Aradena
A tactical TCG for the on-chain era. A 13-minute, $1.3M genesis sellout.
In 2021, the on-chain gaming space was full of speculative projects with no actual game underneath. Card-game players wanted real depth and ownership; speculators wanted scarcity that meant something. Most NFT games delivered neither.
Build a genuinely playable 3D tactical TCG in Unity, publish it on a mainstream distribution channel (Steam), and back it with infrastructure that treated NFTs as game assets, not the other way around. Lead the product end-to-end: design, tokenomics, community, fundraising. Scale the team only as the product justified it.
- 01
Generative pipeline producing 8,000 NFTs from modular artwork
Hand-illustrating 8,000 unique cards was impossible at our scale. Building a generative script over modular art let us hit volume without sacrificing visual identity, and made supply curves predictable for the genesis mint.
- 02
Publish the game on Steam
Launching on a mainstream PC distribution channel, not just a Web3 launcher, signalled this was a real game first and an NFT project second. Brought us non-crypto-native players and shielded the product when the broader NFT market cooled.
- 03
Raise from Animoca Brands as lead investor
Animoca's portfolio and distribution network was the biggest unlock available in 2022 Web3 gaming. Their lead on the $600k pre-seed gave us partner intros, a token-launch playbook, and credibility with the community we were building.
- 04
Design tokenomics around utility, not speculation
Built the token with in-game sinks (card crafting, tournaments, progression) so demand was tied to actual play. The $900k in token allocations had a real product behind them, which mattered when the market turned.
- 05
Scale team from 3 to 15+ only as product milestones unlocked it
Hired against shipped milestones, not raised capital. Kept burn defensible through a brutal 2022–2023 market and meant every new hire had a concrete shipped problem to own.
8,000 NFTs · sold out in 13 minutes · 2,600+ buyers
Led by Animoca Brands
In token allocations, tied to in-game utility
Genesis card packs sold out in a week
Built and managed pre-launch through post-mint
Web-app game
Scaled FTE plus outsourced production
- Unity 3D
- Steam
- Immutable X
- Solidity
- Web3
- Animoca Brands
- Tokenomics
- Discord