214 | EVE Frontier, AI agents and the future of gaming

Byebye Abstract. Cambria's already minting its Genesis NFTs on Ethereum. [00:21] Abstract will shut down on 15th December 2026.[00:50] Pudgy Penguins' Igloo Inc. launched it in January 2025 as a simple, L2 consumer chain.[02:23] But even simple L2s cost millions of dollars to run. Abstract didn't have enough users.[03:16] Its biggest mistake was launching an XP farming mechanic without launching a token.[05:17] Abstract did well early on with games like LOL Land, Gigaverse, Cambria etc.[06:28] Igloo will now focus on Pudgy Penguins as an IP and the Pengu token.[08:10] Cambria Genesis minted its 4,096 Founders NFTs on Ethereum this week. 09:28 First day volume was $230,000 with a floor of around $150 for Citizens NFTs.[11:58] It looks like MetaCryptoPolis is rebooting with AI agent gameplay.[12:53] GFAL is launching a WWII TCG, a football game, and Diamond Jewels Solitaire.

Hilmar Veigar Pétursson talks AI, agents, Fenris' DeepMind partnership and EVE Frontier. [02:42] EVE Online as the ultimate boss of all online games - no win conditions, partial data etc. [03:49] You could argue that EVE Online provides the benchmark test for AGI. [04:25] Google DeepMind has its agents running in a private playground version of EVE.[04:33] This is important for continual learning, partial information, long-term memory.[07:55] Contrary to belief, EVE rewards trust and honesty, soft skills and conflict resolution. [09:28] Agents need an environment in which to develop a sense of morality. [10:26]In future, we could run tests with humans to harden the agents against manipulation. [14:09]Players don't care what technology is in the game. They care whether it's a good game. [16:53] In EVE Frontier, we've designed a game that humans and AI can play.[19:16] There has to be a boundary to agency. There has to be a cost. In EVE Frontier, it's fuel. [21:59] The rise of AI means that skilled players and hackers have been commoditized. [24:48] No blockchain game has the breadth and depth and scope of EVE Frontier. [28:19] EVE Frontier has attracted some of the earliest EVE Online gamers back to play. [30:35] The biggest milestone for EVE Frontier will be moving from Sui testnet to mainnet. [31:56] EVE Frontier's high fidelity controls are part of its richer physics and data asymmetry. [34:10] It's the case that humans tend to be more skilled in these situations than AIs. [37:34] EVE Frontier is designed to allow players to legally earn money. EVE Online isn't.

Why are degen games moving from Abstract to Robinhood Chain?[00:42] Cambria, Gigaverse and the momentum of degen blockchain games.[03:35] These games have been running on Abstract, in part because of its XP farming feature. [05:52] Robinhood Chain is the new blockchain attracting degen games. [06:47] Gigaverse Online is launching on Robinhood Chain. [08:45] Yield Fields is also launching on Robinhood Chain, and it's minting 3,333 Deeds NFTs. [11:20] The top player spent over $40,000 farming Yield Fields' NFT whitelists. [13:04] These degen games provide interesting data into financialized product-market-fit.[14:29] Seedphrase has sold the only 7-trait CryptoPunk for $3 million. He bought if for $18,000.[15:48] Animoca's Moca Chain has gone live with its mainnet. [17:35] 90 games from the Axie Vibeathon are now live. Winners announced next week. [19:19] The Sandbox founders have launched crowdfunding for their new cosmic horror film.

Sorare's new funding round, Animoca's Nasdaq listing pause and EVE Frontier Cycle 7. [00:25] Animoca has called off its reverse Nasdaq listing via a merger with Currenc Group.[02:00] Its situation is particularly complex as Animoca was previously listed in Australia. [03:51] Animoca still plans to list on a major exchange at some point in the future. [04:46] One key issue appears to be the time taken to audit Animoca's past accounts. [05:24] Dealing with crypto within standard accountancy rules is always very complex. [07:05] It was taking so long, it made little sense for either company to keep this deal in place. [08:26] Animoca is now an AI and stablecoin company so this also changes its positioning. [11:06] Sorare has raised another investment round - an undisclosed eight-figure sum.[12:00] Sorare raised a lot of money in 2021, but most of it was spent getting sport licenses. [13:21] Some of Sorare's original investors continue to have confidence in the company.[13:49] Sorare's new Arcade has been successful, with +$15 million revenue projected for 2026.[14:48] Sorare now expects to be profitable by the end of 2027. [18:00] Prior to TGE, Cambria has hit $40 million of volume for its Genesis event. [21:10] EVE Frontier is launching Cycle 7 on 29th September. [22:15] The big change is full freedom controls for the space ships, requiring player skill.[24:00] This is different to EVE Online's simple control method - spreadsheets in space!

Risk/reward pixel games Cambria and Gigaverse are going all MMORPG.[01:20] Pixelmon has stopped all game development.[02:02] The original Pixelmon NFT mint was peak 2022-era degen disaster. [02:32] Green goggle-eyed zombie Kevin became a wider crypto gaming meme. [04:09] A new team attempted a reboot, launching various games but to little avail. [07:50] There are currently two models for making blockchain games. [08:05] MapleStory Universe and EVE Frontier are $100 million-scale projects. [09:10] They are from experienced teams who know what they are building and for whom. [14:52] When it comes to indie games, the examples are Cambria and Gigaverse. [18:20]Cambria is moving from a seasonal approach to a persistent degen game. [19:22] This transition will also see the launch of the RSGP token.[22:20] Long-term success likely only comes with a focus on in-game status, not rewards. [23:40] Gigaverse is less regen but also moving towards persistence with Gigaverse Online[27:14] Also worth noting, MapleStory Universe and Axie both have AI hackathons ongoing.

MapleStory Universe announces its financials, Yuga talks Otherside resources, Colony: Survival is live via app stores.[00:15] MapleStory Universe has announced its H1 2026 financials. [02:22] Q1 had revenue of 14.4 M NXPC vs 13.2M NXPC given away in rewards.[03:55] Q2 was 16.6M in revenue vs 14.9M in rewards. [04:11] However, the NXPC price continues to drop; down 69% in the past 12 months. [04:38] Total H1 2026 revenue for MapleStory Universe was $9.9M.[05:00] Trading volume on the NFT marketplace was $10.4M.[05:36] MapleStory also burned $2M of NXPC as part of its quarterly burn process. [09:08] Yuga Labs has announced more details of Otherside's resource economy. [12:28] Parallel Studios has launched 4X strategy game Colony: Survival via app stores. [14:01] Animoca and AWS' Agentic Football Cup is now live.[16:03] Axie Infinity’s Vibeathon is live and submissions close on 21st September. [16:35] Axie and Onchain Heroes launch degen dungeon crawler Den of Mysteries 2.0.

Sky Mavis announces its AI-based Axie Vibeathon, while Animoca and AWS launch their Agentic Football Cup. [00:43] Sky Mavis announces Axie Vibeathon - using AI to make Axie Core games. [01:54] Registration is available until Monday 7th September. Submissions close by 21st. [03:10] You have to provide your own AI.[04:42] Sky Mavis provides a Builder Resource Kit that includes art assets and APIs. [05:35] The best 8 projects will get $250 of AI to build further, ending on 31st October. [07:08] Total prize pool is 20,000 bAXS, with the winner getting 9,000 bAXS ($8,500). [09:56] Animoca and AWS are launching Agentic Football Cup - Virtual League. [12:08] The 10 winners of the competition go to the AWS Re:invent conference in Las Vegas. [12:45] It's free to enter. You build/prompt a five-player AI football team.[14:08] There's also the ability to give live instructions during matches. [15:05] From 11th September, you play 10 games each weekend for 7 weeks. [16:05] All blockchain games should be running this type of AI hackathon. [17:12] Blockchain games are particularly suited for this sort of AI creation.

The newly open-sourced Pixels has launched its community hub, including voting, curated tools, apps, mini-games, and Pixels-as-service hosting. [00:27] Wemix has opened pre-registrations for mobile roguelike Hellsquad Rrrush!: Stone Rush.[02:30] Pixels open-sources its frontend, backend and launches its community hub.[04:35] Pixels has also added community voting, which is now live. [05:47] Cambria is approaching its RSGP token launch; likely in September. [07:36] The TGE event has generated $27 million in volume; c.$500k in revenue for the dev. [08:20] But from a small user base - 2,427 wallets in the past week. [09:08] Talking to CEO Robby Yung about the AI vision for The Sandbox.[10:13] Sandbox Studio adds AI for pro developers to publish games across multiple platforms.[11:14] The vision is to be able to use multiple platforms as a revenue multipler for a single title.

The Sandbox CEO Robby Yung explains how its new Sandbox Studio AI tools will reboot the blockchain gaming platform.[01:10] How Robby Yung sees the past 12 months in blockchain games. [03:30] How adoption of AI changes game development and distribution. [06:48] One problem for The Sandbox was its original tools were too simple for pro developers. [08:22] How can The Sandbox employ AI to support professional creators?[10:01] Can you maintain The Sandbox's brand if you move away from its voxel art style?[11:21] Adding AI to The Sandbox has been ongoing for around 3 years. [13:05] In the future, game studios will be much smaller because of AI. [14:50] But will indie devs actually use AI tools? Many seem to hate AI.[17:02] The Sandbox's AI tools are designed to give developers absolute control.[20:30] With AI, game devs will be more creative and publish across multiple platforms. [23:00] Does this level of AI portability undermine The Sandbox as a platform?[21:10] "We view the metaverse as the world and The Sandbox as a city."[28:14] The goal is not to automate game creation but to give creative people better tools. [29:02] Why The Sandbox is running game jams prior to Studio's planned October launch. [31:43] AI is amazing but only when it does what you ask it to do. You need granular control.[33:15] Sandbox Studio is designed for people who are already using Unity and Unreal.

Axie Infinity revives AOC NFTs, Pirate Nation's community regroups for Booty Wars and MapleStory Vibe Camp 2 is live.[00:15] Pirate Nation's community is attempting a new risk-to-earn game. [01:40] Booty Wars is not Pirate Nation 2.0. It doesn't use any of the old assets directly. [03:10] There will be a new mint of 6,969 Booty Pirate NFTs. [04:40] Booty Wars will be inspired by the likes of degen games like Cambria and Gigaverse. [06:24] Axie Infinity is reviving Origin Coins (AOC) to create up to 275 new Axie Origins NFTs. [09:04] This means up to 97 Mystic Axies (3.3 ETH floor) could be minted (35% chance per roll).[10:59] MapleStory Universe has launched Vibe Camp 2, which runs until 15th September.[12:09] Vibe Camp 1 had 693 game submissions, generating 88,000 gameplays. [13:30] This time the prize pool is $15,000 NXPC tokens.