume over the past 30 days, according to Cryptoslam.

Gods Unchained has seen a 373.25% increase over the past 30 days to sit at $10.8 million at the time of writing. This marks the first time the game has seen NFT sales top $10 million since January, and after a very slow February to August period.

Related: Yat Siu: Asia GameFi opportunity huge as gamers don’t hate NFTs

Reasons behind this could be due to discussions of a “Season 2” upgrade to improve the game and lore in the works and GameStop offering free NFT packs to Pro members this month. Meanwhile, an esports tournament with a $70,000 prize pool was also announced at the start of this week.

Gods Unchained has also seen a significant increase in active users over the past 30 days, gaining 28.50% to sit at around 14,180 according to DappRadar. The game still has a long way to catch up to the top 10, however, as its user count places it at twenty-eighth.

‘BITSANITY’ — Records broken with $70B in volume for Bitcoin stocks, ETFs

Top US Crypto Exchange Coinbase Lists Eight Altcoins for Custody Support As Markets Stumble

Coinbase is expanding its crypto footprint by extending custodial services support to over half a dozen new altcoins. In a new tweet, the US-based cryptocurrency exchange says it’s adding eight new cryptos to its roster of 150+ assets that are part of the Coinbase Custody cold storage trust. Coinbase Custody now supports deposits and withdrawals […]

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‘BITSANITY’ — Records broken with $70B in volume for Bitcoin stocks, ETFs

Coinbase Pro Launches Support for Six New Altcoins, Triggering Massive Price Movements

Six altcoins are riding the valuation roller coaster after a surprise listing by top US crypto exchange Coinbase. In a new blog post, Coinbase says that five Ethereum tokens and one other altcoin will start trading on Coinbase Pro once appropriate liquidity conditions are met. The Ethereum token API3 (API3) powers a protocol focused on […]

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‘BITSANITY’ — Records broken with $70B in volume for Bitcoin stocks, ETFs

No-Fee NFTs Save Immutable X Users $400k in 24 Hours

The Immutable X L2 NFT marketplace launched yesterday on Apr. 08, making gas fees totally free for users.

$414,480 Saved on Day One of Launch

The Immutable X marketplace opened yesterday, allowing users to buy in-game assets for its Immutable’s own blockchain trading card game, Gods Unchained. Users made 10,362 trades within 24 hours, each of which would have cost around $40 on Ethereum.

The total sum would have amounted to $414,480 — however, for Immutable X users, the transactions were free.

Immutable X users pay zero gas for minting or trading NFTs, and all transactions are enforced by zero-knowledge proof terchnology.

“We’re allowing users to choose between two Validium and ZK-rollups via a system known as “Volition”, and we’re starting by offering maximum scalability via Validium,” said Immutable.

For now, Immutable X only offers trading and minting for Gods Unchained NFTs only, although the platform will integrate more games and partner projects in the future. However, beyond this particular use case, the potential is huge.

Eliminating ETH Gas Fees

Gas fees have been the bane of the Ethereum network all year, with punitively high fees directly contributing to the rise of competing networks like Binance Smart Chain.

Retail users of DeFi have been pushed out due to the death of microtransactions on most protocols.

However, the technology underlying Immutable X could potentially be rolled out to the wider NFT and crpyto marketplaces. Today, a trading card game solved fees. Tomorrow, it may be an automated market maker or decentralized exchange.

The success of Immutable X is proof that Ethereum scaling solutions, complicated as they may be, are capable of solving the network’s problems and facilitating trading on a decentralized metwork, bringing Ethereum closer to its vision of becoming a world computer.

‘BITSANITY’ — Records broken with $70B in volume for Bitcoin stocks, ETFs