Author：Coin Circle Storm

In 2018, as cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology surged into the mainstream, a group of seasoned game industry veterans saw an opportunity to rethink how players interact with their favourite pastime.

Mythical Games emerged with a bold vision: to create high-quality games where players could own their in-game assets through blockchain. This meant players could collect, trade, and sell digital items—something previously difficult to implement in a meaningful way.

Founded in Los Angeles by former Activision executives and other industry leaders, Mythical quickly positioned itself at the forefront of web3 gaming, capturing the attention of a growing audience eager for the next evolution of play.

Key Insights

• Founded by ex-Activision leaders, Mythical Games empowers players to truly own in-game assets
• The company secured significant investments, quickly becoming a “unicorn” with a valuation over $1 billion
• The Mythical Platform abstracts blockchain complexity, letting players sign up with just an email
• Blankos Block Party became the first blockchain game on the Epic Games Store
• Titles like NFL Rivals and FIFA Rivals show Mythical’s strategy of combining blockchain with global brands

Industry Veterans with a Bold Vision

Mythical was founded by a powerhouse team. CEO John Linden was previously a studio head at Activision and founder of Seismic Games. Chief Creative Officer Jamie Jackson also held leadership roles at Activision, having worked on blockbuster titles like Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, and Skylanders.

They were joined by Rudy Koch (Business Development) and Chris Downs (Infrastructure), both of whom brought deep AAA development experience—critical in an industry where blockchain games were still finding their footing.

Over time, the leadership team expanded to include Arron Goolsbey (COO), Kasper Mai Jørgensen (CFO), and Jung Suh (CBO), helping guide the company through its next phase of growth.

Rapid-Fire Fundraising and Unicorn Status

Mythical quickly gained investor interest:

• 2018: $16M seed round
• 2019: $19M in additional funding
• 2021: $75M Series B
• 2021: $150M Series C led by Andreessen Horowitz, reaching a $1.25B valuation
• 2023: Another $37M raised during the crypto downturn, albeit at a slightly lower valuation

Their investor list is a who’s-who of traditional tech, crypto, and sports—featuring names like D1 Capital, Binance, Jonathan Kraft, and Michael Jordan. Hitting unicorn status in under three years signalled serious belief in their blockchain-enabled gaming model.

Reinventing Game Economics with the Mythical Platform

At the core of Mythical’s ecosystem is the Mythical Platform, which handles all blockchain operations behind the scenes—NFT creation, asset trading, wallet management—so developers can focus on gameplay.

The platform simplifies onboarding: players can start playing with just an email, whilst all blockchain transactions happen in the background.

In 2022, Mythical launched the Mythos Foundation to further decentralise governance. The $MYTH token powers marketplace transactions and gives holders voting rights in ecosystem decisions.

Originally built on Ethereum-based tech, Mythical migrated to Polkadot in 2023—aiming for faster, cheaper, and more scalable operations across networks.

Breaking Ground in Web3 Gaming

Blankos Block Party

Blankos Block Party marked Mythical’s first big move. Launching in open beta in 2020, the game let players collect, customise, and play as digital vinyl toy NFTs called Blankos.

In 2022, it became the first blockchain game featured on the Epic Games Store. Collaborations with Burberry and Deadmau5 boosted its visibility, turning certain Blankos into sought-after collectibles.

But sustaining long-term interest proved difficult. By late 2023, Mythical shut down the PC version and shifted its focus to mobile—highlighting both the promise and pitfalls of early web3 gaming.