Backed by a whopping $15 million in funding from a major financier, can Blocklords thrive amidst the bull market eruption?

Kasou Kazoku
7 min readFeb 2, 2024

As of the beginning of 2024, a blockchain game named Blocklords has garnered widespread attention. Data indicates that as of January 16th, the download count has surpassed 40,000, with retention rates consistently ranging between 50% and 38%. Players have collectively spent over 1 million hours in the Blocklords game within a week, and the NFT assets within the game have become increasingly sought after.

On May 25, 2022, MetaKing Studios, the development studio behind Blocklords, announced the completion of a $15 million seed funding round. Makers Fund and Bitkraft Ventures led this funding round, with participation from Delphi Digital, Animoca Brands, Shima Capital, WW Ventures, Spartan Group, Huobi Ventures, Funplus, YGG, and others.

As a strategy management game, many users tend to compare it with the recently popular “Fantasy Beast Paru.” However, the latter is ultimately a low-cost, small-team production, while the former is the result of six years of meticulous development by a game team. Therefore, each has its own merits, but Blocklords has generated higher expectations in the market.

Here’s a comprehensive interpretation of this game for readers:

Blocklords Overview: An immersive gaming experience where players evolve from humble farmers to overlords

Developed by MetaKing Studios, Blocklords is a strategy game set in a medieval universe. Players can progress from humble farmers to dominating overlords through dedicated cultivation.

The game weaves a captivating in-game economy, offering different incentive mechanisms for various player roles — ranging from farmers to warriors, and from lords to kings. This design approach opens multiple pathways for players to appreciate and thrive in the game universe. By immersing players in a rich, player-driven journey, Blocklords has carved out its own niche in the gaming industry. It resonates with both hardcore strategy game enthusiasts and casual players, immersing them in a world where their decisions and skills profoundly impact the narrative and environment. Whether starting as a humble farmer or wielding a high-level character, players have the opportunity to showcase their abilities, contribute to their domain, and pass on achievements through generations.

Here are several aspects that players can look forward to:

1.Player-Driven Experience:

In Blocklords, the choices and actions of players form the core of the evolving game world and narrative development. This player-driven approach ensures that each player obtains a unique experience based on their decisions and strategies.

2.Diverse Gaming Styles:

The game offers various styles to accommodate different preferences, including farming, combat, resource management, and domination. Players can freely shape their hero’s journey based on their gaming style and choices.

3.Player-Driven Economy:

The in-game economy is propelled by players, adding a level of realism and complexity to resource management and economic strategies.

4.Strategic Choices:

Players face strategic choices such as cultivating land or causing chaos, forming alliances or venturing alone, cooperating or eliminating opponents. These choices profoundly impact the game’s outcomes and player interactions.

5.Game Assets:

The game is built using Web3 technology, allowing players to interact with Web3 elements like NFTs and tokens, turning their in-game outputs into personal assets. Traditional Web2 players can also seamlessly navigate within this environment.

Introduction to Blocklords Gameplay: Players Experience the Ultimate Thrill of Becoming Heroes Through Efficient NFT Utilization

Players can start as simple farmer characters and gradually ascend to the position of rulers by effectively utilizing their time and skills in the game. This approach genuinely empowers players, providing them with a platform to showcase their skills and reap rewards. Given the game’s asymmetrical economic system, these heroes hold significant value in the game world, offering players the opportunity to more effectively transform their passion into profit.

As time progresses and roles evolve across generations, these attributes can become highly specialized, enabling players to create their unique legacy in the world. These roles are designed with a limited lifespan, so to prolong their dominance, it can only be achieved by actively seeking specific traits in their descendants.

At the beginning of the game, each player chooses a hero, each of which is a unique character with different styles, represented by NFTs owned by the players. Each hero can also be traded on the ImmutableX marketplace. The heroes owned by players are imported into the game and then exported to the blockchain, a process known as the Blocklords Portal. This allows users to import a hero from Polygon into the game and then export it to IMX, aligning the game layout with blockchain for players to experience asset management operations.

In the Beta phase, the in-game map consists of 50 different regions. Unique hero owners can claim lordship or ladyship over a specific region, while other player villagers can choose to settle in declared or undeclared areas. These lords and ladies are responsible for setting tax rates for their settled regions based on their status and can utilize the city treasury. Over time, forming alliances with lords and ladies whose gameplay style aligns with the players will become crucial. Ultimately, with the introduction of battle zones, the entire kingdom will find itself embroiled in epic wars, undoubtedly consuming substantial resources.

In the game, the primary gameplay revolves around simulating experiences, divided into four distinct management modes: farming, combat, ruling, and conquering. These are classic traditional SLG (Simulation-Strategy) gameplay elements, enhanced by the blockchain to incorporate Web3’s economic model incentives. In addition to the ability to sell players’ hero NFTs, the game will also feature its unique token, $LRDS.

Introduction to $LRDS Token: Dual-token model, gradually released over 10 years

$LRDS token provides genuine in-game utility within the BLOCKLORDS ecosystem, with its utility, supply, and distribution as follows:

1.Utility: The $LRDS token is more than just a digital asset; it plays a crucial role in the game, offering tangible in-game benefits and functionality.

2.Value Accumulation: $LRDS token economics aim to reward active contributors and participants in the network, encouraging long-term engagement and investment in the ecosystem.

3.Vesting Period and Release Schedule: To ensure stability and sustainability, the $LRDS token has a lengthy vesting period and follows a 10-year release schedule, aligning with the goals of rewarding ongoing contributors to the network.

4.$LRDS Supply: The maximum total supply of $LRDS tokens will be capped at 100 million. More information about supply allocation and vesting plans will be announced closer to the release date.

In addition to the $LRD token, there is also an in-game token called $ALE in the game. This token will be generated and consumed within the game, and it is required for certain in-game activities, such as character reproduction.

MetaKing Studios and its founders introduce themselves: the core team members come from the world’s top game development companies

MetaKing Studios, the game studio behind Blocklords, is a team composed of artists, designers, and game developers. These team members have previously worked at or collaborated with some of the most creative and innovative companies in the world, including EA, Ubisoft, Paradox, Creative Assembly, Lucasfilm, Disney, Universal Pictures, Netflix, and Apple. Their expertise and experience form a solid foundation for the development of Blocklords.

CEO and Co-founder David Johansson grew up in Sweden and France. He later attended San Diego State University in the United States, earning a degree in film, television, and new media production. After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles and held positions as a development director at companies such as Phenix and Paloma. In 2013, he made a significant decision to relocate to China, taking on the role of Creative Director in the gaming industry. Previously, he worked for major gaming companies such as Youzu Shanghai UUZU Info Technology Co, Forgame Holdings Ltd, and Shinezone. Notable projects he contributed to include “Liberators,” named the Best Game of 2016 by Facebook, and the “Goddess Alliance” series and “Flower City.”

Before joining the Metaking team, he served as the CEO of Seascape Network / Extreme Tech Information Technology Co and was involved in several early blockchain game discussions. Additionally, he had several blockchain games under his belt.

The early version of “BLOCKLORDS” . received a major award in the “First NEO Blockchain Game Development Competition.” Subsequently, there was six years of game development, attracting investments and attention from various projects.

COO and Co-founder Nicky Li Xi Hao graduated from the University of Canberra. He previously served as a project manager at Youzu Network, overseeing the project “League of Angels,” which won the Best Game of the Year award on Facebook in 2014. He also worked as a game designer and head of the operations team at Forgame Holdings Ltd, responsible for the project “Liberators,” mentioned earlier as the Best Game of 2016 by Facebook. Nicky Li also worked as a project manager and game designer at Moonton ID. Like David Johansson, he is a Co-founder and COO of Seascape Network, with extensive experience in game development. Together, they co-created BLOCKLORDS, contributing rich expertise to game development.

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