Smart Token Labs' TokenScript raises $6 million, valuation quadruples.
Kevin is still a rough beast, but as Pixelmon reveals its revamped roadmap, the rest of the artwork has been upgraded.
In summary: Pixelmon, a Web3 gaming project that raised $70 million from primary NFT sales, has announced new leadership and development plans. The project was widely criticized after the exposure of the artwork in February, but the original creature artwork was later replaced. Perhaps no project embodies the excess and speculative frenzy of the NFT world more than Pixelmon, a project that raised $70 million through NFT sales, promised a Pokémon-like experience, and then revealed rough artwork that was widely criticized and generated a large number of memes. A Pixelmon co-founder even called the art disclosure a "terrible mistake." A few months later, the Ethereum-based gaming project is making a comeback. Today, Pixelmon announced a new leadership team and a comprehensive overhaul of the roadmap following the recent release of upgraded artwork, transforming the rough, Minecraft-inspired models into more refined and smoother 3D creatures. Now, Pixelmon's developers plan to turn the collectible NFT monsters (which sold for up to 3 ETH each in the initial sale) into interoperable 3D characters that can be used in the upcoming Pixelmon online game and other metaverse games. Pixelmon's development was taken over earlier this year by LiquidX, a Web3 VC studio that helps build NFT-based projects. According to a press release, LiquidX acquired a 60% stake in the project, and LiquidX co-founder Giulio Xiloyannis will serve as the CEO of Pixelmon. Initially, Pixelmon planned to launch a playable alpha version of the game by the end of 2022. According to the new roadmap, the game's alpha testing will begin in the first quarter of 2023, and the game's roadmap includes the future launch of virtual land NFTs, as well as separate utility and governance tokens to promote the Pixelmon economy. The full game will be launched by the end of 2023. In addition, Pixelmon will offer a free-to-play mode that anyone can play without owning a monster NFT, currently priced at 0.36 ETH ($475) on the top secondary market OpenSea. Another Pokémon-inspired NFT game, Axie Infinity, launched its own
