November marks the arrival of the VENTUS NFT Collection—a token-backed PFP membership that unlocks rare in-game privileges, Power bonuses, and priority access to whitelists, airdrops, and more. By locking 50k UNIO, holders can mint a VENTUS at no extra cost, and burn their PFP at any time to retrieve their UNIO! Let’s dive into the details.

Minting Details:

To secure your VENTUS PFP, simply lock 50k UNIO, which you can retrieve by burning your PFP at any time. Trade or keep it for access to unmatched benefits in the Unioverse. Stay tuned for final mint details.

• Date: November ██████
• Cost: Free + gas with every 50k UNIO locked
• Chain: Ethereum mainnet
• Supply: Limited to 5,000*, 24-hour mint window
• Location: ███████████

*3,500 VENTUS PFP’s will be available for mint by the public, with 1,500 being placed in the Unioverse treasury, to be given out as community engagement rewards.

Benefits of VENTUS:

• Power Bonus: Receive a Unioverse POWER boost that sets you up for success in planetary and Nexus challenges. The rarer your PFP, the greater the bonus.
• In-Game Privileges: Your identity will proudly display next to your gamer tag, solidifying your reputation as a leader in the Unioverse.
• Priority Access: Get whitelist spots, early access to airdrops, and exclusive claims to partner mints and rare items, giving you unprecedented access to the Unioverse Ecosystem.

How This Works:

1. Acquire 50k UNIO on exchanges here.
2. Lock 50k UNIO at █████████ to mint your PFP.
3. Sign and pay gas on Ethereum.
4. Check your wallet to view your VENTUS PFP.

Your VENTUS PFP is tradable within 24 hours on top marketplaces like OpenSea, Magic Eden, and Blur (0% creator fee). The 50k UNIO stays with the PFP, so any holder—whether they bought it new or on secondary—can burn it anytime to retrieve the UNIO.

Uncover the Power of VENTUS

In the Unioverse, Power is the key to everything—it’s what allows you to conquer planets, harvest Protens, and prepare for Nexus events. With VENTUS PFPs, you gain an exclusive Power boost percentage to your UNIO holdings. This is calculated from the rarity of your PFP, giving you the ability to take impactful actions in the metaverse. VENTUS is the only Unioverse NFT granting this rare Power bonus.

Explore the Worlds of the VENTUS System

The VENTUS PFP collection unlocks four unique regions of the VENTUS system, recently opened for jump travel to all Nexus citizens. Each planet within this system has a distinct environment, history, and power awaiting the brave to uncover:

• Eldara Prime: A paradise world lush with vegetation and rich in dormant technologies. It is guarded by the Verdant Guardians, ancient entities that protect its secrets. Unlock the mysteries of Eldara Prime to harness its powerful energy sources.
• Nexon Abyss: A neon-lit, megacity-filled wasteland where technological ambition has led to societal decay. Beneath the toxic skies, the Eco-Punks fight for a sustainable future. Nexon Abyss challenges those who dare to discover its hidden resources and dark secrets.
• Zaridia 8: A blistering desert planet where ancient ruins of a lost civilization lie buried under shifting sands. Those brave enough to navigate the heat and deadly storms will unearth untapped energy sources and ancient technologies hidden beneath the surface.
• Stellaris Core: An artificial city orbiting the edge of the VENTUS system, made from the wreckage of salvaged starships. Life is a struggle for survival here, with rival factions fighting over essential resources. Only the cleverest can rise to power and control the limited resources of Stellaris Core.

Join the Elite

Interested in a whitelist spot? Stay tuned as we will be announcing our collaborations, giveaways, and more! Also, if you qualified for No Sell November, the reward for that is an automatic whitelist.

With support from major partners like Space Nation, Gate, and KuCoin, and backed by KOLs like YellowPanther and Mando, the VENTUS PFP Collection is set up for success! Join the growing VENTUS pioneers community today on X and prepare to mint.

VENTUS awaits—will you answer the call?

Stay tuned on our X, Discord, and Telegram or earliest announcements.

FAQ

Introducing No Sell November! This program rewards commitment: Any wallet holding 50,000 $UNIO from today (November 2nd) at 11:59pm UTC until the snapshot on November █ will receive a █—the most important █ in the Unioverse! Keep your eye on our tweets over the next couple weeks for hints about what we are doing.

How to Participate

1. Use a Personal Wallet
   Ensure you’re using a personal wallet to qualify. Wallets on exchanges or smart contracts won’t be eligible.
2. No Need to Unstake from DAOMaker or Gate Pools
   If you’re staked in DAOMaker or Gate pools, there’s no need to unstake. Once these pools end, anyone who has unlocked at least 50,000 UNIO in their personal wallet will automatically be included.
3. Supported Blockchains
   You can hold your UNIO on either Base or Ethereum Mainnet.

Notes

You can find a list of candidate wallets here. This will be updated when the Gate and DAO Maker staking pools exit, with more wallets added. There is no need to exit early.

Any candidate wallet that still has 50,000+ UNIO in it at the final snapshot (date TBA in Nov) will qualify for the reward.

Ready to Join?

Get UNIO. Hold UNIO. Stay locked in. This November, make sure you’re part of the Unioverse’s most rewarding campaign!

FAQ

Q: I have more than 50,000 UNIO. Can I sell UNIO and still qualify?

A: YES if your total remains above 50,000

Q: Is it too late to buy 50,000 UNIO and qualify?

A: Yes

SOLD OUT!

Missed it? You may be able to find some on the secondary market.

Mint your own Unioverse Genesis Starfighter–a customizable, game-ready spaceship that becomes a permanent part of the Unioverse.

Get ready to grab your Starfighter October 20th! Details here:

Key Details

• User generated designs: Start with a “Blank” and use our easy creator tools to make it your own and mint it on Base.
• Interoperable across Unioverse games.
• Genesis series: The ships minted this weekend define the total supply of Generation 1, and future Starfighters will be a totally different design.

Imagine owning the first model X-Wing or a Tie Fighter. Your Starfighter will carry its unique design and achievements across dozens of future games.

Only available on the Unioverse marketplace, sold exclusively in Unio Coin (UNIO) on BASE. New to Unio Coin? Get started here!

Stack up some UNIO today and stay tuned for more details on our Discord.

Mint Details

Time: 18:00 (UTC)
Price: 10,000 UNIO
Mint capped after 72 hours. You may buy 1, 5, or 10 at a time.

Buying Guide

1. Go to https://account.unioverse.com/marketplace/starfighter-blank
2. Connect wallet with UNIO in it
3. Click “Buy Now” and select the amount

PLEASE NOTE: you will have at least a year to use a Genesis starfighter blank. If you missed this sale, you may be able to buy a blank on a third-party marketplace and create a ship. Blanks do NOT have to be used this weekend!

Creating your own starfighter is very easy with our powerful tools:

Exciting things to come!

Introduction
The wait is over — UNIO has officially arrived! Here’s your guide to everything UNIO, how to get started, and what’s coming to the Unioverse platform this year.

What’s UNIO?
UNIO is the core token of the Unioverse, a galactic sci-fi world and game creation platform. It powers creation and ownership, allowing players to mint assets stored on the blockchain. These assets work across an ever-growing library of games. Staking UNIO boosts your status, unlocking perks like advanced guilds and rare items. UNIO fuels the ecosystem, empowering creators to build within the Unioverse.

Exchanges
UNIO is now live on these exchanges, with more on the way:

• Kucoin
• BitGet
• Gate
• CoinsPH
• MEXC

Want to see your UNIO in a wallet like Metamask? Click here for the guide.

How to Use Your UNIO
UNIO is more than a currency — it’s your VIP ticket to the world! Here’s how to use it:

1. Marketplace Relaunch on Base: Collect limited edition items like playable Heroes, starfighters, gamer tags, and custom blanks for weapons and Hoverbikes.
2. Earning Power: Hold UNIO to accumulate ‘Power’ currency, unlocking abilities like conquering planets and harvesting Protens.
3. Advanced Guilds: Form larger, competitive guilds with advanced social features.
4. Platform Visibility: Showcase your creations or advertise your games to a growing audience.

Learn more about UNIO in the litepaper here.

Games in Development

• Unioverse Hoverdrome, our fast-paced multiplayer arena shooter, is now available in alpha preview.
• Unioverse Proving Grounds lets you race through time trials and user-created levels while earning Protens and trying out Unioverse creator tools.
• Unioverse Hangar is your upgradable personal space to display custom vehicles, weapons, and Heroes, connecting to the growing library of games.
• Unioverse Hub is a cosmic city-center orbiting the Mass-O, unlocking Hangars and players across the Unioverse.

The Unioverse also supports third-party and creator-made games, offering a huge sandbox for fans to build and play. Install the Unioverse launcher here to access games.

Developer Partners
The Unioverse ecosystem is growing with top-tier game developers, including:

• Arctic7, N-Fusion Interactive: These epic game studios are now interested in building content for the Unioverse.
• PlayMagic, CGBot and RipstoneGames: Our upcoming dev partners are set on helping bring the Unioverse to life.

Learn more about our partnerships here.

Converting Protens to UNIO
Protens are the digital currency earned by playing Unioverse games and collecting NFTs. Nexus events allow you to redeem Protens for UNIO. Over 302 million Protens were redeemed during the first event! Keep earning your daily Protens here for future Nexus events.

Earn XP to win Jump Prizes
Complete quests on Jumpers HQ to earn experience points (XP). Season 1 rewarded 10,000 players with UNIO, including top 500 leaderboard and 5 grand prize winners. After huge participation, Season 2 is live now and prizes will be announced soon. Jump in now!

Then visit the Jump Shop to win rare items like UNIO Vaults, Legendary Krishah, and Bike Blanks. Watch the Shop for giveaways and claims.

Stay Updated
Follow us on X at @unio_coin & @theunioverse, and join our Discord & Telegram community for the latest announcements.

Final Thoughts
UNIO is just getting started. From gaming to creating, the Unioverse is opening new worlds for everyone through a global network of developers. We’re proud to have you with us on this journey. Thank you for all your support, UNIO Community! Onward.

The Unioverse is not just one game, it is a platform for multiple games, with many different creators using the assets together. While we will be creating things like the Hoverdrome and Proving Grounds, we are partnering with other developers to expand on the lore and assets that we have created.  Here is a look at a few of the developers that have signed with us to explore those gaming options.

Announced Developers

	Arctic7 Website: https://www.arctic7.com X: https://x.com/arctic7_studio
Arctic7 is an independent game development company that specializes in creating immersive PC, console, and VR games, with notable titles including Echoes of the Lost and VR Skies. They also have some original IP we are reviewing and would like some of it to be in the Unioverse, look for more on this in the future.

	Play Magic Website: https://www.playmagic.com.mt X: https://x.com/playmagicltd?lang=en
We are particularly interested in PlayMagic’s original exploration IP, Sherpa. As we all know, the Unioverse has a lot of planets,  moons and asteroids to explore. We think it would be a tremendous fit in the Unioverse, and with Play Magic’s rich history of working on quality games, they are a natural fit as well.

NFusion Website: http://www.n-fusion.com/ X: https://x.com/N_Fusion

NFusion Interactive is a New Jersey-based game developer known for titles like Deadly Dozen and Line of Sight: Vietnam, as well as several entries in the Cabela’s hunting series. They collaborate with major publishers such as Atari and Activision. What we love about the gang at NFusion is their ability to create unique experiences across all platform—and they have a rogue lite, space-adventure game which we have a very particular interest. Stay tuned for more on that.

CGBot Website: https://cgbot.com/ X: https://x.com/CGBot

Also, partnering with us are two cousin companies in Mexico, CGBot and DevBot. I’ve worked with them both for years, and they are a video game art and development studio based in Monterrey, Mexico, they are known for their expertise in 3D art production in both internal and external partnerships. They have worked on major releases like Star Citizen, Descent: Underground, and their own game Angel Guardian.

Ripstone Website: https://ripstone.com/ X: https://x.com/RipstoneGames

Ripstone an independent developer based in Liverpool England. They are a dedicated team of Sr. Developers who have worked on blockbusters like Star Citizen, Starlancer, and Bounty Hunter. I have personally worked with them for more than 20 years. They have a couple of lifestyle games that will fit perfectly into the Hangar/Hub combination in the Unioverse. The Hangar being where you keep all your heroes, bikes, starfighters, and decorate your living space, and the Hub is where you go out into a small city center like Wreck it Ralph coming through the power wires, and mingle with other Massonians and go check out their hangars and maybe do a little horse trading—up to you.

Next Developer… could be you!

Those are the first 5 developers and we have many more coming.

Want to develop for the Unioverse? Contact us!

Thanks and see you all in Da – Unioverse!
Eric “Wingman” Peterson

NOTE: The Nexus event has been significantly changed since this article was originally published. Please read closely.

We are excited to announce how Protens can be converted to UNIO at recurring “Nexus” events!

Protens are the energy source of the Unioverse. You, the faithful, have been diligently gathering them going all the way back to our collectibles system. Protens have and will always be collected for free, with active engagement being the fastest way to earn them. Play Hoverdrome, Proving Grounds and other Unioverse games to earn more.

UNIO, on the other hand, is the POWER currency of the Unioverse. Players will hoard UNIO, and gather into clans and factions, wielding their combined power to take over planets and other locations throughout the Unioverse.

How do you get UNIO? There are several ways, but chief among them are the Nexus Events. Players will always be the most valued contributors to the Unioverse, and Nexus Events will happen throughout the year providing the opportunity to exchange hard-earned Protens into UNIO.

Community members will visit our website during the Nexus Event and choose how many Protens to convert to UNIO. After the event concludes, users will then visit uniocoin.io to claim UNIO, paying only gas for the blockchain transaction. All community-collected UNIO will be on Base.

Here’s how a Nexus Events works:

Illustrative purposes only, not accurate or final. 

Note the following:

• There is a total allocation of UNIO for each Nexus Event, taken from the community rewards allocation. 
• The UNIO amount will change between Nexus events, with the first event total being much larger than ongoing events.
• Each user is picking how many shares to purchase. At the end of the event, the total UNIO will be divided by the number of shares, and each user will get the appropriate amount of UNIO for the shares purchased. This means there is no guarantee of how many UNIO you are getting, but also, that everyone that participates is guaranteed to receive UNIO on a fair basis.
• Users can click on any number of offers shown, but each offer only once. 
• Each offer is progressively worse.
• Offers may change between Nexus events.
• Some offers may require a status to unlock. This status will be announced prior to the event, but (for example) might require holding an NFT, or a certain FAME level, or anything else that active community participants are likely to have completed. 
• The event will last until time runs out. It will be at least 24 hours long, to give everyone a good opportunity to participate. There is no particular benefit to showing up early to the event.
• A mystery conversion bonus will be granted at each event. We are not going to reveal how it works, but it will be a combination of participation in all aspects of the Unioverse and how it works will change for every event.
• If you miss the event, don’t worry there are many more to come!

Finally, here is a sneak peek of how we envision the relationship between Protens, UNIO and two derived values in the Unioverse: Power and Control.

It is important to note that some Unioverse purchases and upgrades will require significant amounts of Protens. Since these are not transferable between accounts and there is no way to convert UNIO to Protens, only dedicated community members will be able to make these purchases. You should not assume that it’s a good idea to convert all your Protens to UNIO.

These concepts will be explained further with the upcoming launch of the Unioverse forums, so sign up today to stay informed.

All plans are subject to change based on development progress and community feedback.

Welcome champions of the Unioverse! Our fast-action multiplayer game the Hoverdrome is in alpha preview on Windows PC. This game combines themes from Mario Kart and Rocket League, and will melt your video card with its AAA graphics. In the coming months we will be adding new features to it based on your feedback. To make this fun, we will hold a series of FREE-to-play tournaments with big prizes!

Our first event was tons of fun, helpful for our developers, was a huge boon to some of our community, and a great watch on Twitch. So let’s do it again! Get your bikes revved and ready for the Preview Tourney 2! Here’s everything you need to know:

Please check back here often as this page will update

If you haven’t played yet, check out our new teaser below:

Prize Pool

Finalists:

• $15,000 USDC split among the top 16 players in the Finals, courtesy of our sponsor Polygon
• 300,000 UNIO prize pool (claimable at TGE)
• All finalists get to create a rare hoverbike
• Special Hero Metadata awards to all Finalists

Everyone:

• 50 Reward Vaults will be given to random participants in qualifiers
• We are giving away $300 a day in cash to participants during each event
• Tier 3 Unioverse collectible tournament badge to the top 50 players on the Qualifier final board.
• 3x Protens awarded PER GAME for all Qualifier games played. Learn how Protens can be converted at the UNIO TGE here.

How to Enter

• Everyone can enter the tournament for free, you do not need a Unioverse hero.
• You can download the Hoverdrome and practice right now and earn Proten rewards.
• Please verify you have a Windows PC with the minimum requirements (listed on the download page).
• Please make sure to set your Unioverse email so we can notify you of tournament status and prizes.

Rules

The following behaviors are not allowed and can result in bans:

• Team play: logging with other players who then play as a team, protecting each other and helping each other score.
• Hiding with the proten in places of the map where other players may not be able to reach you or shoot at you. Examples include but are not limited to outside the arena or on top of objects such the gears or proten smasher.
• Multi-account play: logging in with multiple accounts in order to throw the game in your favor.

Open Qualifier

We will have four one-hour qualifier events starting on August 26th and being run at various times until August 29th. We will ensure a variety of time options to suit our global audience. During these times, you will compete in as many 4-minute games as you can. You only need to enter one, but you may enter as many as you wish. Your best score from any qualifier event will determine if you get into the finals.

Times for the qualifiers are below:

• August 26th, 7pm-8pm MT (GMT-6) Monday
• August 27th, 12pm-1pm MT Tuesday
• August 28th, 12pm-1pm MT Wednesday
• August 29th, 8am-9am MT Thursday

During a Qualifier Event you accumulate points as follows:

• Winner: 9 Points
• Second Place: 4 Points
• Third: 2 Points
• Fourth: 1 Point

During the event, the leaderboard will show the standings for the current Qualifier Event.

At the end of the week we will take each player’s personal best from all the Qualifier Events they participated in, and make a Final Leaderboard. The top 32 from the Final Leaderboard will be invited to the Live Final Event as described below.

Players will be able to see the current standings throughout the week. This article will be updated after each event with the results.

If you are in the top 50 you must signup at communitygaming.io and link your Unioverse wallet.

Please make sure to set your Unioverse email so we can notify you of tournament status and prizes.

Qualifier 1 Results (August 26th)
Qualifier 2 Results (August 27th)
Qualifier 3 Results (August 28th)
Qualifier 4 Results (August 29th)

Live Finals Event

The live finals event will be streamed to Twitch on Saturday August 31st, 2024 starting at 11am MT

The previous finals were a huge hit. Here is the format for this tournament’s finals.

The top 32 Players from the Open Qualifier will be invited to a live tournament hosted by our partner, CommunityGaming.io. Using our tournament system, one match will be played at a time with stellar commentary from guest hosts @Tanner_Metro and @Orbital_Casting. 

During the live event, the finalists will be randomly assigned groups and play through brackets as follows, one match at a time:

This live event will include prizes randomly given out to viewers so tune in!

Please make sure to set your Unioverse email so we can notify you of tournament status and prizes.

Don’t forget! You can also host and stream your own private tournaments. If you want us to reward prizes for streaming YOUR tournament sign up here.

Get ready by practicing in the Hoverdrome now! Download here!

Our most treasured NFT to date, FREE!

Check your whitelist status here.

We’ve minted the first two Unioverse Heroes Krishah and Reyu, but this one is the most exciting by far. Not just because of who he is (a badass space sheriff) but also because of what we can reveal about the UNIO TGE and the future of the Unioverse.

Hero Benefits

Owning a Tor Gret will of course let you play as a unique skin in all Unioverse games. Owning the most recently minted hero will always have the most ecosystem benefits, but owning combinations of heroes will be important as well.

Additionally, we are announcing the following:

• Holders of Epic and Legendary Heroes will participate in community rewards at TGE and beyond.
• Holders of Epic and Legendary Heroes will get guaranteed lots for UNIO Public Sale and purchasers will get bonus UNIO.
• Epic and Legendary Hero owners will have early access to the Proten to UNIO conversion events.
• ALL hero owners will have beta access to the Hoverdrome, with unique reward pools!

How to Get One

We are happy to announce we will again be partnering with Magic Eden to mint. The mint will be on August 6, 2024 and will work as follows:

• FREE to claim (you pay gas), minted on Base
• 5,000 supply: (3 Pinnacles, 107 Legendary, 330 Epic, 660 Rare, 1,400 Uncommon, 2,500 Common)
• Up to 8,000 Whitelist spots will be allocated. 
• After the Whitelist phase, its first-come, first-served until all are minted.

How to Get Whitelisted

There are multiple ways to get whitelisted. Wallets can be whitelisted for one or more claims.

1. A wallet gets a whitelist for every Epic or Legendary Hero in that wallet on July 17, 2024.
2. The top 500 wallets on the Jumpers leaderboard the day prior to mint will get 1 whitelist.
3. 500 additional whitelists will be available for Energy on the Jump site.
4. Unioverse accounts with over 100,000 Protens on July 17, 2024 will get 1 whitelist.
5. Discord participation
6. Multiple whitelist partners will be announced in the next 2 weeks, including Magic Eden

Check your whitelist status here.

FAQ

Welcome champions of the Unioverse! Our fast-action multiplayer game the Hoverdrome is in alpha preview on Windows PC. This game combines themes from Mario Kart and Rocket League, and will melt your video card with its AAA graphics. In the coming months we will be adding new features to it based on your feedback. To make this fun, we will hold a series of FREE-to-play tournaments with big prizes!

Please check back here often as this page will update.

If you haven’t played yet, check out our new teaser below:

Prize Pool

Finalists:

• $15,000 split among the top 16 players in the Finals, courtesy of our sponsor GSR
• 300,000 $UNIO prize pool (claimable at TGE)
• All finalists get to create a rare hoverbike
• Unioverse Gamer Tags to all Finalists
• Special Hero Metadata awards to all Finalists

Everyone:

• Tor Gret whitelist for all participants in the Open Qualifier
• Tier 3 Unioverse collectible tournament badge to the top 50 players on the Qualifier final board.
• 3x Protens awarded PER GAME for all Qualifier games played. Learn how Protens can be converted to $UNIO at TGE here.

How to Enter

• Everyone can enter the tournament for free, you do not need a Unioverse hero.
• You can download the Hoverdrome and practice solo right now. Please verify you have a Windows PC with the minimum requirements.
• If you own a hero you can participate in additional tests throughout the day. Join us in Discord.
• Please make sure to set your Unioverse email so we can notify you of tournament status and prizes.

Open Qualifer

Next week we will have an Open Qualifier as a series of 1-hour Qualifier Events where you will compete in as many 4-minute games as you can. During open qualifier events you do not need to own a Unioverse hero to compete.

• July 29th, 9-10PM MT (GMT-6) Monday
• July 30, 5-6PM MT – Tuesday
• July 31, 9-10AM MT – Wednesday
• August 1: 7-8AM MT – Thursday
• August 1: 7-8PM MT – Thursday

Anyone can participate, FREE. You do not need to participate in more than one, but can enter as many as you want.

During a Qualifier Event you accumulate points as follows:

• Winner: 9 Points
• Second Place: 4 Points
• Third: 2 Points
• Fourth: 1 Point

During the event, the leaderboard will show the standings for the current Qualifier Event.

At the end of the week we will take each player’s personal best from all the Qualifier Events they participated in, and make a Final Leaderboard. The top 32 from the Final Leaderboard will be invited to the Live Final Event as described below.

Players will be able to see the current standings throughout the week.

If you are in the top 50 you must signup at communitygaming.io and link your Unioverse wallet, so we can contact you to participate in the finals.

Please make sure to set your Unioverse email so we can notify you of tournament status and prizes.

Live Finals Event

August 3rd, 2024 (exact time TBD)
3-hour live streamed event, hosted by Community Gaming.

Watch the livestream now.

The top 32 Players from the Open Qualifier will be invited to a live tournament hosted by our partner, CommunityGaming.io. Using our tournament system, one match will be played at a time with commentary from the development team and guest hosts. 

During the live event, the finalists will be randomly assigned groups and play through brackets as follows, one match at a time:

This live event will include prizes randomly given out to viewers so tune in!

Please make sure to set your Unioverse email so we can notify you of tournament status and prizes.

Buckle-up Unioverse fans, it’s time to compete! In partnership with Forge.gg, we have assembled the largest prize competition to date with $5,000 in USDT and much more!

This tournament features multiple stages and graphics-card melting gameplay. Entering is completely free, but you will need a game-ready Windows PC to play.

The action starts May 29th 2024.

Read below for additional competition details.

How to Compete

If you haven’t already, download the free-to-play Unioverse Proving Grounds from Elixir Launcher. Create your Unioverse and Elixir accounts and get some practice in before the tournament starts.

Then get familiar with the stages of the tournament:

Qualifier

There will be a 2-week long qualifier stage on a new never-before-seen map, starting May 29th at 12PM MT and ending on June 12th at 12PM MT. Once you launch Unioverse Proving Grounds, click Play, click Forge Tournament, and then Compete to play the tournament! Enter the tournament by setting your best score over 14 days. You can play as many times as you want, with Reyu or Krishah. The top 50 Players on the leaderboard at Noon on the 12th will advance to the Elimination Round.

Our qualifier round has drawn to a close. A huge round of thanks for everyone that participated. And congratulations to the top 50 who will receive a unique Tier 3 collectible and an invitation to compete in our Elimination Round. The Top 50 can be found below:

Elimination Round

A new level will be released on June 12th at 3PM MT. Everyone that qualified can play and enter the elimination round. You must set your best time over 48 hours, ending on June 14th at 3PM MST. The top 5 Players from the elimination round will be invited to the Finals.

Finals

Finalists will be given access to a new level on June 14th, with 24 hours to practice.

The 5 finalists will be invited to compete in the Final Forge Showdown, where they have 3 attempts to post their best score. Coverage of the finals and all tournament raffle winners will be debuted on Unioverse social media. Stay tuned for details about the event!

MUST DO: Players must fill out their email on their Unioverse account so we can notify them and arrange participation in the Finals. If any finalist is unable to compete, the next player on the leaderboard will be invited and so on.

Prizes

The following prizes will be awarded after each stage is completed. Check back again regularly, as more prizes could be announced!

NOTE: Any Protens prize awarded below will automatically be DOUBLED if the recipient played with a Gamer Tag. Get your gamer tag today!

Qualifier Prizes

• The top 50 qualifiers will be awarded a Tier-3 Tournament badge
• 20 random players in the qualifier will be awarded 25,000 Protens each
• 5 random players in the qualifier will be awarded 50,000 Protens each
• 1 random player who records their qualifier run and streams to Twitch or posts to YouTube will win $1,000 USDT. To participate you must fill out this form with a link to your video.
• 1 random player in the qualifiers will win a Legendary Hero NFT

Prizes for Elimination Round

• The top 25 players will win 50,000 Protens
• The top 10 players will win $300 USDT
• The top 5 win a Finalist metadata career attribute 
• 1 random player in elimination round will win a Legendary Hero NF

Prizes for Finals

• Gamer Tags used in finals will gain 25 levels of Fame.
• The finalist winner will receive $1,000 USDT
• The winner gets a Champion metadata career attribute 
• 1 random finalist will win a Legendary Hero NFT

The qualifier round is live now. It’s gametime!!

Good luck, everyone. ???? 

Keep hoarding Protens in preparation for the upcoming UNIO TGE! Learn how to participate here

Protens are a valuable energy crystal that powers the Unioverse.

In our game ecosystem, you can earn protens by participating and collecting, and then spend protens to create heroes, weapons, vehicles and more. 

If you are a fan of the Unioverse YOU WANT PROTENS. As many as you can get.

How can I get Protens?

It will never be easier to get Protens than it is right now. 

• Every new account gets free protens! Go to protens.unioverse.com and collect them by clicking the EARN button.
• Install and play the Unioverse’s first game, the Proving Grounds. Every completed run gets rewards and the better your score, the more you get! This reward resets weekly, and you can play with each hero you own. If you don’t own a hero, don’t worry, you can buy one or play for free until you do. 
• For a limited time we are also giving a random Unioverse Collectible to everyone that completes the Proving Ground. Collectibles generate free protens daily, with more generated per day by the higher tier collectibles. If you can’t play, don’t worry! You can pick them up here or follow us on twitter and watch for free giveaways.
• We are about to launch a new Tournament Mode in the Proving Grounds that will have giant proten jackpots for our user-created levels! Join us on discord to learn more. 
• Create and share Unioverse video content. We regularly give protens rewards out for great creators that build with us. You can get started with tons of free Unioverse assets.

Where do I spend Protens?

Protens can be spent in the Unioverse marketplace, or inside the Proving Grounds. 

Can Protens be moved between accounts?

No. 

Will Protens be an ERC token?

Maybe. 

Other questions?

Hop in to our Discord and ask one of our Legends! We have the greatest community of creators anywhere.

This is a guest blog post from Alvaro Zino-Amaro, who is one of the amazing writers contributing to the forthcoming Unioverse anthology, Stories of the Reconvergence. The book arrives on August 15, but you can pre-order your digital copy right now.

Shortly after I was invited to contribute to the fabric of the Unioverse, I began studying its grand backstory. It was an exciting, heady plunge. I found myself learning about the remnants of ancient, mysterious races; technologies that could operate across vast distances and perform feats of near-magic; cycles of history stretching back millions of years. 

Against the immensity of these epic scales, I imagined the intimate journey of one solitary artist.

Art history is littered with the stories of outsiders who, time and again, master different crafts in order to express their singular perspectives. In a Unioverse comprised of countless worlds and inhabited by innumerable types of beings, where infinite variety is an everyday reality, what could the word “outsider” mean?

Pondering this question gave me the first hint of my story’s plot. The visionary artist I conceived of captivated audiences by using high technology to create dazzling works of conceptual art–but was also trying to solve the mystery of his own “otherness.”

Again, falling back on real-life examples of famous artists through history, I wondered whether the same source of the protagonist’s wild creativity might lead to some unhealthy behaviors. What if our character had a dependency on something potentially life-threatening, feeling unable to create without it? How far would he push himself?

A common thread in chronicles of substance abuse seems to be the desire to escape oneself, however temporarily. The Unioverse, I realized, offered me a built-in mechanism that could literalize this idea: transpod technology allows for the leaping of consciousness from one body–or “skin”– to another. Someone feeling deeply alienated might develop an addiction to this process of escaping from skin to skin, experiencing moments of blissful non-being in between the adjustments to, in a physical sense at least, becoming someone new. But abusing the transpods exacts a heavy toll. After several hundred jumps, the mind begins to collapse, approaching the so-called Zero Hour, a complete loss of sanity.

“Suigeneriscide,” a word I invented to combine the notions of being sui generis, or unique, and ending oneself, is both the title of my story and the name of a daring piece of conceptual art dreamed up by Raestio, the story’s troubled protagonist. 

We meet him as he is preparing to showcase “Suigeneriscide,” his most bold, challenging performance yet. As the crowning achievement of a long and storied career, it spells an end; as the gateway to new personal possibilities, it marks a beginning. Will he retain his faculties long enough to complete his ambitious plan, or will the Zero Hour claim him before he has the chance to find out the truth about himself?  

Even with his audacious imagination, Raestio is unprepared for the revelations that await deep within his own identity.

I hope you are too.

This guest post is by Tim Waggoner, who contributed a story to the upcoming Unioverse anthology: Stories of the Reconvergence, available on August 15.

I was thrilled to get an opportunity to contribute a story to Unioverse: Tales of the Reconvergence, and while I’d written many stories and novels for media properties before, I knew right away that the Unioverse was special. A galaxies-spanning system of instantaneous interstellar travel was awesome enough, but travelers’ ability to send their consciousness into a new body designed specifically for the planet they’re going to? The possibilities for stories were endless!

I quickly realized, though, that a time-tested bit of writer’s wisdom applied here: too much freedom isn’t always a good thing. If an anthology’s theme is narrow enough – say, pirate ghost stories centered on revenge – you’ve got only a few elements to work with. First you ask yourself what the most common ideas for pirate-ghost-revenge stories are, and then you eliminate them from your potential choices because you know other writers are going to go for the obvious concepts. You ask yourself if there’s any way to reverse a common pirate-ghost-revenge story trope. A common trope is the ghost of a pirate guards his or her hidden treasure and protects it from anyone who would steal it. So you decide to write a story about a pirate ghost desperate to give away his or her treasure, but who can’t find anyone to take it. (Maybethat’s the curse on the treasure.) You might contemplate all the pirate stories you’ve read or watched throughout your life to see if you can find some kind of personal connection that you can draw on to write your contribution to the anthology. Maybe you dressed up as a pirate for one Halloween when you were young, and while you were out trick-or-treating, several older kids stole your bag of candy. If you can find a personal connection to the anthology’s theme, you’ll be able to invest your story with a strong emotional core. And to make your story idea even more unique, you might combine several elements – say, your idea about the pirate wanting to give away his or her treasure, your candy being stolen during Halloween night, maybe a couple other things that occur to you – and viola! You have enough elements to begin drafting what will hopefully be an interesting story with a strong emotional core which isn’t like any other stories that will appear in an anthology.

These are the steps I normally take when I write for a theme anthology, but I couldn’t do any of them for Unioverse: Tales of the Reconvergence. The concept of the setting was so far beyond anything I’d ever experienced that I couldn’t draw on my own life and observations for inspiration, and the setting was so vast that literally almost any kind of story was possible. And it wasn’t like Star Trek where there are well-established galactic denizens – Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans, Andorians, etc. – to base stories on. Travelers could go to any planet, as long as it was connected to the Hub. And travelers could go for a multitude of reasons.

Like I said earlier, there’s a lot of freedom in this setting, maybe as much freedom as the travelers themselves have.

I brooded over story ideas for weeks, unable to come up with any that I liked. I started wondering if I wouldn’t be able to write a story for the anthology after all, but finally my brain kicked into gear. I looked for an aspect of the setting that other writers most likely wouldn’t explore, and I realized religion might be one of them. We tend to think of highly advanced civilizations as focusing more on science than religion, but with so many different worlds being part of the Hub and so many more planets that travelers can go to, surely religion would play some role in this galactic civilization. So I created the Immaculance, an organization of the Hub who’s tasked with, as I wrote in the story, “monitoring – and when necessary, policing – religious interchanges throughout the galactic coalition.” The Immaculance would give me my own little niche to explore, which I thought would work well in the anthology.

Since travelers get a new body – or skin, as they call it – whenever they jump to a world, they aren’t constrained by environment. They can visit worlds with different atmospheres and gravity, worlds with conditions so hazardous to human life that they couldn’t travel there otherwise. So I
decided the main character in my story – Ruth Guerrero – would go to such a world, just to make things more interesting. I also decided to give agents of the Immaculance embedded nanotech AI’s called Paracletes that could assist them in their missions. (In Christian theology, a paraclete is the Holy Spirit as advocate or counselor.) I gave Ruth’s Paraclete the name Shepherd. This way, Ruth would have a partner on her mission to talk to and bounce ideas off of. My characters needed a mission, so I decided they’d investigate an incident of religious interference on a primitive world by a rogue agent of the Immaculance, and to add an emotional core to the story, I gave Ruth a conflict regarding her own religious beliefs.

And thus was “A Deeper Song” born.

I had a lot of fun writing the story, and I hope readers enjoy it. I really like Ruth and Shepherd, and if I’m lucky, I’ll get to create more adventures for them. There’s more than enough work in the Unioverse to keep them busy.

At Unioverse, we’re always on the lookout for opportunities to connect with diverse audiences and explore new horizons in the gaming world. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Claners, a well-known Latin American video game brand. This collaboration promises to be an exciting journey, bringing together our shared passion for gaming and innovation. In this blog post, we’ll dive into the details of our partnership and what you can expect from this thrilling week in the Unioverse.

Why Claners?

Our decision to partner with Claners is rooted in our shared vision for the gaming community. Claners boasts a dedicated audience of early adopters, making them the perfect testing ground for our web3 message. These gamers are always eager to try new experiences, making them an ideal audience to introduce to the world of Unioverse.

But it’s not just about introducing Claners to Unioverse; it’s also about learning from their expertise and building a direct line of communication with their players. Together, we’re working on creating tutorial content in Spanish and Portuguese, ensuring that Claners gamers have a seamless onboarding and gaming experience with the Unioverse. It’s a partnership built on mutual respect and a shared love for gaming.

What Is Unioverse?

Before we dive into the details of our partnership week, let’s take a moment to introduce Unioverse for those who might be new to our universe. Unioverse is a sci-fi gaming franchise developed by industry veterans responsible for hits like GTA, COD, Halo and more. Our mission is to bring you thrilling gaming experiences that push the boundaries of what’s possible in the gaming world.

What Is Claners?

Claners, on the other hand, is a prominent online video game store that offers over 3,500 digital products for Xbox, PlayStation, Blizzard, Steam, and PC. With more than 30,000 Cash-Points of Sale, Claners makes it incredibly convenient for gamers to purchase and collect digital products instantly. They have earned a reputation for being a reliable and diverse source for all your gaming needs.

The Exciting Week Ahead

Now, let’s get to the exciting part – what you can expect from our partnership week with Claners.

What to Expect

In this 7-day challenge, Unioverse invites Claners (and everyone) to play in the Proving Grounds: a third-person shooter, speedrun mode within our Hero Viewer. Sprint, shoot, slash through the pre-alpha and top the weekly leaderboard for rewards!

How to Participate

Participating in our Proving Grounds challenge is easy, whether you’re new to Unioverse or a seasoned player

1. Create an Account with Your Phone: If you’re new to Unioverse, start by creating an account using your phone number.
2. Connect Your Email: To make things even more accessible, we’ve streamlined the onboarding process. When you connect your email, we automatically create a wallet for you and mint a Krishah clone to that wallet. No need to fiddle with web3 wallets if you’re a web2 user.
3. Download Proving Grounds: Make sure to download Proving Grounds, our alpha third-person shooter, speedrun mode! 
4. Play: Dive into the world of Unioverse and start playing!

Watch this awesome tutorial video in Spanish on how to complete each step, by our newest community moderator, KratosTuga! Welcome to the team, Kratos.

Prizes You Can Win

We’ve got some incredible prizes lined up for you:

• 150 Krishah Heroes (Lifetime Game Passes): These come in various skins, ranging from Common to Legendary, enhancing your cosmetics.
• Draw for a gift card equivalent to $50 USD for the gaming platforms sold by Claners
• Unioverse Collectibles: Exclusive collectibles from Unioverse to make your gaming experience even more special.

How to Win

Earning raffle tickets is easy:

• Users who sign up, download, and play will receive 1 raffle ticket.
• Those who complete a full run will get 3 raffle tickets and a free Unioverse Collectible.

The challenge is over on Monday October 2nd at 12pm MT.

Prizes will be drawn at random the following Tuesday after the leaderboard rolls over, so make sure you’re in it to win it!

New Build Features

Our partnership week also comes with some exciting new features:

• Spanish Operating System Option: Now, users can easily toggle to a Spanish operating system, with more language options on the horizon.
  
• Sword Editor: Get a taste of our amazing sword editor (note: we are still testing so you can’t mint yet, but you can explore and create awesome content).
  
• UGT (Unioverse Gamer Tag): We’re currently testing UGTs for Proving Grounds players, so be sure to check out the leaderboard.
  
• Minor UI Changes: We’ve made some UI tweaks and added a play HUD to enhance your overall gaming experience.
  

Next Steps

Don’t miss out on this fun week of gaming and prizes! Sign up, connect your email, and start playing for a chance to win big. For hints, shortcuts, and a fantastic gaming community, join us on Discord.gg/theunioverse and connect with Unioverse legends.

In partnership with Claners, we’re breaking new ground bringing web3 experiences to web2 audiences. It’s all about rolling up our sleeves and marketing thoughtfully to make gaming accessible and enjoyable for everyone. Join us and let’s game on together!

This is a guest post by author Carter Wilson, who’s work will appear in the Unioverse anthology, Stories of the Reconvergence, available August 15th.

Let’s be clear, writing science fiction is not my thing. Not that I have anything against it, it’s just hard! It’s difficult enough to create a believable location in which to set a story, but an entire planet? Come on.

I’m known for my dark, psychological thrillers. For writing from the POV of an everyday person who has horrible situations thrown at them, at which point I get to sit back and watch what they do. Will they overcome their obstacles, or die trying? It’s important to me the reader connects with the protagonist, can feel the struggle, and asks themselves what would I do?

When Josh Viola asked me to contribute a story to the Unioverse anthology, I was at first hesitant. How do I do that? Do I need to create aliens with gills and stuff? Would I need to craft a whole Tolkien-esque language? But then he explained the Unioverse, how vast it was, the limitlessness of its story-telling potential, and my mind started churning. It occurred to me that dark, personal stories about struggle and conflict are at the heart of many sci-fi novels, and my expertise at intimate and twisted thrillers could be applied to a Unioverse setting. I started to see a path forward.

And then Josh told me about the residue. About how, when a life form jumps in the Unioverse and takes on a new skin, trace residue from the previous occupant’s consciousness remains in that skin. The moment he told me that my writer’s brain went into overdrive. What if… what if a person was on vacation, maybe even their honeymoon, and the skin they rented had just been occupied by a serial killer?

Yeah, that was something I could work with.

“Ghost in the Machine” went though several iterations, and at each pass it got a touch darker and more sinister. I’ve been told it’s one of–if not the most–disturbing stories in the collection, a badge I wear with honor. But at the root of it is simple struggle. One women’s journey toward mental salvation, with the killer’s residue serving as both an obstacle and a catalyst on her path. It’s a psychological thriller that could take place nearly anywhere. In this case, that place is the planet Adara, an exotic vacation destination that’s as untamed as it is luxurious.

Hope the readers enjoy it. I certainly had fun as hell writing it. Am I allowed to call myself a sci-fi writer now?

1.) What can you tell us about your Unioverse story?

My story is “Vanetta 4.” A retired bounty hunter yearns to repair the estranged relationship between himself and his daughter. His quest brings him to the Hub where he finds out that she’s fled to another galaxy in the system. When he gets to the planet where she’s hiding, he discovers that she’s in deep trouble and so he tries to rescue her. The story has lots of misdirection and betrayals. I wanted to show that even in a futuristic world like in the Unionverse, there’s much that falls between the cracks, that its characters are complicated and will cut ethical and moral corners. The vastness and complexity of the Unioverse gave me a rich platform to explore themes of longing, failure, and redemption.

2.) You’ve been described as “a very disturbed man–and I mean that in the absolute finest sense of the term.” What type of disturbance were you looking to create in the Unioverse?

The disturbance I wanted to play upon was one of my favorite literary devices—treachery in the form of the double-cross. Nothing gets the writer juices flowing like having a trusted friend stab you in the back. Add some old-fashioned greed and corruption and that’s more fodder for a good story.

3.) What’s your advice for aspiring writers who may want to create and publish their own Unioverse stories?

For starters, understand story structure and how to write interesting, empathetic characters, and how to manipulate tension and suspense to keep your readers engaged. Every story is a character study, meaning the reader is following a protagonist acting on an agenda and moving toward a definite goal. What makes the story compelling is putting obstacles in front of that goal and seeing how the protagonist reacts to those problems.

For writing in the Unioverse, study the story world, its rules and the dynamics. Then think of the most imaginative concept that fits in that world and run with it.

4.) Was writing for someone else’s IP harder or easier than creating your own? How so?

Every story is a unique challenge to write. Even if you’re writing in a narrow genre, you have to give the reader something new. Writing in the Unioverse IP made some issues easier, in that someone else has done the heavy lifting creating this complex and fantastic world. Then for me, the hard part was using my particular writing sensibilities to create a story that both fits and fleshes out what we know about the Unioverse. Part of the mandate to us writers was to create stories that added more “world” to this particular IP.

5.) Considering the Unioverse will span books, videogames and more — do you have any thoughts on what a “story” is in this day and age?

Books, videogames, and other media are just that, mediums for telling a story; the fundamentals remain the same. We need interesting characters that we care about. Those characters need challenging but achievable goals. The story—whether in written, audio, or visual format (with a definite beginning, middle, and end), or as a dynamic, interactive game—is a vicarious experience that must immerse the reader. While we like evermore sophisticated video games, at the same time, we’re just as willing to sit around the campfire and invite someone to literally “tell us a story.”

Wow. Just… Wow.

I know I’m a little biased, but the Unioverse comic from Josh Viola, Angie Hodapp and Ben Matsuya just keeps getting better and better as the cast of characters grows and grows.

“Tor Gret,” the latest issue introducing the titular Hero, is no exception. Tor Gret is issue three of the Unioverse limited series comic book and is out now in print and digital!

We do not want to give too much away here, but as Brent Friedman, our narrative director said — “You do not negotiate with Tor Gret.”

For real, if you haven’t already, get in on all this comic book goodness right now. Don’t take my word for it — check out the sneak peek preview of Tor Gret below.

Order Tor Gret print edition

Order Tor Gret digital edition

Issue 1 – Reyu

Issue 2 – Krishah

We like to put on a show for our community. Add some flair to our proceedings. Some pizzazz, if you will. 

In that spirit, it is with great pleasure that we announce the details of our global Krishah reveal event, this Saturday, July 8. 

Whether you were lucky enough to claim a Krishah at our Community-only Proten event, or had the winning bid during the Pinnacle auction, or bought a sweet three-pack of Legendary, Epics and Rares on Magic Eden – everyone’s unique Krishah will be revealed during this event. 

And, because we like to put on a great show, we’ve included a bunch of fun pre-reveal extravaganzas that you’ll definitely want to check out. 

RSVP to join in the fun!

Here’s everything you need to know:  

Krishah Reveal Event Details!

Date: July 8, 2023
Time: 10 a.m. US MT 
Length: 2 Hours

SCHEDULE 

10:00 – 10:10
Introductions/Welcome/Rules 

10:10 – 10:15
RAFFLE 1 

10:15 – 10:30
A Conversation with Unioverse Narrative Lead Brent Friedman

10:30 – 10:45
Krishah Showcase with Unioverse Art Director Ken Hall

10:45 – 10:55
Q&A with Tony, Ken, Brent

10:55 – 11:00 
RAFFLE 2

11:00 – 11:15 
Comic and Anthology Showcase with Josh Viola 

11:15 – 11:20
Proving Grounds Competition Announcement 

11:20 – 11:25
RAFFLE 3

11:25 – 12:00 
Reveal Showcases and Last Questions – Tony, Bryan

Maybe you’re the type of person who doesn’t like to take chances. You like to play it safe. You want to know what you’re getting into. In other words, you want guarantees.

Well, if you are that type of person, then you’ve got to check out the Krishah Genesis sale happening over at Magic Eden! Starting on June 30, you can get a three-pack of Krishah Genesis Heroes, but here’s the good part: When you buy that three-pack, you’re guaranteed to get a Legendary, Epic or Rare Krishah. No Uncommons or Commons. 

Now, the rarities you receive are still random, meaning that you may get one of each, or all Legendaries or two Rares and an Epic… you get the point. 

Here’s what you need to know: 

1. From noon to 12:30 p.m. US MT, allowlisted wallets will have exclusive access to purchase any number of Krishahs before the public. The supply for this phase is 642 tickets (granting 1,926 Krishahs).
2. At 12:30 p.m. US MT, the sale opens up to everyone and will last for 47.5 hours or until supply runs out, whichever comes first. 
3. All Krishah Genesis Legendary, Epic and Rare Heroes will be minted to Polygon and will cost 90 MATIC (plus gas fee).
4. There will be 379 Legendary, 1,157 Epic, 2,313 Rare. No matter how many you purchase, rarity results will be random. This sale is for Krishah three-packs only. 
5. At the time of purchase, you’ll receive a ticket verifying your purchase. This ticket can be traded anytime up until midnight UTC on Jul 7, 2023. 
6. Rarity and style of your Krishahs will be revealed on July 8 when we start airdropping them. 

You’re not the type of person to pass this up. Go preview and bookmark the Magic Eden Krishah Three-Pack sale page right now!

It’s one thing to play a videogame. It’s quite another to play a videogame looking like the ultimate bad-ass sporting one of the rarest character styles in all of gaming while vanquishing your enemies.

I’m talking about Unioverse Pinnacle Heroes. Out of the 20,000 Krishah Genesis Heroes that will ever exist – only 11 will be Pinnacles. And you get your chance to own one during our Krishah Pinnacle auction on Monday, June 26 at noon US MT, only on Magic Eden. Ten Pinnacles will be made available at this auction, which you can preview on Magic Eden right now.

All Unioverse Heroes are AAA-quality, game-ready characters that you actually play in Unioverse games. See for yourself how awesome Krishah looks sprinting, jumping and blasting her way through our Proving Grounds alpha in this video:

But the Pinnacles? Well, Pinnacles are the most special, hand-crafted styles of Unioverse Heroes, and ten of them will be up for grabs during Monday’s auction. Pinnacles are minted to Ethereum and paid for with ETH. Check out the Krishah Pinnacle preview page live now on Magic Eden for more details.

Want to know more about how Unioverse Hero rarity works? This brief explainer video walks you through the process.

If you do bid on your own Krishah Pinnacle, just a reminder that winning bids will initially receive a Unioverse ticket that verifies your purchase. This ticket may be traded up until midnight UTC Jul 7, 2023. All rarity and styles will be revealed starting on July 8 when the airdropping of all Krishahs begins.

Last week, we announced when you’ll be able to get to your own Krishah Hero, and even provided a handy little FAQ about the claim. If you’ve forgotten or just don’t want to click on a link, here’s quick refresher on the dates you can acquire a Krishah:

There are three opportunities to claim a Krishah Genesis Hero:

• June 19 – Proten Power! Anyone who has accrued enough Protens can claim one or multiple Krishahs. Protens redemption will last until supply runs out. 
• June 26 – Pinnacle Auction: Ten of the eleven Pinnacles will go up for auction on Magic Eden. The auction will last 48 hours. Pinnacles will be minted to Ethereum and paid for with ETH.
• June 30 – Krishah Legendary, Epic and Rare Packs Sale: Legendary, Epic and Rare versions of Krishah can be purchased on Magic Eden. Rarity of Hero claimed will be random. Krishahs can be purchased in packs of three* (exact prices to be announced soon). These Krishahs are minted to Polygon and paid for with MATIC (exact price to be announced). The sale will last 48 hours or until supply runs out, whichever comes first. 

At the time of claim, you will receive verification of your claim. All Krishahs will be airdropped starting July 8, with rarity and style revealed at that time. 

But today, we’re focusing on the Protens option, because, well, that’s happening in a few days, and that’s how you get a free Krishah! 

On Monday at noon U.S. Mountain Time, visit redeem.unioverse.com to claim your Krishah!

Before you do that, however, you must make sure you have earned your Protens. Protens are like Unioverse loyalty points that you accrue by owning and holding Unioverse Collectibles and/or playing the Proving Grounds alpha. You must manually earn your Protens by visiting protens.unioverse.com, logging into your account and clicking the “Earn” button. Your Protens count will be automatically tallied and displayed for you.

OK. Great, but now the real question – how many Protens do you need to get a Krishah?

That depends on how many Krishahs you want! Here’s the breakdown: 

1 Krishah for 333 Protens

2 Krishahs for 999 Protens 

5 Krishahs for 5,000 Protens

10 Krishahs for 20,000 Protens

20 Krishahs for 100,000 Protens

50 Krishahs for 350,000 Protens 

But wait! There’s more! Some quick reminders as you get set to snag your Krishah: 

1. There is NO GAS FEE if you are redeeming Protens to get a Krishah
2. You get a FREE COMMON KRISHAH HERO for every Krishah you claim
3. If claiming with Protens, there will be 1 Pinnacle, 40 Legendary, 130 Epic, 260 Rare, and 5,600 Uncommons available through this specific event. Rarities claimed will be random.

If you have any other questions, hit up our mods on our Discord. If you’re ready, steady then let’s go! We’ll see you on Monday!

*NOTE: To improve and streamline the claim workflow, we are no longer offering the single Krishah purchase option.

Krishah, the second Unioverse Hero, will be released in just a couple of weeks! After selling out Reyu Genesis, our first Unioverse Hero, back in January – we are thrilled to not only release a new character, but also give more people with a chance to be part of and play in the Unioverse. 

For those new to the Unioverse, Krishah is the deadly top assassin for the Ascended, a pious religious cult aimed at bringing down the Merge authority. If you’re reading our Unioverse comic series, you know that Reyu and Krishah have crossed paths. You can delve into her story in the Krishah comic book!

For those just eager to add to your Unioverse collection or play Unioverse games with the amazing-looking Krishah, here’s what you need to know:

When can I get a Krishah?

There are three opportunities to claim a Krishah Genesis Hero:

• June 19 – Proten Power! Anyone who has accrued enough Protens (exact count to be announced closer to release) can claim one or multiple Krishahs. Protens redemption will last until supply runs out. 
• June 26 – Pinnacle Auction: Ten of the eleven Pinnacles will go up for auction on Magic Eden. The auction will last 48 hours. Pinnacles will be minted to Ethereum and paid for with ETH.
• June 30 – Krishah Legendary, Epic and Rare Packs Sale: Legendary, Epic and Rare versions of Krishah can be purchased on Magic Eden. Rarity of Hero claimed will be random. Krishahs will be sold in packs of three* (exact prices to be announced soon). These Krishahs are minted to Polygon and paid for with MATIC (exact price to be announced). The sale will last 48 hours or until supply runs out, whichever comes first. 

If redeeming Protens for Krishah, no gas fee and FREE Commons!

After hearing from the Community about our Reyu Genesis mint in January, we are making some adjustments to sweeten our Protens offer. If you redeem Protens to get a Krishah, there will be NO GAS FEES and your claim will result in an Uncommon Krishah or rarer (see rarity distribution below). As a BONUS; you get a FREE Common Krishah for every Krishah you claim!

Where do I claim my Krishah?

On Monday, June 19th at noon US MT, visit redeem.unioverse.com to claim your Krishah!

How do I earn Protens?

You earn Protens by owning and holding Unioverse Collectibles, and/or by playing the Proving Grounds. So if you’ve got Reyu Hero, there’s still time to rack up more Protens!

That’s the ticket!

When you claim your Krishah on Magic Eden – you will first receive a ticket that shows proof of your claim. 

When you claim your Krishah using Protens on the Unioverse site, you will see that your claim was processed with a checkmark next to the option you selected. 

Airdropping of ALL Krishahs begins on July 8. All Krishahs claimed will be distributed to wallets, with rarity and style revealed at that time. 

How many Krishah NFTs are available? 

There will only ever be 20,000 Krishah Genesis NFTs made available. 

Will I get my Hero immediately?

No. All Heroes will be airdropped beginning July 8. Rarity and specific styles will be revealed at that time.

What rarity will I get?

That depends on how you claim your Krishah. 

• Winning bids at the Pinnacle auction guarantees a Pinnacle Krishah
• Purchases during the Legendary, Epic and Rare sale on Magic Eden guarantee you a Legendary, Epic or Rare Hero. There will be 379 Legendary, 1,157 Epic, 2,313 Rare. No matter how many you purchase, rarity results will be random. 
• If claiming with Protens, there will be 1 Pinnacle, 40 Legendary, 130 Epic, 260 Rare, and 5,600 Uncommons available through this specific event. Rarities claimed will be random. Additionally, each Krishah you claim with Protens will come with an additional free Common Krishah.

No matter how you claim your Krishah, all rarities and skins will be revealed beginning July 8 during a special event. 

What chains are Heroes minted to? 

Common through Legendary Krishahs will be minted on Polygon. Pinnacle Krishahs will be minted on Ethereum.

*NOTE: To improve and streamline the claim workflow, we are no longer offering the single Krishah purchase option.

Ever since we launched “Reyu,” the first issue of our first Unioverse comic book series last month, fans have been clamoring for the next installment. So it’s with great excitement that we announce today that issue two, “Krishah,” is available now!

As its title suggests, this issue fully introduces you to Krishah, the deadly assassin working for the Ascended, a pious religious cult bent on dismantling the Merge Authority. 

But we don’t want to spoil too much here….

Well, okay, we can spoil a little more. How about a look at the cover and the first page? 
Thought you’d like that. Feast your eyes on this sneak peek, then go buy your own copy of Krishah from Hex Publishers, and then stay tuned because our Krishah Hero claim is coming up soon.

This is a guest post by best-selling author Kevin J. Anderson (Clockwork Destiny, Gods and Dragons), who has contributed short fiction to the upcoming Unioverse anthology Stories of the Reconvergence, available this August from Hex Publishers.

I’ve given many writers’ workshops and participated in a lot of story challenges. One of my favorite teaching examples is the “purple unicorn story.” If somebody asks you to write a story for an anthology about purple unicorns—and you agree to do it—then you should commit to writing the best damn purple unicorn story you can.

The long history and limitless planets, races, and alien civilizations in the Unioverse allowed me to write the best damn story…period!

I had free reign, and as I studied the parameters and background, the biological underpinnings and the nuances of the space transportation system, I caught an idea connected to love and memories, and the true horrors of a debilitating brain disease, like Alzheimers.

I had just turned 60 when I wrote this story. I’ve watched several of my older relatives fade away from dementia—still alive, but losing themselves and their past entirely. And I had just lost my close friend Neil Peart to glioma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. I thought back to my childhood and some friends I lost then, people I had not thought of in decades, and it struck me that I might be the only person left who even remembers them.

In the Unioverse, the practice of instantaneous travel through pods, with the re-creation of a cloned body on the other end, provides a person with a clean slate. And I realized that might provide a new hope for someone with a debilitating brain disease.

I was also fascinated by potential stories set in abandoned alien civilizations, ghost towns on unexplored planets. I saw the connection with those lost alien races and their forgotten histories with my character who is also losing his memories. For additional poignancy, I made him a widower, whose wife had died many years earlier. He’s terrified that if he loses his memories of her, then NOBODY will remember. Will it be as if his beloved never existed?

He can’t stand that thought, so he takes a great gamble … and the story begins.

“Ruins of Memory” turned out to be a deeply emotional and personal story for me, dredging up resonances from my own experiences with a veneer of my losses. I think I was true to my vow of writing the best damn story possible, period. “Ruins of Memory” packs a gut punch, I promise.

When you read it, I hope you enjoy the story, and I hope it draws attention to the amazing possibilities of this universe.

What happens when two of the best videogame communities come together for a little friendly competition? 

We’re about to find out as the Unioverse is taking on Shrapnel in our first-ever Proving Grounds community clash tournament!

Unioverse vs. Shrapnel

Shrapnel is an upcoming AAA Extraction first-person shooter, and we’ve given their Community access to our Proving Grounds alpha. 

Starting on May 21, the Unioverse and Shrapnel communities will vie against each other in our Proving Grounds. Sides will compete to see who can get the fastest time and how many people can rank at the top of the leaderboard. 

Shrapnel Operator holders were airdropped a Reyu, so they are ready to play. Will we let those folks come into our house and beat us at our own game? Get your Hero (if you don’t already have one), get into the Proving Grounds and get through it in record time. 

Contest Details

The tournament starts on May 21 at midnight UTC and will go all week until midnight UTC on May 28. 

The community with the most people in the top 50 of the leaderboard at the end of the tournament wins! 

But that’s not all. We’ve got more great prizes!

• First place receives a Legendary Reyu (1 of 260) and a Shrapnel Operator
• Places 2 – 5 get a Shrapnel Operator and an Epic Reyu
• Places 6 – 10 receive a Shrapnel Sigma Containment Unit and a Rare Reyu
• Top 50 players receive a Krishah Hero (will mint in ~30 days)
• Top 50 players receive a Proten-generating commemorative badge that reflects the winning team

We want to send a big thank you to the Shrapnel team and community for joining us in this fun endeavor, and we at the Unioverse are happy to take on all comers. If you have a thriving community and want to do a little cross-promotional competition – send us a note.

I feel like I should be one of those old-timey town criers when I announce this, so with that in mind – here we go: 

Hear ye, hear ye! The planet known as Cieba has henceforth been officially accepted into The Merge!

What makes the planet Ceiba so special is that it was created by the Unioverse Community. We mean it when we say the Unioverse is a community-owned franchise! We want you to feel like you are building this massive story with us, and we’ll give you the tools and opportunities to help unleash your creativity. 

Ceiba was the product of our New World Genesis Program. Over the course of two months, we provided creative prompts as starting points for the Community. We asked you to name this new planet, describe its geological and biological features, its place in the star system, its primary species, etc. 

We got submissions from around the world creating details about and giving structure to the planet Ceiba. Three winners, Stagmattic, Ourflower and Luke emerged from the Unioverse Community with ideas that really stood out. All three presented their ideas and our panel of judges (aka “The Security Council”) and voila! The planet Ceiba is now fully formed and accepted into The Merge. 

As Andy Baker, one of the Unioverse narrative leads put it, “Ceiba has much to offer The Merge — the potential uses of the Proten-infused flora and fauna are limitless. And Merge scientists will accelerate Ceiban tech development. Great collaboration of our three winners to pull their entries together!”

You can read all about the planet Ceiba at the Unioverse Story Wiki, and check out this gorgeous concept art created by our very own Stuart Jennett!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the first New World Genesis Program. If you missed out, fear not! There will be another round, so join our Discord and follow us on Twitter to be among the first to learn all the details when that program is announced!

The first Unioverse comic is out and available to order now! We told you all about the comic series last week, and to celebrate its official release, we decided to sit down with the comics’ writers, Josh Viola and Angie Hodapp. This is a great Q&A that pulls back the curtain just a little on the creation of the comics, and even offers some sage advice for anyone who wants to make a Unioverse comic of their own!

CHRIS ALBRECHT: What can fans expect from Unioverse comics?

JOSH VIOLA: It’s a six-issue limited series and the first five introduce the Unioverse Heroes. The first is Reyu, then Krishah, Tor Gret, Anill, and Vella Janx. We’re establishing those characters in each of their comics. And then there’s a narrative thread that connects the five and in issue six, we bring all the Heroes together and introduce the villain, Silas. That will likely be a triple-sized issue that ends with a cliffhanger.

Tell me your approach to creating these stories for the Unioverse.

ANGIE HODAPP: Yeah, so we’re getting fans of the world caught up on these particular characters. What drives them? What their agenda might be, which among them are friends, or enemies, what conflicts exist between them? How will they be forced to work together, what might drive them further apart? I’ve always thought of the comics as seeding the world. If the invitation is to invite people to create in this playground, then, you know, here you go, here’s how we’re gonna get you started. I really loved helping develop the villain too, giving us that immediate conflict. So here are some heroic characters who are morally gray and interesting, but now we’ve got this big bad guy – and we get a little glimpse of his agenda. There’s also another threat that will exist that we’re hoping that creators will kind of run with and play with, as well.

VIOLA: I think we can tease some story elements at this point. The community was introduced to the Malcolm Orion story, which set the stage for the rules and the worldbuilding for people to understand. So we don’t spend much time establishing what those rules are, because that’s already been done. Anybody who follows us knows that Malcolm Orion went through the first transpod and reactivated The Hub and changed this world 500 years ago. Our story picks up there, and our villain, Silas, is a member of a hivemind species. When Malcolm Orion activated the Mass-O, the Creator Tech emitted frequencies that disrupted Silas’s hivemind. In a matter of seconds, his people were isolated across the cosmos. So Silas is on a mission to shut down the Mass-O, and reconnect his people. That’s his goal.

The Unioverse is many things and will be told across many different media. What are you hoping comics can do that some other format wouldn’t do?

VIOLA: What I think people need to understand is that the comics are actually setting the stage for what the Unioverse is all about. The Malcolm Orion story was purely backstory, that’s just introducing concepts, right? So the comic book is inviting the readers to understand who these characters are, what the various worlds across the Unioverse are like, and what the new threats are.

HODAPP: Doing that in comic book form is really kind of fun, because we’ve got such a great artist on board in Ben Matsuya. The visuals themselves are just absolutely stunning. It’s also a very accessible medium, I think, for the community to be introduced to the world.

You’ve both written books. How did you adapt your writing to the comics medium?

VIOLA: Well, we really didn’t. I come from comics as well. I’ve been building comic books since back in 2010. I’ve released a number of comics via my publishing company, Hex Publishers, as well. We’re still writing a huge amount of words because we’re scripting — we’re writing the descriptions of each scene. So visually, the readers don’t see those words. But Ben is taking those words and translating them into some gorgeous artwork.

HODAPP: In my world of editing long-form fiction, the more I’ve done it, the longer I’ve done it, the more I’ve become very focused on ‘cut this out, cut this down, cut this down. Why is this here? This chapter is extraneous. It doesn’t do anything.’ Especially working with people who write horror, science fiction, fantasy — these kind of big worldbuilding types of genres, authors tend to overwrite. So when manuscripts come in from a client, and it’s 120,000 words, and we’re like ‘No, we’re not going to shop this until we’re down to about 85 or 90,000 words at the most.’ So my brain is always very focused on cut this, cut this, cut this. And then, over the years, I’ve really learned how to distill a story down to its simplest form, everything else can go. That was kind of a fun thing for me in writing the comics. Just to get to write a bare bones story. Ben does a great job of translating what was in our imaginations. It’s just stunning.

Can you say more about the process of matching your words with Ben’s art?

VIOLA: Obviously, it starts with our words and then Ben is transforming the words into visuals. I send a script to Ben, he reads it, processes it and sends me very rough, stick figure layouts. Then I go back and forth with him and make sense of how the composition works from panel to panel until we’re good. After that, he goes in and the real magic happens: line art, inks and colors.

How long have you been working on this comic?

HODAPP: I think we started last July, laying down the outlines. And at first, it was just going to be two comic books. And then it was like ‘hey, maybe let’s do one for each hero! And hey! maybe let’s do another one for the villain! And maybe let’s make that a tripe issue!’ I think we realized it was going to be a cool project and wanted to do it right.

What advice do you have for those in the Unioverse community that might want to create their own comics?

HODAPP: I’d say just narrow the scope of the story. If you’re a new storyteller, generally, newer writers want to be big in scope. They want to write 12 volumes of their George R.R. Martin-esque fantasy, or their Neal Stevenson volumes of science fiction, right? I would recommend it’s a character in conflict. And they find some sort of resolution and that happens over the course of the narrative. If it’s a comic book, keep it simple. Keep it focused, keep that lens tight on this character. Why is this story this character’s story and nobody else’s story? And let that drive the plot.

VIOLA: I’ll just add that it’s important to find an artist you can collaborate well with, and vice versa. Make sure you can piggyback off of each other. Collaborations can be beautiful when there’s that chemistry between all of the people involved.

Unioverse comic books are available digitally or limited edition print runs at Hex Publishers.

If you want to create your own Unioverse comic, download official Unioverse assets, royalty-free!

If you want to find potential collaborators for a project, join the Unioverse Discord channel!

To borrow from Stan “the Man” Lee – Excelsior! – The first Unioverse comic book debuts next week on May 9!

The first issue delves into the backstory of Reyu, the deadly Ja’Din Hunter who was trapped in Jumpspace for millennia and is now a fierce protector of the Mass-O system and Creator Tech. This taut action-packed story follows Reyu as he tracks down and battles threats from the intergalactic terrorist organization known as the Ascended.

“Reyu” is the first in a six-issue monthly limited series, with subsequent stories focusing on other Unioverse Heroes like Krishah, Tor Gret, and Annill, as well as the Unioverse’s first villain: Silas Kyruk. Digital versions of these comics will be available for sale at Comixology. Print versions of the comic (including limited edition Legendary versions with variant covers!) can be purchased for $5.00 at Hex Publishers.

This initial Unioverse comic is written by Colorado Book Award winner Joshua Viola and Angie Hodapp, Director of Literary Development at Nelson Literary Agency, and illustrated by Ben Matsuya.

The Unioverse will be told across a variety of media like comic books, videogames, novels and more, and we couldn’t be more excited about the launch of “Reyu.” While this is the first Unioverse comic book series, we hope it inspires many more! 

The Unioverse is a “community-owned franchise,” which means that anyone can download our high-quality assets royalty-free and use our IP to create their own stories. Have an idea for your own Unioverse comic? Awesome, you should go make it, and join our Discord to find other fans and potential collaborators. Even better, once you make it – you should sell it and keep all the money! As long as it fits within our guidelines (which are amazingly broad, TBH), you can make what you like!

We want to make the Unioverse an expansive franchise that not only rivals Marvel, but empowers its fans in ways Marvel currently does not. Hang on to your hats, true believers (another Stan Lee-ism), the Unioverse is taking off!

It’s finally here! Proving Grounds, your first chance to play in the Unioverse launches today!

Here’s what you need to know:

First, Proving Grounds is a mode within our Unioverse Hero Viewer and is only available for PC. The Unioverse Hero Viewer lets you peruse the entire catalog of 20,000 Reyu NFTs, including the much-vaunted Pinnacle Collection. The Viewer also lets you look at the Unioverse Heroes that you own, spinning, tilting and zooming in to see all the intricate detail and work we put into these AAA-quality characters.

After looking at your Unioverse Hero (even a Clone!), you can drop it into the Proving Grounds to see how it looks running, jumping and blasting your way through this multi-level, danger-filled obstacle course.

Finally, as you have fun wall-running and shooting down drones, it’s important to remember that Proving Grounds is an alpha gameplay environment. It’s not anything close to a final game, nor is it indicative of what a final Unioverse game will actually be. Proving Grounds is really meant to deliver utility and reward the earliest Unioverse believers by letting them put their NFT Heroes to use.

Want in on all this Proving Grounds sweetness? Of course you do. You’ll need a PC, a Unioverse Hero and a Unioverse account. Unioverse accounts are free and you can sign up here. If you missed out on our free Reyu Clone giveaway, you can still buy a Hero over at OpenSea, or for a limited time, we’re still giving away Reyus for completing challenges.

Once you have all those things, go play the Proving Grounds! Then join our Discord and let us know what you think!

Everyone could use a little boost now and then. A little nudge to get you going in the right direction. This is why we are thrilled to announce today that we are giving a little boost, a little nudge to Unioverse fans. Basically, anyone who creates – or already has! – a Unioverse account by April 26, 2023 will get a Proten Pack and a free Reyu Clone that gives you access to forthcoming Unioverse games! 

Proten Packs

The Proten Pack is a one-time bonus that immediately adds 333 Protens to new and existing Unioverse accounts. Protens are like loyalty points, you accrue them by collecting our free Unioverse Collectible NFTs. The more Collectibles you have and the longer you hold them, the more Protens you earn. Earn enough Protens and you can redeem them for digital rewards like Unioverse Hero NFTs, which can be used to play all the forthcoming Unioverse games. Read the full Proten FAQ for more.

If you’re creating a new Unioverse account (welcome!), you’ll receive instructions on getting your Protens bonus during the signup process. If you’re an existing account holder, visit the Protens Calculator page and follow the instructions. 

Send in the (Reyu) Clones

In addition to the Proten Pack, anyone who has an existing Unioverse account or creates a new one by April 26, 2023 will get one free playable Reyu Hero Clone! 

Reyu Clones are similar to our Reyu Genesis Hero NFTs in that Clones are full 3D characters that let you access and play Unioverse games. However! 

• Clones are minted on Polygon, not Ethereum (where Reyu Genesis minted)
• There is no supply limit to the number of Clones that will be made
• Clones are not visually unique and all look the same
• Clones will not have the Genesis tag and all Clones share the exact same metadata 

Clones are great for two reasons. First, they allow anyone to try out early builds of our gameplay environments and will be playable when full games come out. Second, If you already have a Reyu Genesis, you can easily transfer this clone to a friend to expand the Unioverse! Transferring NFTs on Polygon is almost free! 

Play the Proving Grounds

All registered Unioverse account holders will get their Reyu Clone airdropped on April 26th – the same day that our alpha version of the Proving Grounds (formerly the Danger Room) launches! 

If you have a Unioverse account and a Reyu Genesis or a Reyu Clone, you’ll have exclusive access to The Proving Grounds! The Proving Grounds is our playable alpha game environment (PC only)  where you can run, jump and shoot your way through a course, showing how amazing Unioverse Heroes really are. It’s an early build, but we’ll be adding features to it over the course of the year. 

So what are you waiting for? If you have a Unioverse account, go visit protens.unioverse.com and follow the instructions to get your Protens bonus. If you’re creating a new account, go here and create an account! Have a friend who’s been waiting to jump into the Unioverse? Tell them to sign up and get theirs!

Sometimes, the best approach to sharing news is to just be direct. So in that spirit: 

We have 435 Reyu Genesis Hero NFTs in our treasury that we are handing out to members of our community for free!

How do you get one? First, you’ll want to make an account at unioverse.com. Then, join our Discord and follow us on Twitter because at various times over the next five weeks, we’ll issue different challenges. For example, we could reward the first person who retweets us. Or the first person to reply in Discord with a trivia question wins a Reyu. Stuff like that. 

Rarity will be random, and there are seven Legendaries and one Pinnacle up for grabs! 

If you are one of the lucky ones to win a free Reyu Genesis, make sure to share your Ethereum wallet address with us so we can airdrop your NFT (we’ll tell winners how to do that). Reyus will be airdropped at the end of May.  

Why would you want a Reyu Genesis Hero NFT? 

Well, first of all, they are awesome looking. Each Reyu Genesis is a full 3D, beautifully lit and rendered, AAA-quality, game-ready digital asset. You can see what they look like on OpenSea. 

But the real reason to want a Reyu Genesis Hero is that owning one will grant you access to all forthcoming Unioverse games — including our recently announced Proving Grounds playable alpha (launching April 26th) that will give you a taste of what to expect on the Unioverse platform.

So, don’t miss out on this opportunity. Follow us on Twitter and join our Discord and be ready to follow our instructions to try and nab your own Reyu Genesis Hero!

More than anything here at the Unioverse, we want to be useful. That’s why we’re a community-owned franchise that hands over all of our assets for free. That’s why we’re building a massive videogame ecosystem. And that is why we prioritizing the utility of our Unioverse Hero NFTs. 

Today we are announcing the next level of Unioverse NFT utility with the upcoming launch of our playable alpha Proving Grounds (formerly codenamed the Danger Room) on April 26th. 

At the risk of being immodest, Unioverse Hero NFTs are awesome. Perhaps the most gorgeous NFTs in gaming if not the entire web3 space. But what good is a good-looking NFT if you can’t do anything with it other than post it next to your name? 

Built as a mode in our Unioverse Viewer, the Proving Grounds lets you play your Reyu Hero NFT in an actual game environment. Drop the same Reyu you have in your wallet into the Proving Grounds and jump, shoot and wall-run your way through the course. 

A few important things to note!

1. While the Proving Grounds is a lot of fun – it is a very early, very alpha build of a playable game environment. It is not a full game, but will demonstrate some of the things your heroes can do in Unioverse games.
2. You will need a registered Unioverse account in order to play. Everyone who signs up for a Unioverse account before April 26th will be able to play the Proving Grounds – so go create your free Unioverse account right now. 
3. You will need to download the Unioverse Viewer (PC only) to access the Proving Grounds. While you’re in the Viewer, you can check out all of the amazing versions of Reyu in the Genesis Collection! Go download the Unioverse Viewer. 

While this version of the Proving Grounds is alpha, we’ll be making tweaks and adding features to it over the coming year, so trust us when we say you should get in there now to hone your skills…

As always, thank you for your continued support and get ready, this is just the beginning. 

We are continually blown away by the fan art the Unioverse Community comes up with. You all are amazing!

One thing that really caught our eye a few months ago was the work of Kevin Fine, a fan who produced cinematic visualizations of Chapter 2 of Malcolm Orion’s backstory and a version of what’s inside the Progenitor ship that crashed on Mars. These are both excellent and were created with what were at the time very few Unioverse resources.  

So we’re excited to see how Kevin – and anyone in the Unioverse Community – can level up their fan-made creations with the Maya and Unity Reyu resource packs we just added to the Unioverse Community Assets library. 

• The Reyu Maya package (links to download) gives you a rigged, skinned, and textured Reyu model file, ready for animating or posing in Maya. 
• The Reyu Unity package (links to download) also gives you a rigged, skinned and textured Reyu model that you can plop into Unity to make an animation.

These assets are the same ones our team of artists and developers use here at Unioverse HQ. Having these professionally made, AAA-quality Reyu assets will make creating your own Unioverse works so much easier, and give your production that polish other fans love! 

Like all Unioverse assets, the Maya and Unity packs are free to download, and you can create whatever you like (though your creation must adhere to our Community Content License, so no videogames, no NFTs and no hateful stuff. Read the full license for more detail). You can even sell your creation and keep all the money! That’s the whole point of the Unioverse being a “community-owned franchise.”

These Maya and Unity packs are just the latest in a continually growing library of tools and resources we are making available to fans. You can download concept art, Reyu beauty shots, backgrounds and more. Bookmark that page and keep checking back as we’ll add a ton of new stuff there over the coming months. 

Then you should definitely join our Discord to connect with other Unioverse fans to swap tips and tricks or maybe even collaborate on a project. 

The Unioverse is yours to play with. Go make something that will blow us away. 

After teasing the news for a couple months now, we are finally ready to announce our next Unioverse Hero NFT and how you can get one. 

Krishah, the deadly assassin, will be the next Unioverse Hero NFT released, and she’ll be minting sometime in May. Krishah won’t just be an amazing looking, fully realized 3D NFT. Owning a Hero like Krishah or Reyu gives you access to Unioverse games! We’ll be doling out more details about the official mint date and about Krishah in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.  

Just like with our first Hero mint, Reyu, you’ll be able to get your own Krishah by earning Protens. And – just in case you forgot – you earn Protens by playing our Unioverse Collectibles game!

More than 900,000 Collectibles were minted during the first season of our Collectibles game. And now we’re back with Series 2. As always, these new Unioverse Collectibles will contain eye-popping artwork and snippets of lore from the story of the Unioverse. They are also totally free to mint. 

The first of our next Series of Collectibles drops at 11am MT this Friday, March 17th! We are hosting a Twitter Spaces this Friday to kick off the next series of Collectibles, provide more info and answer questions from the Community, so be sure to set a reminder for that!

As a refresher: When you own and hold Unioverse Collectibles, you earn Protens, which are like Unioverse loyalty points. The more Collectibles you have and the longer you hold them, the more Protens you earn. Earn enough Protens and you could mint a Krishah of your own. 

But there are a couple of other important bits in this process. First, you need to actually go collect your Protens by visiting https://protens.unioverse.com. Once there, just log in and click the Earn button. Our system automatically tabulates your Protens count and updates your total, so be sure to check back regularly.

The second bit is that our Collectibles are numbered. When you Collect designated consecutive Collectibles (e.g. 1 – 4), you have what’s called a set. Sets can be combined into higher-tier Collectibles that earn you even more Protens (but you still need to visit https://protens.unioverse.com to actually get them!). To combine Collectibles, visit https://combine.unioverse.com/, sign in and follow the instructions. We’ll show you which Collectibles you have and if you are missing any (perfect collections get a bonus!).

Collectible NFTs are a fun and free way to learn more about the Unioverse and unlock digital perks (like Krishah!). Collectible drops happen regularly, but randomly, so you’ll want to follow us on Twitter and join our Discord to learn when we release them.  

Back in the 90s, there was a small home cook restaurant just outside the offices of Nintendo in Kyoto, Japan. An elderly Japanese woman would cook one dish a day and serve it out of the first floor of her house to the Nintendo staff who walked over there. Those were some of the best meals I’ve ever had. 

I was lucky enough to enjoy many lunches at that home cook restaurant with legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. But I’ll never forget the time when he shared with me one of the secrets to Nintendo’s massive success. 

“We program almost nothing internally,” I recall Miyamoto saying, “We focus on what is important: design, gameplay and art. We can give the game to program to a number of companies.”

At the time, this was the exact opposite of what every other game company was doing. Everyone else would bring programming internally and outsource the art. Miyamoto didn’t think this was a good idea because building a franchise requires fantastic imagery, stories and gameplay, which are creative endeavors. Just about anyone can learn to program – there’s a defined language and set of rules that must be followed. It’s much harder to be creative. 

No one else was thinking this way at the time. Then again, no one else was coming up with blockbusters like Mario and Zelda. 

This type of thinking ran all throughout Nintendo, actually. The console maker also doesn’t have any manufacturing – it’s all outsourced and always has been. Like programming, the belief is that there are lots of factories that can make hardware – but very few companies can create novel concepts. 

The big secret to Nintendo’s ongoing success is that it knows the difference between what is a commodity (something that can be easily replaced) and what is unique (Shigeru Miyamoto ????). Nintendo focuses its time and resources on higher-level visionary stuff like hardware and game design. The company then builds and maintains relationships with the manufacturers and coders that can execute on that vision.  

I’ve taken this lesson to heart as we begin to create the Unioverse. 

The Unioverse will be a lot of things: A series of games, a platform for creativity, an innovative use of blockchain… But at its heart, the Unioverse is an awesome story. That’s why after launching the company the first team we put together was the writing and art team. Not marketing. Not biz dev. It was (and is) all about the narrative and character development. If no one cares about our story or connects with our characters, all the games and books and comics in the world won’t matter. 

That’s why we brought on a murderer’s row of writers and artists including:

• Brent Freidman, who leads our storytelling and narrative, has worked on series such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Wars Rebels and the cult NBC series, Dark Skies, which he co-created.
• Ken Hall was someone I personally recruited to be the Unioverse Art Director after working with him at RealTime Worlds on hit franchises like Crackdown and All Points Bulletin.
• Stuart Jennett is our concept artist has done worldbuilding and art for Marvel comics and Star Citizen. 
• Andy Baker is also directing our narrative and storytelling and has helped develop projects at Sony, Universal and Dark Horse Entertainment, and has worked side by side with Stan Lee on shows like The 7th Portal.  
• Josh Viola is putting together our anthology, which will feature more than 25 of the best genre authors and artists telling Unioverse stories, and Josh is writing our first comic with Angie Hodapp.

After all of that work and worldbuilding we’re basically handing everything, the story, the characters and all the other assets that bring the Unioverse to life over to other game developers and fans. This will let other game devs and our community focus on what their unique talents are. Indie game studios don’t have to spend money and time on art and can dive right into creating unique game loops and mechanics. 

And those developers who do take advantage of our resources? Well, they’ll eat their competitors’ lunch.

A couple of weeks back we invited our community to help us create a new Unioverse planet, as part of our New World Genesis program and – wow! – they delivered. 

We received more than 70 entries from Unioverse fans who submitted names for the new planet, as well as information about its star system and global conditions. Our Selection Committee, made up of Unioverse Co-Founders and Narrative Leads, pored over each entry and narrowed it down to six finalists. Over this past weekend, the finalists were presented to the Unioverse Community, which picked their favorite. 

So, we are thrilled to announce the new name of the Unioverse planet is…

Ceiba

Let’s send out a big Servitor-sized congratulations to Luke Salvalaggio, who not only came up with the winning name but also helped bring this planet to life by creating such details as: 

• Ceiba is the second planet from the system’s binary stars, Quetzel and Coatl. 
• A Ceiban year is 729 Ceiban days.
• Due to the gravitational interactions with its moon, Ceiba spins faster than Earth; a Ceiban day is approximately 22 Earth hours.
• Ceiba gravity is approximately 0.95g.

You can read even more about this fascinating new addition to the Unioverse on its very own Unioverse Wiki page, where Salvalaggio’s work (and credit!) will live on for the life of the Unioverse.

Now that you’ve seen how much fun worldbuilding can be, you too can get in on the action and have your work immortalized in the fabric of the Unioverse. 

Now that Cebia has a name and some basic geography, it’s time to populate this planet with some living things. For this round of worldbuilding, we want you to come up with some sentient beings for Ceiba.

You can find more criteria for what we’re looking for on the New World Genesis submission page, but here’s a quick taste of what you can expect: 

Is there only one sentient species on the planet? More? What are they like (appearance, habitats, behaviors, etc.)? Are different races or subspecies present? What stage of development are they in (recently sentient, evolved, space-faring, etc.)?

Think you’ve got a great idea for new lifeforms? 

Step 1: Read Luke’s winning entry in the wiki to better understand some basics about Ceiba. 

Step 2: Read Chapter 8 of Unioverse Origins, which will provide more details about the planet.

Step 3: Visit the official New World Genesis submission page to learn the specifics about what we’re looking for and how to enter. 

Submissions will once again be read by our Selection Committee, which will winnow the entries down to a handful of finalists that the Community can vote on. 

And just to make sure you don’t forget, winning entries become an official part of the Unioverse canon – so your work will be experienced by Unioverse fans all over the world! 

If you’ve been following our Worldbuilding Secrets podcast (you have been following our Worldbuilding Secrets podcast, right?), then you’ve enjoyed a masterclass in storytelling and, as the name suggests, worldbuilding. 

Now we want you to help us build a world. That’s right, there’s a new planet in the Unioverse, and we want you to tell us all about it. Here’s how it works and how you can get involved.

Background 

If you’ve been reading our Unioverse Origins story drops (you have been reading our Unioverse Origins story drops, right?), then you know that in the latest issue (#7) Malcolm Orion jumped to a strange new planet. Five hundred years after that initial discovery, the inhabitants of that planet now want to join the Merge. 

That’s where you come in, because the Unioverse is a community-owned franchise and now we really want the Community to participate!

New World Genesis Program

Each week for the next four weeks, we’ll give you two creative prompts asking for your input in what we are calling The New World Genesis Program. These will range from the simple, like naming the planet, to the more complex, like mapping its star system and describing the societal structures of its inhabitants. 

We really want you to put some thought into your answers because they will be read by our co-founders Tony Harman and Wyeth Ridgway, and our narrative team of Brent Friedman, Andy Baker and Josh Viola. They’ll go over all the submissions and narrow it down to the top contenders. 

Finalists will be posted to Discord where the Community will get the final vote on each prompt. And trust us, having your submission picked is more than just a feather in your cap…

Credit Where Credit is Due (and Signed Art, Too!)

The winning entries as voted by the Community will have their work entered into the official Unioverse Wiki with accompanying credit. That means your work and name will live on as long as the Unioverse exists! Talk about bragging rights… 

But wait! There’s more! Winners will also get a cool print of the planet you helped create signed by Stuart Jennett, the Unioverse’s lead artist! How cool is that?!

Next Steps

OK. So you’re all set, what do you do now?

First thing to do is get caught up on the Unioverse story. So check out the Unioverse Story Wiki and read all the Unioverse Origin chapters.

Then join our Discord, if you haven’t already. That’s where voting will occur, and it will give you a chance to connect with other creatives and see what else has been submitted. (Plus, you can’t vote if you’re not on our Discord!)

Once you’ve done that, here’s a schedule for the first prompt: 

• Monday 02/20 – New World Genesis Program Goes live – 12 PM EST
• Thursday 02/24 – Submissions Close – 3 PM EST
• Friday 02/25 – Top 10/15 announced and Voting Opens – 3 PM EST
• Saturday 02/26 – Voting Closes at 8 pm EST
• Sunday 02/27 – Winner announced and Wiki goes live 3 PM EST

You can find the official New World Genesis program submission form here.

So join Discord, mark your calendar, and help make the Unioverse even more amazing!

There is nothing special about an entertainment franchise selling merch. Every movie studio, TV network and videogame developer opens their own store in an attempt to pluck even more pennies from your purse.

But what if, instead of handing your dollars over to BIG ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY for a T-shirt that a zillion other people also have, you could design your own T-shirt AND sell it AND keep all the money? That’s exactly what we’re doing with the Unioverse.

To borrow from a popular tech magazine:

TIRED: Companies making money off you with merch sales.

WIRED: You making money off the Unioverse by selling your own merch.

If you’ve been following the Unioverse from the beginning, you already know you can do this because we’ve told you. Repeatedly. But now we are at a point where we can show you how to actually do it. After reading this, you can start making and selling your own Unioverse merch today. Here’s how:

Step 1 – Check the terms

Before we get to the fun stuff, let’s clear the decks with the little bits you should know beforehand.

• To be clear, you can download our assets for free.
• You can sell whatever you make and keep all the money.
• There are some Unio-no-nos that you should be aware of before you begin. You can probably guess the basics: no hate speech, no libel, don’t use other intellectual property, etc. It really should not affect your creativity or entrepreneurial spirit at all. Be sure to read the Unioverse Community Content Creations License, and check out our legalese-to-plain-English translation.

Step 2 – Download Unioverse art and assets

OK. With the legal stuff out of the way, the real fun begins! We have already posted a bunch of Unioverse art that you can download (for free!). There are character models of our first Unioverse Hero Reyu, and a ton of concept and environment art as well. Choose what you want here.

Unioverse Assets List

Example Downloadable Reyu on Transparent Background

Example Downloadable Unioverse Concept Art

Step 3 – Make stuff!

Once you have your Unioverse art, it’s time to start making stuff! Combine images, cut them up, remix them, re-color them — whatever you like. Just make stuff! T-shirts, comic books, stickers, lunchboxes — really run with it. (Remember to include the Unioverse Community Content logo on your work!).

Here are some examples one of our excellent designers put together:

Once you have a design, there are lots of options if you just want to make something for yourself, friends and family at home (think: iron-on printer paper for T-shirts). But if you want to step things up a notch…

Step 4 – Open your store!

The Unioverse Community Content License allows you to sell your goods, and, because we are living in a technologically marvelous time, there are plenty of places online to turn your creations into merch and sell them.

We went ahead and created a UnioverseFan store on Threadless.com. In fact the good folks at Threadless have a special offer for Unioverse users: Sign up for Threadless through this link and get a $5 gift code! (You’ll need to abide by whatever terms and conditions are required by your store of choice.)

The designs we created are available on T-shirts, stickers, skateboard decks, and — a favorite around here at the office — a Reyu shower curtain. Bonus: If you buy anything through our Threadless store, all the money goes to World Central Kitchen.

Step 5 – Tell the world!

Whether you made something for yourself, or created a full-blown store, let us and everyone else know about it! Tag us on Twitter, share it on Discord, put it on Instagram. We built this franchise to be community-owned and we definitely want to see what the community creates!

One last thing

The concept of a community-owned franchise is entirely new. While we don’t anticipate online shops blocking you over IP issues, that may arise as more and more people upload their own creations. If you do run into trouble, let us know and we’ll look into it.

Everyone loves a good story, and, not to brag, but we have more than 25 of the best storytellers on the planet writing ours.

The Unioverse is a galaxy-spanning, sci-fi saga about an ancient technology uncovered on Mars that allows people to beam their consciousness across the universe. Suddenly, humans are connected with other worlds, other species, and to the mysterious alien presence working behind the scenes. Following in the rich traditions of works like 2001 and The Expanse, The Unioverse is already shaping up to be a modern science fiction classic.

Today, we are thrilled to release two new ways for you to get on board and delve deeper into the story of the Unioverse.

First, we have a new video featuring Brent Friedman (see above), who leads the narrative of the Unioverse explaining the broad story of the Unioverse. Brent’s a veteran storyteller who wrote for Star Wars: The Clone Wars and on hit game franchises like Call of Duty. So our story is definitely in good hands.

The video is less than four minutes and well worth your time as Brent lays out the foundations of the Unioverse. Whether you’re a hardcore fan or a total newcomer, Brent’s video will quickly and easily launch you into this amazing new world we are building. So, go! Watch the video. We’ll wait.

OK. Now that you’ve gotten a taste of the Unioverse, it’s time to go all-in. So go head on over to the Unioverse Wiki! There you’ll find an ever-growing compendium of information on all things Unioverse. Want to know what Creator Transpods do or who Sinfed Reyu is? Go to the Unioverse Wiki. Be sure to bookmark it as we’ll be adding to it on a regular basis.

Finally, this isn’t new, but we continue to drop chapters of the backstory of the Unioverse. We just released Chapter six of Malcom Orion’s journey as he navigates being the first human to have their conscious jump across the universe. Chapter six ends with a bang, so you’ll definitely want to check it out!

And, of course, after you watch the video, read the wiki and download Orion’s backstory, be sure to hop on our Discord to discuss and debate the story points with like-minded Unioverse fans!

Unioverse Collectibles are a fantastic way to start with the Unioverse. We’ve been giving away these free NFTs to our community for a few months now. If you’re new to the Unioverse, it’s not too late to start collecting them! Here’s a quick explainer on how to get started!

What are Unioverse Collectibles?

Unioverse Collectibles are free NFTs that contain Unioverse concept art and story lore. These Collectibles are handed out on a regular basis. You can see released Collectibles on OpenSea.

Why would I want Unioverse Collectibles? 

You want them because owning and holding Unioverse Collectibles earns you Protens. Protens are like loyalty points. Earn enough Protens and you redeem them for digital rewards such as Unioverse Hero NFTs, which are what you need to access future Unioverse videogames. 

What are Protens?

In the story of the Unioverse, Protens are the energy source that powers the alien technology. In the world of Unioverse NFTs, Protens are what you earn by owning and holding Unioverse Collectible NFTs.

What are Unioverse Hero NFTs?

Hero NFTs are AAA-quality, 3D characters from the story of the Unioverse. You need to own a Unioverse Hero to access forthcoming Unioverse games. Check out minted Hero NFTs on OpenSea.

Where do I get Unioverse Collectibles? 

There are two ways to get them. 

1. Follow us on Twitter and join our Discord. That’s where we announce Collectible drops. 
2. You can purchase them on OpenSea (just make sure you refresh the metadata before purchase to ensure the Collectible is still charged)

What is Forging? 

The Unioverse Collectibles we hand out are “Tier 1.” If you collect perfect sets of Tier 1 Collectibles, you can Forge them into a Tier 2 Collectible. Tier 2 Collectibles earn more Protens than Tier 1. Collect a perfect set of Tier 2 Collectibles, they can be Forged into a Tier 3 Collectible, which earns even more Protens. Find out more on the Collectibles Combine site (registration required).

Quick note: Collectibles can only be Forged once. As soon as they are Forged, they lose their charge. So if you are purchasing a Collectible on OpenSea, be sure to refresh its metadata to ensure that it still has a charge. 

What do I need to start collecting? 

You must set up a Unioverse account and connect a MetaMask digital wallet.

Can I do this on my mobile device? 

No. Setting up a Unioverse account, minting Unioverse Collectibles and earning Protens must be done on a desktop/laptop. 

Can I combine Proten counts from multiple wallets in my Unioverse account?

Each wallet represents its own Proten count calculation. You can (and should) collect from each of the wallets to one Unioverse account, then transfer them all into a single wallet for simplicity.

How many Protens do I need to get a Hero?

The Protens requirement changes for each Hero. Follow us on Twitter and join our Discord to be among the first to learn when Hero prices are announced. 

Where can I see how many Protens I have?

While you earn Protens just for holding Collectibles, you must earn them by visiting Protens.unioverse.com. Once there, click the Earn button to calculate your Proten count. 

When will Unioverse games come out?

We’ll have more to announce about this later this year. 

I have a question not listed here, where should I go? 

The best bet is to join our Discord and contact one of our mods. 

The Unioverse is a lot of things: 

• It’s an original, epic, sci-fi franchise
• It’s a fix for a broken videogames business
• It’s a launching pad for creative people around the world 

For us here at Unioverse HQ, what we are building is pretty straightforward because we conceived it and are creating it from the ground up. So we know what it’s all about. 

But most of what we are doing has never been tried before (give away the franchise!). As a result, newcomers may not know what the Unioverse is or how it works. They may understand pieces of what we’re doing, like how the Unioverse involves NFTs and videogames, but they haven’t had a chance to see the bigger picture.

Thankfully, we’ve put together a new Unioverse Explainer video that walks everyone through exactly what the Unioverse is and will become. It’s less than four minutes and will illuminate the world of possibilities contained within the Unioverse.

Give it a watch! If you have questions, comments or even suggestions – reach out to us on Discord or on Twitter!

We had a blast during our first Unioverse Hero Claim event this past weekend. More than 20,000 Reyu Genesis NFTs were claimed (the first 2,000 were taken in under two minutes during the open claim!).

But maybe you missed out on the Reyu Genesis claim. Maybe you just learned about our Collectibles game in the last couple of weeks and didn’t have a chance to earn enough Protens. That’s okay! The Unioverse is just getting started and there are plenty of ways going forward for you to get your own Unioverse Hero NFT.

Why do you want a Unioverse Hero NFT? First off, they are awesome. I mean, just look at them. Each Hero is a unique AAA-quality, fully-rendered 3D character.

But the bigger reason is that Unioverse Hero NFTs grant you access to Unioverse games! Own a Unioverse Hero and you can play Unioverse games. How your Hero NFT looks is how your character will look while playing these games.

So now you know how great Unioverse Heroes are, but you missed the mint. What can you do?

Option 1 – Go to OpenSea

Because these Heroes are NFTs, if you own one you can do what you like with it. Keep ’em. Collect ’em. Or sell them on the open market. In this case, Reyu Genesis Heroes are now available on OpenSea. Dip your toe in and purchase a Common, or go all-in and pay for a Pinnacle. No matter what rarity Hero you get, they all have the same power-set, so there’s no pay-to-win nonsense.

You can purchase a Reyu Genesis by visiting any of these links:

• Unioverse Legendary Heroes
• Unioverse Epic Heroes
• Unioverse Rare Heroes
• Unioverse Uncommon Heroes
• Unioverse Common Heroes

REMINDER: Only buy Unioverse Hero NFTs through legitimate Unioverse sources. Follow us on Twitter and join our Discord for official Unioverse news and information.

Option 2 – Start Playing the Unioverse Collectibles Game

This option gets you ready for our next Unioverse Hero NFT release. We said that our next Hero release will be Krishah, and you can prepare by playing our Unioverse Collectibles game.

We release Unioverse Collectibles on a regular basis. These free NFTs have some concept art as well as a little bit of lore from the story of the Unioverse. Owning and holding these Collectibles earns you Protens. Earn enough Protens and you can claim the next Unioverse Hero (supply is limited).

This blog post and this FAQ explain how the process worked for Reyu Genesis. Long story short, to play the Collectibles game, follow us on Twitter and join our Discord to learn about future Collectible drops, then once you have Collectible NFTs, be sure to collect your Protens on a regular basis to see how many you have.

Normally, I’m a guy with plenty of stories and things to say, but when it comes to the success of Reyu Genesis, our first Hero NFT claim this past weekend — I’m speechless.

Let’s cut to the chase:

• We sold out! All 20,000 Reyu Genesis Hero NFTs were claimed
• During the open event, 18,000 Hero NFTs were claimed in under four hours

If there was ever a time to toot our own horn, well, it’s now. Because sure, these Reyu Genesis NFTs were free, but we wanted to ensure that our community and fans got these Heroes — not ‘bots. So:

• To get a Reyu Genesis, you had to be whitelisted (only 2,000 whitelist spots were granted) or you had to be playing our Unioverse Collectibles game to earn enough Protens.
• Not only that, but users had to register an account with us and provide a phone number.
• We minted on our own site, not a third-party platform, so our fans had sought us out.
• And oh yeah, we’re neck deep in a crypto winter that’s seeing tons of other NFT projects falter.

Despite those headwinds we knew how excited our community was, but we didn’t fully appreciate how exciting the actual mint would be! To balance rewarding early and ardent players of our Collectibles game and making Reyus accessible to relative newcomers, we released Reyus across four different phases with the price going down over each phase.

Phase one — the most expensive batch at 2,000 Protens a pop — sold out 2,000 Reyus in under two minutes. Phase two sold out an additional 2,000 Reyus in three minutes. We kept hitting refresh on the Hero count and watched in awe as it plummeted. When it was all said and done, it took less than four hours for more than 18,000 Reyus to be claimed.

We really want to take a moment to thank our community for showing up yesterday. We are, after all, a community-owned franchise and we’re building all of this — the Collectibles, the Heroes, the games — for you. So thank you.

But we are not resting on any laurels here. We’re airdropping claimed NFTs to their wallets as we speak and will hold a global reveal starting with a live event on January 17 a 2:00 p.m. US MT / 10 p.m. UTC. After that? We’re right back at it, creating more awesome Collectibles, and prepping the release of our second hero — Krishah!

If you haven’t jumped on board the Unioverse train yet, now’s the perfect time to do so. Follow us on Twitter and join our Discord and learn how our Collectibles and Protens work. See you at the next mint! 

After months of waiting, today we are revealing how many Protens you need in order to mint a Reyu Genesis Hero NFT! A big THANK YOU to everyone in the community who has been playing our Unioverse Collectible game over the past few months and earning those Protens! 

As we head towards our first Hero mint – Reyu Genesis – we wanted to create a system that both rewards people who have been consistently playing our Collectibles game from the beginning, and make it open enough for people who might be newer to the Unioverse. So we’ve come up with the following process (reminder! You need .003 ETH in your wallet per Reyu), which will start on January 15 at 3:00 p.m. UTC:

Total supply is 20,000 Reyu Genesis minus whitelist giveaways. 

Phase 1 (Target allotment 2,000 Reyus)

• 2,000 Protens per Reyu. Purchase 1 or 20 at a time. 

Phase 2 (Target allotment 3,000 Reyus) 

• 1,000 Protens per Reyu. Purchase 1 or 5 at a time.

Phase 3 (Target allotment 5,000 Reyus)

• 500 Protens per Reyu. Purchase 1 or 3 at a time.

Phase 4 Remaining supply sells out or until time runs out at 2:00 a.m. UTC Jan 16, 2023

• 300 Protens per Reyu. You can buy 1 Reyu at a time. 

Earn your Protens!

Before you can mint, you’ll need to know how many Protens you have! So go right now and visit the Unioverse Proten Calculator, which will tally up your total Proten count. Then you’ll know at which stage of the mint you can participate. 

If you have enough Protens:

Hooray! Good for you! Thanks for playing our Collectibles game. Now things get real.

• The mint starts on January 15, at 3:00 p.m. UTC. Don’t be late, these Reyus are going to go quickly.
• On January 15, at 3:00 p.m. UTC visit redeem.unioverse.com (DESKTOP or LAPTOP ONLY! NOT ON MOBILE)
• Follow the instructions to mint. You will need at least .003 ETH per Reyu purchased.
• Your Reyu will be airdropped to your connected wallet within 48 hours.
• You’ll know the rarity of your Reyu upon it hitting your wallet.
• On January 17, the actual look of your Reyu will be unveiled during an online global reveal event led by the Unioverse Team.

Good luck! Who knows, maybe you’ll be one of the lucky eleven people who score a Pinnacle Reyu.

For more information, visit our Reyu Genesis minting FAQ.

If you do not have enough Protens:

That’s okay! Reyu Genesis is just the beginning! Keep collecting and holding Unioverse Collectibles to earn Protens. You can use your Protens for future Hero launches and other rewards throughout the year!

For more on Collectibles and Protens, visit this FAQ.

FAQ

Is there a limit to how many Reyus I can purchase?

No.

If I bulk buy 20 Reyus at once, do I need to pay 20*.003 ETH?

Yes. The transaction fee is .003 ETH per Reyu. So fill your wallet accordingly.

Will whitelisters buy up all of the supply?

No. We are allocating just 4,000 Reyus for whitelisters. The good news is that any extra Reyus leftover from the whitelist mint will be added to the Community supply.

When will whitelist people get Protens added? How does the process work?

If you are on a whitelist:

• On January 12, at 5:00 p.m. UTC visit redeem.unioverse.com (DESKTOP ONLY, NOT MOBILE)
• Your account will be pre-filled with enough Protens to exchange for your Reyu Genesis (NOTE: If you have been earning Protens and are whitelisted, you can only spend whitelist Protens at this time. Earned Protens can only be spent during the public mint.)
• Purchase your Reyu (remember to have enough ETH in there for gas fees!)
• Your Reyu will be airdropped to your wallet at some point on January 16 or 17th
• Whitelist ends January 14th at 5:00 p.m. UTC, if you do not claim your whitelist spot by that time, you lose it
• You will know the rarity of your Reyu Genesis upon receiving it, but the actual look of your Hero won’t be available until January 17, when the Unioverse Team will be hosting a live global reveal event

I’ve been a collector all my life. Game-used Major League bats and MLB signed baseballs. Antique golf clubs (I’m talking pre-1900). Nintendo memorabilia (the rare things only insiders get). And like any good collector, I prefer getting something that’s one-of-a-kind-never-to-be-made-again-or-found-anywhere-else. 

Oh yeah. That’s the good stuff. 

I’m channeling my love of collecting into our upcoming Reyu Genesis mint, and had the team create what I’m calling Pinnacle Reyus. These will be the rarest of the rare Reyu Genesis, and you’re going to want one. If you get a Pinnacle when we do our global Reyu reveal on January 17th, you should feel like the biggest winner, the top dog, king of the mountain as others look upon you with envy.

The Reyu Genesis Hero mint on January 15th will have a supply of 20,000 unique NFTs across Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary rarities. The Pinnacle Collection are the tippy-top of the Legendary set. It breaks down like so: 

• Common: 11,140
• Uncommon: 6,200
• Rare: 1,600
• Epic: 800
• Legendary: 260

Of those 260 Legendary, only 11 will be Pinnacle.

Taking it one step further, those 11 Pinnacles will be ranked. With #1 being the best of the best of the entire collection.

Pinnacle Reyu Genesis NFTs will also have their own metadata on OpenSea denoting their Pinnacle status, something no other Reyu will have.

I should make clear that even though these Pinnacle Reyus are super rare, they will not have extra power sets or have some other advantage in forthcoming Unioverse games. Any Hero NFT you get – no matter the rarity – will grant you access to Unioverse games, but won’t give you any competitive edge (just bragging rights!). 

Everyone will have the same chance of getting a Pinnacle Reyu Genesis, but you can’t get one (or any Reyu Genesis) unless you’ve been whitelisted or have earned enough Protens (check your Proten count here)! Whether you’re a hardcore collector (like me!), a gamer, or just a fan of what we’re building here at the Unioverse, our AAA-quality Hero NFTs will make an excellent collection. 

We here at Unioverse HQ are so excited because Reyu Genesis, our first Unioverse Hero NFT is minting on Jan 15!

To get you ready, here’s everything you need to know about Reyu Genesis and the minting process:

What is a Unioverse Hero NFT?

Unioverse Hero NFTs are fully-rendered, 3D, AAA-quality game-ready digital assets. Not only are these NFTs gorgeous to look at, the Hero you own is how your character will look in the games. Most important, though, is that our Hero NFTs have tons of utility because owning a Hero NFT grants you access to Unioverse games.

What is Reyu Genesis?

In the story of the Unioverse Reyu is a bad-ass Ja’Din hunter, and he is also the first Unioverse Hero NFT we’re launching. The Reyu Genesis collection will have 20,000 unique Reyus NFTs across all rarities.

Cool. How do I get a Reyu Genesis?

To get a Reyu Genesis NFT, you’ll need to either be whitelisted or have enough Protens. If you’ve been following us on Twitter, you’ll see that we’ve been doing a number of whitelist giveaways with other cool NFT projects and guilds. If you haven’t been able to score a whitelist, you’ll need Protens.

We’ve covered earning Protens here before, so we won’t go into too much detail in this post. But the TL;DR version is:

• To earn Protens you need to own and hold Unioverse Collectible NFTs
• We’ve been giving away Unioverse Collectible NFTs over the past couple of months
• The more Collectibles you own and the longer you hold them, the more Protens you earn
• Rack up enough Protens (check your Proten count with our Proten Calculator) and you can earn rewards like the ability to purchase a Reyu Genesis Hero NFT

On January 10, we will announce how many Protens you need in order to obtain a Reyu Genesis

If you are brand new and haven’t been collecting Unioverse Collectibles / Protens — no worries! There will be more opportunities to redeem Protens throughout this year and beyond!

I’m on a whitelist, what do I do?

Congrats! Now:

• Set up a Unioverse account here, if you haven’t done so already
• Connect an Ethereum digital wallet to your Unioverse account (desktop only, not mobile)
• You’ll need .003 ETH in your wallet for each Reyu transaction to cover the gas fees

Once all that is done:

• On January 12, at 5:00 p.m. UTC visit redeem.unioverse.com (DESKTOP ONLY, NOT MOBILE)
• Your account will be pre-filled with enough Protens to exchange for your Reyu Genesis (NOTE: If you have been earning Protens and are whitelisted, you can only spend whitelist Protens at this time. Earned Protens can only be spent during the public mint.)
• Purchase your Reyu (remember to have enough ETH in there for gas fees!)
• Your Reyu will be airdropped to your wallet at some point on January 16 or 17th
• Whitelist ends January 14th at 5:00 p.m. UTC, if you do not claim your whitelist spot by that time, you lose it
• You will know the rarity of your Reyu Genesis upon receiving it, but the actual look of your Hero won’t be available until January 17, when the Unioverse Team will be hosting a live global reveal event

Woo-hoo! I’ve got enough Protens, what do I do?

That’s rad. You’re rad for collecting so many Collectibles! Here’s how you get your Reyu:

• Check your Proten count with our Proten Calculator to make sure you have enough to get your Reyu Genesis
• Make sure your Ethereum wallet is connected and has at least .003 ETH to cover the gas fees (you’ll need .003 ETH for every Reyu you purchase, so make sure you’ve got enough)
• The mint will begin on January 15, at 3:00 p.m. UTC. At that time, visit redeem.unioverse.com and sign in to your Unioverse account (DESKTOP ONLY. NOT MOBILE)
• You will be directed to the purchase page, if you have enough Protens, you can click “Purchase” to claim your Reyu Genesis (remember to have enough ETH in your wallet to cover gas fees!)
• If you have enough Protens, you can get multiple Reyu Genesis NFTs (just remember you have to pay .003 ETH for gas fees for every transaction)
• Your Reyu will be airdropped to your wallet within 48 hours
• You will know the rarity of your Reyu Genesis upon receiving it, but the actual look of your Hero won’t be available until January 17, when the Unioverse Team will be hosting a live global reveal event

Why are you staggering the minting and the reveal?

As you’ll see, when you mint your Reyu Genesis, your NFT may not hit your wallet for up to 48 hours. Once you receive it, you’ll know the rarity of your NFT, but the look of your Reyu won’t be fully revealed until January 17.

We’re doing this for a couple of reasons. We want to make sure we keep gas fees low and we don’t want to jam up the system so the whole process works as smoothly as possible. The other is that we want to celebrate the launch of Reyu Genesis with you. We’ll be hosting a live event on January 17, so everyone can join in a global reveal party.

Why are you charging for gas fees?

We are implementing this system to help enhance the security of each transaction and keep overall costs down for everyone participating in the mint.

When will the next Unioverse Hero mint be?

We are just getting warmed up! We’ll be launching many similar minting events and more Hero NFTs (Krishah is on the way!) throughout the year, so follow us on Twitter and join our Discord server for the latest news and info.

In the beginning, there were Unioverse Collectible NFTs – and they were fun! Then we gave those Collectibles depth and increased utility with our Protens program, and they became fun and useful! Today we take Unioverse Collectibles to the next level with the launch of our Combine feature. 

If this is your first time reading about our Collectibles. Here’s a quick catchup: 

• Unioverse Collectibles are free NFTs that feature art and story from the Unioverse. We drop these on a regular basis (follow us on Twitter and join our Discord to learn when the next drop is!). Here’s a Collectibles explainer. 
• Owning and holding Unioverse Collectibles earns you Protens. Earn enough Protens and you can unlock special rewards like Reyu Genesis, our first Unioverse Hero NFT that you can use to play Unioverse games. Here’s a quick Protens explainer. 

And now, we are rewarding those people with a passion for collecting with our new Combine feature. In brief, when you hold all of the Collectibles in a set, and all of them are charged, you can forge them into a higher-tier Collectible that will earn you even more Protens!

Here’s how combining works. 

The Right Combination

If you have a Unioverse Collectible, you’ll see three numbers in the bottom right corner of the NFT. These numbers actually have a purpose! 

Let’s take this Collectible as an example:

The numbers 1-1-11 each represent something.

• The first number represents the Series of Collectibles. That first “1” indicates that it’s from our first Series of Collectibles. 
• The second number shows the “Tier” of the Collectible. More on that in a second. 
• The last number shows what number that Collectible is in that tier’s series. So the example above is the eleventh Collectible in the first series of tier one Collectibles. 

When you hold four sequential Collectibles, you can form a “set.” For example, if you hold Collectibles with the numbers: 

1-1-1

1-1-2

1-1-3

1-1-4  

You have a complete set! It’s important to note that combining requires a specific set of Collectibles, not just any four in a sequence. So, if you only had numbers 2, 3, 4, and 5, you do not have a complete set because you are missing 1. Don’t worry though, our system keeps track for you!

Before we combine, though, there’s one more thing to know about. 

Get Charged Up!

Let’s look at our example Collectible again:

You see that glowing symbol that changes in the bottom left-hand corner? That is your Collectible’s “charge.” Your Unioverse Collectible must have a charge in order to be forged.

A charge can only be spent one time. Once your Collectible has been forged, that charge is gone. 

When the charge is gone, this symbol will become static and locked to one single symbol. Additionally, the Collectible’s Energy property will change from “Charged” to “Spent.”

Combine Your Collectibles

So you’ve got a complete set of Collectibles and they are all charged up, what next? You visit our Combine page to “Forge” higher-tier Collectibles. 

Higher-tier Collectibles earn you even more Protens than lower-tier Collectibles. Like, a lot more. If you are interested in amassing as many Protens as possible (more Protens = unlocking rewards like Unioverse Hero NFTs), you want higher-tier Collectibles, so by extension, you want to collect as many free Unioverse Collectibles as possible! 

To Forge higher-tier Collectibles, sign in to your Unioverse account, and you’ll automatically see all of your Collectibles laid out in sets. 

In this example, the bottom row shows a complete set of Collectibles that have been forged into a new Collectible. Notice the green line on the new Collectible on the right, and the 2 in its number. This indicates it is a Tier 2 Collectible. 

The middle row shows a complete set that has not been forged yet. Notice the bright blue dots in the bottom corners which indicate that all those Collectibles are still charged. These will dim when spent. You will also see a “Ready” indicator to the right.

The top row shows an incomplete set of Collectibles. Collectible number 3 is missing and Collectible 4 has yet to be released (in this example). At this point, this holder would not be able to Forge this row because two Collectibles are missing from this row.

Forging is as simple as clicking the “Forge” button at the top. It will be disabled if you have no sets available to forge, and lit up when you can make at least one set.

There are two important things to know!

First, when you click the Forge button, all available sets will be forged. This means that if you could forge multiple sets, or even if you’ve successfully forged a row before, new collectibles will be forged. Simply put, if you have four charged collectibles in a set when that Forge button is clicked, those NFTs will lose the charges and you’ll get a new Tier 2 created. If you don’t want that to happen, move copies of Collectibles into digital wallets not associated with your Unioverse account.

Second, when a collectible has its property changed from Charged to Spent, that will occur immediately but OpenSea may not show the change right away. If you plan on buying any on the open market, please make sure to refresh the metadata.

If you’ve got Collectible NFTs, go to our Combine page and Forge them!

Combining will bring a new dimension and fun to our Collectibles game, and we hope you enjoy forging as much as we had building it. Keep collecting, start combining, and get as many Protens as possible before we launch our first Unioverse Hero NFT, the Reyu Genesis collection, on January 15, 2023!

Celldweller, a multi-genre artist and producer who creates a fusion of digital and organic elements, is bringing his music to the aural landscape of the Unioverse. 

Celldweller’s song, “Identities,” is now featured as the soundtrack in the Unioverse Viewer, a downloadable application that allows people to view Unioverse Hero NFTs up close. In addition to “Identities,” Celldweller will be contributing other songs and custom content for use in future Unioverse applications.  

Blending elements of drum & bass, electro, metal and orchestral flourishes, Celldweller’s music defies boundaries and traditional classification. Celldweller’s pioneering hybrid music has provided the sonic landscape for hundreds of major film, TV and videogame titles. 

“Our breakthrough fully-rendered, AAA-quality Hero NFTs required a soundtrack that defies convention,” said Tony Harman, Co-Founder and CEO of Random Games. “Layering in Celldweller’s genre-bending music enhances the immersive experience of the Unioverse Viewer, creating an exciting new way to dive into the futuristic world we are creating.”

“I’ve always been drawn towards non-traditional approaches to music and entertainment,” said Klayton (Celldweller). “As a result, I’m excited to be involved in the Unioverse with its unique brand of storytelling and world building.”

Those interested in listening to Celldweller’s music can download the Unioverse Viewer right now (PC only), or check him out on Spotify.

Fun Unioverse Fact: We have a team of more than 25 world-class writers, artists and storytellers helping us craft the narrative world of the Unioverse! This franchise is shaping up to be truly epic and massive and awesome and… Well, instead of my telling you about it, you should just experience it firsthand.

For the past couple of months, over on our Discord, we’ve been dropping special Unioverse Issues that tell the origin of the Unioverse. Each issue is like a chapter, telling the story of Malcolm Orion, the first human to use the alien jump pods discovered on Mars. We follow his adventure as his consciousness is instantly transported across the universe to a massive space station where he encounters unfathomable alien technology and tries to understand the wonders — and dangers — it presents.

These issues are free to download so go enjoy them now. Then bookmark this page for future issue drops!

Unioverse Origin Issue #1 – Malcolm Orion

Unioverse Origin Issue #2 – The Chair

Unioverse Origin Issue #3 – The Jump

Unioverse Origin Issue #4 – The Hub

Unioverse Origin Issue #5 – The Map

Unioverse Origin Issue #6 – The Warrior

Unioverse Origin Issue #7 – The Traveler

Unioverse Origin Issue #8 – The Herald

We are less than a month away from the launch of Reyu Genesis, our first Unioverse Hero NFT! Remember, there are only two ways you can get a Reyu:

1. Earn Whitelisting either through achieving status on our Discord or through a partnership we’re doing with another project
2. Earn enough Protens

You can check out a full explainer on the entire process here. And this FAQ will help guide you through the Proten collection process. 

What are Protens?

In the story of the Unioverse, Protens are the energy source that powers the alien technology. In the world of Unioverse NFTs, Protens are what you earn by owning and holding Unioverse Collectible NFTs (which we’ve been dropping for free for a number of weeks now).

If you’ve been collecting (and keeping!) Unioverse Collectible NFTs, then you have been accruing Protens automatically, but the process is not complete. Read on.

Do I have to earn my Protens? Isn’t the process automatic?

While you accrue Protens just by holding Collectibles, you must earn them in order to redeem them for any offer like the upcoming Reyu Genesis.

How do I earn Protens?

You can earn Protens and see your Proten count by visiting our Proten Calculator (desktop only). You’ll need to sign in to / up for your Unioverse account, and make sure the digital wallet you used to obtain Unioverse Collectibles is connected to your Unioverse account in the upper right.

Once that is done, go to the Proten page, click the “Earn” button.

You’ll see our system tabulating your total and the official count appearing above the “Earn” button.

How are Protens calculated? 

Reference the Protens Calculator log in the box to the right of the Earn button. 

How often can I collect Protens?

Once a day. You can collect new Protens after 00:01 UTC (midnight UTC).

Do I have enough Protens to mint a Reyu?

We will be releasing the Proten requirements for Reyu soon. However, Reyu is just the first — not the only — Unioverse Hero NFT that will mint. We will have many more similar events happening over the coming year and beyond including mints for other Unioverse Heroes like Krishah. 

More importantly, Protens will always be useful in the Unioverse, so hold on to them; you never know what they could be redeemed for.

Do multiple copies of the same Collectible each accrue Protens? 

Yes.

My wallet is not connected to my account and I can’t connect it, what do I do?

You must connect it on a desktop, using the wallet button in upper right. Chrome with Metamask is recommended.

I got a ‘perfect collection bonus = False’, what does that mean?

It means there was not a complete collection on the day being calculated. The complete collection bonus was added to reward our earliest adopters, so you will not get a multiplier on your Protens.

Can I mint a Reyu or collect Protens from my phone?

No. You will need a desktop to connect your wallet to your Unioverse account, and to get Reyu! After your wallet is connected to your account, you can collect Protens from mobile, but that is not officially supported.

I’ve held my collectibles before 30th Nov. Will mine be calculated from before then?

Protens are calculated daily. The “Daily Report Log” does not go back past 30th Nov., but your total Proten count will be accurate and reflect the depth and breadth of your collection.

What is the criteria for getting Protens? I’m seeing zero on my end.

Make sure that your wallet is connected. For every day you have a collectible in your wallet, you will gain Protens. 

Can I combine Proten counts from multiple wallets in my Unioverse account?

Each wallet represents its own Proten count calculation. You can (and should) collect from each of the wallets to one Unioverse account, then transfer them all into a single wallet for simplicity.

I have collectibles spread across multiple wallets, what do I do? 

See above. It’s best to have all collectibles in one wallet. However, every time you transfer collectibles you lose any Protens you didn’t collect. The best thing to do is collect protens on each wallet, then transfer them all into a single wallet so that any perfect collection bonus applies to them all. 

My count is wrong!

If you think your Proten count is being calculated incorrectly, please open a ticket on Discord and share with us your wallet address. We can look on-chain to see when certain transfers happened that could have affected your Proten count. While we cannot retrieve Protens that you might have left behind, we can provide clarity as to why it’s being calculated the way it is to ensure you don’t leave your Protens behind again.  

Can I buy a perfect collection?

If you are missing a collectible and want to get it today to restore your perfect collection bonus, that will work but it will not retroactively restore a perfect collection bonus. 

It’s one thing for us to tell you that Unioverse Heroes are gorgeous, world-class, game-ready NFTs.

But it’s another thing entirely to show you.

Today we are proud to announce the availability of our Unioverse Viewer. With this Viewer, you can browse thousands of unique next-generation NFTs — fully-rendered 3D Unioverse Heroes across all rarities. The Viewer even has manual controls so you can spin, tilt, pan and zoom in to see every little detail that we put into making AAA-quality NFTs. Put a melee or ranged weapon in their hand to see what they’ll look like as they charge into battle.

That’s right. You can preview how they’ll look in action because our Hero NFTs are how players will look in Unioverse games. These aren’t just pretty pictures. Unioverse Hero NFTs have utility. Owning a Unioverse Hero NFT grants you access to all Unioverse games. I’ll say it again just to be clear: All Unioverse games. (Check out our Unioverse Developer Logs to see these characters jump, climb, wall run and more in early game test environments)

The first Hero we’re launching is Reyu, a bad-ass Ja’Din Hunter known and feared throughout the Unioverse. With our Viewer, you can preview thousands of unique Reyus right now. Purple Reyus. Shiny Reyus. Masked Reyus. Each one different. All are awesome. To get the Viewer you’ll need to be on a PC (view full specs here). But once you download it, you’ll be able to sift through and enjoy looking at as many Reyus as you like. And as we announce and add more Hero NFTs, you’ll be able to see those as well.

We’re minting our first set of Reyus on January 15, 2023. You’ll need Protens to get a Reyu. To earn enough Protens, you need to be collecting Unioverse Collectible NFTs. It’s all very simple (and free!). Check out our full Collectible/Proten explainer for all the details.

We write a lot about the Unioverse across this blog, on Twitter, on Discord. But, just as the best writing shows and doesn’t tell, sometimes the best way to show off what we’re building is to, well, show you.

Below are playlists for three of our biggest video properties:

• The Danger Room Developer Logs give you a sneak peek at the work we are putting into creating amazing Unioverse characters and videogames
• Worldbuilding Secrets features interviews with writers, artists and more to explain what it takes to make a story worthy of devotion
• The Jump Pod is our weekly discussion show where we chat with industry luminaries about topics and trends in the web3/videogame space

These playlists are automatically updated, so bookmark this page and keep checking in to see the latest episodes. We’ll also be adding more types of videos like story and game trailers, interviews and more. Follow us on Twitter and join our Discord to stay up to date.

Unioverse How-Tos

Unioverse Trailers

Unioverse Danger Room Videos

Worldbuilding Secrets

The Jump Pod

If you weren’t able to make our Founders Corner Twitter Spaces last week, well, there’s no way to sugar coat it. You missed out! We made a ton of announcements, the biggest of which is that our first Unioverse Hero Character NFT, Reyu will be available to mint on January 15, 2023. There will be just 20,000 Reyu Genesis NFTs in this collection.

To get your own Reyu Genesis, you’ll need to earn Protens. To earn Protens, you need to collect and hold as many Unioverse Collectibles as you can. We did a whole blog post explaining how it all works.

For more details direct from the Unioverse Co-Founders, Tony and Wyeth, listen to this recording of the most recent Founders Corner!

This post was authored by New York Times Bestselling author, Stephen Graham Jones (The Only Good Indians, My Heart is a Chainsaw). Graham Jones will also be contributing to Stories of the Reconvergence, the forthcoming Unioverse anthology of short fiction and poetry

You can tell a world—a Unioverse—is a productive storytelling space if, when you write within it, it’s just spinning off more and more story elements. Some science fiction writer from decades and decades ago, who I’m about to violently misparaphrase, said that what makes a place real for the reader isn’t the schematics and the history, the climate and the technology, the language and the look, it’s the third- or fifth-level repercussions of all that climate and language and history. Like, how in Ender’s Game, Ender’s name comes indirectly from protocols built into that culture, that era, but it’s not the first thing you guess when given those protocols. How in Altered Carbon, these re-sleeving capabilities have of course led to military units specializing in gaining control of their bodies quicker, to have a tactical advantage . . . but this also leads to methuselahs. Or, in our own world: introduce franchise horror characters, and, years later, you get Cthulhu plushies and Funko Pop Freddy Kruegers, which I’m pretty sure none of us could have ever guessed.

Drop a pebble into the pond of reality, and characters in stories will be surfing those distant, third- and fifth-level ripples for years and years.

By the time I dropped into the Unioverse, that pebble had already been dropped, and my characters were way out at the edge of the pond, riding the ripples. I’ve written for a few pre–existing properties before, and for each I usually get a bible, outlining what I can or can’t do. But, really, with work done within these pre–existing worlds, the cardinal rule is always “don’t break the place up.” This is why tie-in novels usually happen in a little narrative eddy off to the side, where A) nothing can get broken, and B) everything can reset after, such that the audience doesn’t need to engage this tie-in, but, if they do, it’s not going to mess anything up for them, either. 

The Unioverse is a little different to work within, though. For a couple of reasons. The first is that, unlike nearly every other franchise and property, this one isn’t a snowball that’s been rolling for decades, picking up different, often contradictory “rules” along the way. Rather, the Unioverse has been completely thought-out all at once. In comic book terms, you could say that this is Ultimate Spider-Man, not decades of Amazing and Spectacular done by a host of writers, meant to somehow all be the same character, the same arc. In the Unioverse, there’s no retcon necessary to tell the next installment.

And? “Next” isn’t even the right word, there, which is the second reason the Unioverse is a bit different to work within. This isn’t about sequence or progression, and there’s no quest, no common goal. Rather, the Unioverse . . . it’s sort of like Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, I guess? It’s a place where all the stories happen, but across time, and without relation to each other. It’s an open world, where you make your own stories. And, instead of a phonebook of a bible, there’s a wiki you can refer to when making those stories.

Trick is, though, the Unioverse’s inbuilt “rules”—not the right word, quite—aren’t bumpers making your bowling ball find the pins eventually, but rather answers to questions your story or game or adventure is probably already asking, fundaments that push you forward rather than hold you back. They’re the backdrop, they’re the physics, but, if we’re sticking with the bowling thing, then the alley, man, it’s twenty lanes wide: there’s so much room to operate.

Check out Stephen Graham Jones talking about the Unioverse on our Worldbuilding Secrets podcast!

Example: in my story “The Distance,” of course the Creator tech is inviolable—if it’s not, then the physics of the Unioverse crumble. But, since that Creator tech’s been part of things for five hundred years, I had to imagine that, first, there would be all kinds of rumors and theories about its source, its inner workings, its permeability. Second, though—and this was the fun part—I had to suspect that, while people can’t imitate it, they probably can retrofigure back from it, to try to get to some version of the same place. As in, they can see, via Creator tech, that this or that is possible, and so, with that assurance, they delve in with their own limited tech, try to accomplish something . . . if not the same, then in the same vein, anyway. Or, as close as they can get. “Sys tech,” it’s called in my story: wholly inferior to Creator tech, but at least trying to approach that same level of competence.

And then, too, my protagonist being an animal smuggler—everyone’s got their specialty—that left me with the much sought-after obligation to dream up animal after animal, from planet after planet, even down to deep-space carrion mites. 

The only thing I can imagine that might be half as much as fun as dreaming up alien pets would be racehorse naming. But? With these animals, I even get to do a little of that naming, so . . . best of all possible worlds, here, yes. Or, rather, best of all Unioverses, that being the one where I can have giant, world-changing fish-worms and bird-things that spout insults.

Hope y’all like the story, but, more than that, I hope you have fun jumping all through this place. You won’t understand the circuitry—it’s Creator tech, nobody gets it—but that doesn’t mean you can’t ride it to the end of known space, and then go back, ride it out a different direction as well.

Stephen Graham Jones

This is Reyu

Check out our Reyu work-in-progress on OpenSea

Reyu is many things:

• Bad-ass warrior in the story of Unioverse
• Gorgeous 3D NFT that you can own
• AAA-quality game-ready asset you can play in any Unioverse videogame

If you are a part of the Unioverse Community, owning a Reyu Hero NFT is something you’ll definitely want, and if you’re interested in playing Unioverse games, owning a Unioverse Hero NFT like Reyu is something you need.

We will be releasing 20,000 unique Reyu Genesis Hero NFTs on January 15, 2023. There will only ever be 20,000 Reyu Genesis NFTs, and you can get yours for free! All you have to do is earn Unioverse Protens.

In the lore of the Unioverse, Protens are the energy source that powers all of the alien technology. Here in the real world, Protens are what you earn by collecting our free Unioverse Collectible NFTs. The more Unioverse Collectibles you hold, and the longer you hold them, the more Protens you can earn. If you have enough Protens, you can buy your own Reyu (while supply lasts). Check out our Reyu NFT works in progress over on OpenSea.

There will be additional Unioverse Hero mints throughout 2023, here’s what you need to know:

Unioverse Heroes

• Minted on Ethereum
• Dozens of visual parameters with millions of combinations
• Each NFT is visually unique
• These are next-generation, game-ready heroes
• You need a Unioverse Hero to access Unioverse games
• You will be able to access every Unioverse game with your NFT Hero

Unioverse Collectible NFTS

Unioverse Collectible NFTs are how you earn Protens. These are free NFTs and there has already been a number of Unioverse Collectible drops thus far, with more to come.

Unioverse Collectibles drops are limited by time and not supply. When a drop occurs, there is a window of time, typically between 1 – 4 hours in which you can claim that NFT. Once that time window closes, that NFT will never be minted again.

Claiming Unioverse Collectible NFTs is free — we even pay the gas fee.

The best way to learn about future Unioverse Collectible drops is to join our Discord and follow us on Twitter. If you participate enough in the Unioverse Community, you can earn Legend status in Discord. Unioverse Legends get up to 24 hours’ notice before Collectible drops.

Again, the more Unioverse Collectibles you claim and the longer you hold them the more Protens you earn!

Protens Power the Unioverse

Every day you earn Protens for every Unioverse Collectible you hold in your wallet. You don’t have to take any actions. Just by holding your collectibles you are already earning Protens.

In addition to earning Protens, you can combine certain Collectibles to get higher tier Unioverse NFTs. Higher tier Collectible NFTs earn even more Protens per day.

Additional Heroes

The Unioverse is an expansive story that will be filled with awesome heroes, many of which will become Hero NFTs and playable characters in Unioverse games.

You can continue to collect Unioverse Collectibles and earn Protens to mint not only different heroes and different hero styles, but also vehicles, weapons and more.

Protens can also be redeemed to acquire Unioverse comic books, art, novels and more as the Unioverse continues to expand.

FAQ

Q: What are Unioverse Collectibles?

Q: What can I do with Unioverse Collectibles?

Q: What’s a Proten?

Q: How many Protens does a Collectible earn?

Q: What can I get with Protens?

Q: How many Protens do I earn?

Q: What are Unioverse Hero Character NFTS?

Q: What’s a Reyu?

Q: Cool! How do I get a Reyu?

Q: How many Protens will Reyu cost?

Q: Can I buy Proten Packs?

Q: Wait, so Reyu is free?

Q: Can I buy more than one Reyu?

Q: Which rarity Reyu will I receive?

Q: Will I need Ethereum?

Q: Why is the Reyu Genesis collection only 20,000?

Q: Will there be other Hero Character NFTS?

Q: How do I combine Unioverse Collectibles?

Q: How do I get started collecting Unioverse Collectibles?

Q: Whitelist?

Unioverse Danger Room Developer Logs

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then these videos showing off some early Unioverse character development tests must be worth, well, let’s not put a number on it and just say a lot. 

Up until now you’ve seen killer Unioverse concept art, gotten glimpses at some of our characters like Reyu, and claimed thousands of our gorgeous NFTs Collectibles. But one thing you haven’t seen is the Unioverse in action.  

Now would be a good a time as any to remind you that while the Unioverse takes advantage of NFT technology – we are not just a pfp. The Unioverse is a game-first, community-owned franchise. Your unique Unioverse character NFT is not only how you will look when you play Unioverse games, it also gives you access to every Unioverse game. 

These are AAA-quality characters we are building. They are fully-rendered, properly rigged, brilliantly lit, shaded and textured character models – and they are all game ready. 

Not only does this mean anyone who holds one of our hero NFTs holds a gorgeous 3D character, it also means that any game developer looking to lower costs (we offer them up, royalty-free!) and decrease time to market can easily plug any Unioverse character into just about any type of game with confidence. 

But we also want to be transparent with the Unioverse Community, to show that we are hard at work building something that is truly groundbreaking and amazing. We are a community-owned franchise, which means anyone will be able to download these character models to make their own animations, or art or comic or whatever.

So today we are launching the Unioverse Developer Log video series. In this ongonig series, we’ll give you a sneak-peek every step of the way as we bring these characters to life.

Some things to remember: 

• This footage is all very early. Character models and movements are still being developed, and the environments are all boxes and grids – so don’t freak out.
• These videos are in a series going from oldest to most recent. So you’ll see a progression (and things will only get more awesome going forward). 
• These videos don’t necessarily represent what any final gameplay will be. I mean, it could, but again, this is more of a proving ground and an early stage in the development process. 

Enjoy this footage, and be on the lookout for more Developer Logs coming out soon!

NOTE: Your browser must accept our cookies in order to view the videos. You can also view them directly on the Unioverse YouTube Channel.

Co-Authored by Christian Williams and Ryan David Williams of Ashbury. 

The ultimate goal of the Unioverse is to create a revolutionary new model for how franchises like Star Wars or Marvel should exist. A model that rewards participation above consumption. Where creative people around the world are empowered and encouraged to not just play our games – but to build our world. 

To do this, we’re making the Unioverse a community-owned franchise, and we’ve been working with renowned Web3 law firm Ashbury to create a new intellectual property framework to power that vision. Something like this has never been done at this scale, because it’s hard. But we’ve been working hard(er) to figure it out.

As we create and expand the Unioverse, we’ll create and release characters, artwork, locations and other digital assets that you can use to tell your own stories, create your own comic books and print your own T-shirts (and even keep all the money you make doing so!). The Unioverse is yours to build (and profit from!). 

But every well-ordered universe needs (a small number of) rules to ensure fairness and respect for all its citizens. The rules of the Unioverse are embodied in what we call the Unioverse Community Creations License. Our friends at Ashbury tried to use everyday English, but sometimes they couldn’t avoid some legal jargon. Thankfully they helped us build the fancy legalese-to-english translator below.

At the end of the day, here’s what we want you to know: We want you to both play and build in the Unioverse. We even want you to make money doing so! Yes, there are a few caveats, but these rules will actually make the Unioverse stronger and your participation in it more enjoyable. 

You can read the full terms of service here and visit the Unioverse Assets page to start downloading some of our artwork. Have questions? Hop over to our Discord to chat with our mods and other fans about how you’ll help build the Unioverse. 

UNIOVERSE ™ Community Creations License

By using Unioverse Community Assets (defined below), you agree to this license:

1. Unioverse Community Assets. From time to time, we may make available artwork, building blocks, infrastructure, environments, characters, code, or other types of digital content (collectively, “Unioverse Community Assets” or “UCA”) that is available for anyone in the world to use, as long as they follow the rules in this license. Please note that we are not obligated to make UCA available by any specific deadline or with any specific regularity.

TRANSLATION: We are creating Unioverse Community Assets for our community to use as long as you follow these rules. Also, we will determine what assets are released and when. These assets will be posted on the UCA webpage. 

2. Eligibility. To be eligible to use this license, you must be either (a) an individual of at least 18 years of age, or (b) an entity that (together with its affiliates, subsidiaries, parents and related companies) has (i) no more than 50 employees, and (ii) no more than $5 million in annual revenue. If you do not meet this criteria, but still want to use UCA, please contact us at [email protected].

Translation: UCA is for everyday gamers – not big companies. And let’s be real, if you’re a large organization, you can afford your own content. So please don’t hijack ours. On the flip side, if you truly want to collab with us on the Unioverse, feel free to reach out. 

3. Ownership. We own all rights, title, and interest in and to all UCA, including all copyrights, trademarks, and any other intellectual property rights. However, we give you permission to use UCA according to this license.

TRANSLATION: We still own the Unioverse Community Assets, but we’re giving you permission to use them. 

4. License. We grant to you a non-exclusive, revocable, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, distribute, display, perform, modify, and create derivative works of UCA, for any purpose, whether commercial or personal, except for the restrictions in Section 6. For example, you can use UCA to create podcasts, films, plays, books, comics, clothing, merchandise, home goods, stickers, art, photography, and other works not prohibited by Section 6. We reserve all rights not expressly granted to you in this license. 

TRANSLATION: You can use the Unioverse Community Assets to make tons of stuff: Podcasts, movies, plays, comics, clothing… you get the point. And you can sell whatever you make. But…spoiler alert…there are exactly five things you can’t do. Keep reading. 

5. Unioverse Community Creations. Anything you create under this license is known as “Unioverse Community Creations” or “UCC.” You agree to the following terms for all UCC created by you:
   1. You own the rights in all original work that you create using UCA.
   2. You grant a license to anyone, including Random Games, to use characters, events, locations, names, ideas, or any other concepts (“Unioverse Concepts”) from UCC created by you, even if these Unioverse Concepts are not derived from UCA, for the purpose of contributing to the Unioverse. On behalf of yourself and your heirs, successors and assigns, you agree not to bring any claim against anyone in connection with their use of Unioverse Concepts created by you. On behalf of yourself and your heirs, successors and assigns, you waive all of your rights, including all moral rights and intellectual property rights, to restrict, whether through legal, technological, or any other means, anyone’s use of Unioverse Concepts created by you. 

TRANSLATION: You own your original work, but you must share concepts from your work with the Unioverse Community. You can’t sue or take other legal action against anyone for using your concepts, ideas, and characters. TRANSLATION OF THE TRANSLATION: Chill. Be cool. Share your stuff. Just like we shared with you.

6. Restrictions. This license has restrictions. If you violate the restrictions or any other term of this license, we have the right to revoke your license. If we revoke your license, you must immediately stop your use of all UCA and UCC. You cannot use this license to: (1) create or contribute to any type of software, video game, video game experience or non-fungible token; (2) violate the intellectual property rights of any third party or combine UCA with any intellectual property that you do not own or have a valid license to use; (3) disparage or damage Random Games or the Unioverse; (4) break the law or promote illegal activities; or (5) engage in behavior that constitutes hate speech, harassment, abuse, fraud, defamation, discrimination, or obscenity. We have the authority to determine, in our sole discretion, whether you have violated this license. We also have the authority to designate another entity, such as a decentralized autonomous organization (“DAO”), to make that determination for us.

TRANSLATION: OK, so here are the five things you CAN’T do with Unioverse assets. Let’s call them Unio-no-nos: 

• Don’t create products that fans will expect to come from us, meaning…
  • No software (for example, no making a Unioverse social network or metaverse)
  • No videogames (you actually can make games, you just need to work with us to do so. Find out more on our Developers page)
  • No Unioverse NFTs
• No using someone else’s intellectual property (so Luke Skywalker can’t star in your story. In fact, Disney might sue us just for mentioning his name.)
• No hating on Random Games or the Unioverse (before you get all worked up – every company has this clause)
• No breaking the law
• No hate speech, harassment, abuse, fraud, defamation, discrimination, or obscenity. (Don’t be toxic, don’t be a jerk) 

7. Attribution. Unioverse Community Creations are about building up the Unioverse community. When you use UCA, you must clearly indicate that your work is UCC by:
   1. Clearly displaying the UCC Logo on all UCC that you create. The logo is available here and must be displayed such that it is reasonably perceivable by the average person. We are granting you a license to use the UCC logo for this singular purpose. You cannot use the UCC logo for any other purpose;

TRANSLATION: If you create something for the Unioverse, you have to include the Unioverse Community Creations logo so fans know this work was created by the community. 

2. Indicating on any website where the UCC is displayed or made available that your work was created under this license by either (1) including the full text of this license, or (2) including a link to this license; and

TRANSLATION: If you post your work somewhere online, include this license or link back to it. 

3. Not using the official UNIOVERSE™ logo, or any other Random Games trademarks without express written permission from us.

TRANSLATION: Don’t use the official UNIOVERSE logo for anything. Ever. 

8. No Promises. We are making UCA available to anyone in the world for free. All UCA are provided “as is.” We make no explicit or implied promises, guarantees, or assurances about the quality, safety, accuracy, or legal status of any UCA, and we have no liability for any claim related to UCA, UCC or your use of either. You are solely responsible for your use of UCA and UCC and your creation of UCC, and you assume any and all associated risks.

TRANSLATION: We think these Assets are pretty dope, but we can’t guarantee that they’re perfect. Use at your own risk.

9. Terms of Service. Except as stated above, the Random Games Terms of Service applies to your use of this website, UCA, and UCC. 

TRANSLATION: But wait, there’s more. This isn’t the only fine print that applies to your interactions with the Unioverse; our standard website terms of service also apply. 

10. Updates. We may update this license from time to time, and new updates will be posted on this webpage. Updated versions of this license are binding on you with respect to your creation of UCC on or after the date indicated in the updated license.

TRANSLATION: We’re completely reimaging franchise ownership, so don’t hate on us if we don’t get it right the first time. But don’t worry…any changes to this license will not affect work you created before the change. 

That wasn’t so bad, was it?

Pardon us as we pop a bottle of bubbly over here at Unioverse HQ, but we are thrilled to announce the successful completion of our first, free Unioverse Collectible NFT claim!

More than 4,000 Unioverse Collectibles were claimed in roughly an hour yesterday. In total, more than 5,000 of our Collectible NFTs have been claimed since they were first offered to those with Legend status starting last week.

Did you get yours? 

If you followed us on Twitter or joined our Discord, you got the heads up when the Collectible dropped (so, you know, go do those things).  But fear not! This was just the first, there are many more to come. 

The Unioverse Collectibles are a series of NFTs that feature jaw-dropping art and a little bit of info about the story world we are building. These are high-end NFTs with 3D art and animation, and in the description field, you’ll notice a little blurb giving you a gateway into the Unioverse. 

Here’s an example:

Description: 

Once the smaller alien craft has power, the interior responds to the presence of humans, lighting up a path to a central chamber.

Ooooh. Mysterious!

Unioverse Collectibles aren’t just pretty to look at – they also have utility. These collectibles are numbered, and when you complete a set (e.g. #1 – 4) you can forge them to unlock a different collectible with higher rarity. Also, the more you hold the higher your status on our Discord which unlocks other fun stuff like exclusive Q&As, exclusive content, early alpha and whitelists. 

This is just our first step into the NFT space. In the coming weeks and months we’ll have more to share about our NFT hero characters that you’ll use to play Unioverse games. But until then, keep collecting these freebies!

And for real, follow us on Twitter and join our Discord.

Web3 and the entire NFT sector are at a crossroads. Many marketplaces are choosing to break the foundational contract with creators and make royalty payments optional. As we’ve said before, this is a bad idea.

Today I’d like to outline our take on the situation and lay out what our current plans are. Obviously, this is a rapidly changing ecosystem, and plans must adapt along with (or in spite of) market conditions.

Creator Royalties are Good

First, here is what we at the Unioverse believe:

• Creators should receive royalties. This fundamental mechanism of NFTs is part of what makes them revolutionary.
• We are creators and will fight for other creators. A rising tide should lift all boats. 
• There is still a chance to reverse the current trend of optional royalties and pressure current marketplaces to respect creator royalties or lose their market share. The window to accomplish this, however, is rapidly closing.
• If royalties disappear, current creators will suffer, fewer new creators will launch, and the adoption of NFTs will be set back by many, many years.

How the Unioverse Will Enforce Royalties

This is our plan for our upcoming mint of Unioverse Collectibles. 

• These are FREE NFTs (we are paying gas too!) with a 10% creator royalty. 
• These NFTs have utility, and we believe delivering on that utility creates an ecosystem where everyone’s incentives are aligned. 
• We have created a smart contract for the collection, and a second contract that records which marketplaces are Allowed/Denied by Marketplace smart contract addresses. This second contract can have markets added or removed by us, at any time. 
• All our future NFTs will refer to this same secondary contract list. 

Our challenge to all marketplaces is simple: if you respect our royalties we will eagerly participate on your marketplace. If you don’t, we will block it. Marketplaces can message our Twitter @theunioverse if you want a whitelist.

Our guidance to our collectors is this: Only use marketplaces that respect creator royalties. If you end-run royalties, we reserve the right to detect that and disable an NFT’s ongoing utility. A reminder that the Unioverse is a game-first franchise, so disabling an NFT could impact not just appearance, but future gameplay as well. Protecting creator royalties ultimately protects collectors as well, because it preserves the alignment of incentives between us all. 

We do not like going against the spirit of marketplace decentralization, and fully expect future technologies to better resolve this issue. At this juncture, however, we believe it’s in everyone’s best interest (including the marketplaces!) to fight on behalf of creators. 

We encourage current collections to consider re-minting (airdropping) with new smart contracts, and hope communities support and adopt the newly minted versions. Independent creators interested in learning more about our Terms of Service and smart contract approach can reach out to us on Twitter or join our Discord. You can also view our smart contract and allowlist code online.

If creators can work together as a community and reward marketplaces that respect creator rights, then we can strengthen the health and longevity of the NFT industry for everyone involved.

Perhaps the best way to kick off this blog post is to hand it over to Mr. Stephen King himself:

Why am I referring to a nearly-year-old tweet from the master of horror? Well, because the guy who wrote that “Thrilling, literate, scary, immersive” novel, Stephen Graham Jones, is putting his talent to work for the Unioverse. 

Jones, along with 27 other writers such as Linda D. Addison  (Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda) and Kevin J. Anderson (Dune: The Butlerian Jihad) are contributing to Stories of the Reconvergence, a forthcoming anthology of short stories and poetry set in the Unioverse. Each story will also feature original art by Stuart Jennett (Star Citizen) with cover art by Aaron Lovett (Monster Train). Stories of the Reconvergence will be edited by Colorado Book Award winner Joshua Viola and Angie Hodapp, Director of Literary Development at Nelson Literary Agency and published in the Summer of 2023, and you can check out the full list of authors below. 

And if that wasn’t exciting enough, we’re also launching a comic book series. The six-issue story arc will introduce the initial five Unioverse heroes that people will be able to play in Unioverse games. The series is written by Viola and Hodapp, with interior art by Ben Matsuya (Cryowulf), cover art by AJ Nazzaro (Overwatch) and a variant cover by Tyler Kirkham (DC, Marvel). The first comic, titled Unioverse: Reyu, will be available digitally in Spring of 2023. 

Both Stories of the Reconvergence and Unioverse: Reyu are being done in partnership with Hex Publishers, an independent publishing house owned and operated by Viola that specializes in genre fiction: horror, science fiction, crime, dark fantasy and more. 

We are thrilled to have all of these talented people on-board to help expand the Unioverse into the entertaining and enthralling franchise that you (and Stephen King) are going to love. 

You can read the full press announcement here.

Complete list of Stories of the Reconvergence writers: 

• Mario Acevedo • National bestseller, Colorado Book Award winner
  Killing the Cobra, The Nymphos of Rocky Flats, X-Rated Blood Suckers, University of Doom
• Linda D. Addison • Bram Stoker Award winner, Horror Writers Association (HWA) Lifetime Achievement Award winner
  Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda, Classic Monsters Unleashed, Predator: Eyes of the Demon, The Place of Broken Things
• Kevin J. Anderson • National and international bestseller
  Dune, Spine of the Dragon, Star Wars, X-Files, Zombie P.I.
• Andy Baker  
  The 7^th Portal, The Accuser, The Backstreet Project, House of the Dead
• Carina Bissett • Colorado Book Award winner
  HWA Poetry Showcase, Shadow Atlas, Upon a Twice Time
• Kenneth W. Cain • Splatterpunk Award finalist
  Darker Days, Embers, A Season in Hell, Tales from the Lake
• Kevin Dilmore • Amazing Stories, Famous Monsters of Filmland, Rainbow Bright, Star Trek, The Village Voice 
• Sean Eads • Colorado Book Award finalist, Lambda Literary Award finalist, Shirley Jackson Award finalist
  Classic Monsters Unleashed, It Came from the Multiplex, Lord Byron’s Prophecy, Nightmares Unhinged, Shadow Atlas
• Brent Friedman • Call of Duty, Halo 4, League of Legends, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The Walking Dead
• Maxwell I. Gold • Rhysling Award nominee
  Bleeding Rainbows and Other Broken Spectrums, Oblivion in Flux, Shadow Atlas 
• Warren Hammond • Colorado Book Award winner
  Denver Moon, It Came from the Multiplex, KOP, Nightmares Unhinged, Shadow Atlas, Tides of Maritinia
• Angie Hodapp • Colorado Book Award finalist
  Cyber World, False Faces, It Came from the Multiplex, Shadow Atlas, Tooth & Claw
• Jamal Hodge • Vanguard Award winner
  Chiral Mad 5, Penumbric Magazine, Space and Time Magazine 
• Akua Lezli Hope • Elgin Award winner, Writer’s Digest Award winner
  NOMBONO, Otherwheres, Them Gone
• Gabino Iglesias • Bram Stoker Award nominee, Locus Award nominee, Wonderland Book Award winner
  Zero Saints, Coyote Songs
• Stephen Graham Jones • New York Times bestseller, Bram Stoker Award winner, Ray Bradbury Prize
  Earthdivers, My Heart is a Chainsaw, The Only Good Indians
• Matthew Kressel • Nebula Award finalist, World Fantasy Award finalist
  King of Shards, Queen of Static
• Lee Murray • Bram Stoker Award winner
  Grotesque: Monster Stories, The Path of Ra, The Taine McKenna Adventures
• Wyeth Ridgway • Game Developer
  Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, South Park, Terminator
• Jeanne C. Stein • bestselling author of the Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles
• Joshua Viola • Denver Post bestseller, Colorado Book Award winner, Splatterpunk Award nominee
  The Bane of Yoto, Blackstar, Classic Monsters Unleashed, Cyber World, Denver Moon, It Came from the Multiplex, Nightmares Unhinged, Pirates of the Caribbean, Shadow Atlas, Target: Terror
• Tim Waggoner • Bram Stoker Award winner, Shirley Jackson Award finalist
  Alien, Halloween Kills, Resident Evil, Supernatural
• Dayton Ward • New York Times bestseller
  24, Mars Attacks, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek 
• Carter Wilson • USA Today bestseller, Colorado Book Award winner
  The Comfort of Black, The Dead Girl in 2A, The Dead Husband, Mister Tender’s Girl
• Jezzy Wolfe
  Insidious Assassins, Monstrum Poetica, Shallow Waters, Zippered Flesh
• Jane Yolen • Nebula Award winner, World Fantasy Award winner
  The Devil’s Arithmetic, Lost Girls, Owl Moon, Sister Emily’s Lightship 
• Alvaro Zinos-Amaro • Hugo Award finalist, Locus Award finalist
  Equimedian, Traveler of Worlds: Conversations with Robert Silverberg, When the Blue Shift Comes

One of the reasons artists and other creative folks are so excited about NFTs is royalties. Back in the day, an artist only made money one time from their creation. They would sell a painting for $100 (good!), but then sit and watch as that buyer turned around and sold that same painting for $10,000 (not so good). The artist got zero dollars and zero cents from that secondary sale. 

Getting a cut of those secondary sales was a big reason then, that artists were attracted to NFTs. The smart contract in the NFT would automatically give the artist a cut of any future sales of their work. Win/win! Collectors still get the lion’s share of the money from secondary sales, and artists get recurring revenue, allowing them to make more art. 

But here’s a fun fact: Turns out those automatic royalty payments in smart contracts aren’t so automatic. CoinDesk explained the situation pretty well a couple months back, writing: 

…Royalty payments are only enforceable on a marketplace level, and not on-chain. An NFT buyer, for example, could send ether (ETH) to a designated wallet after making an off-chain agreement to buy their NFT, and the seller could send them that NFT with no marketplace as a middleman for the transaction, paying no royalty fees in the process.

Sellers on marketplaces such as OpenSea can program a designated fee into each sale, in most cases between 5%-10% of an item’s purchase price, but if a marketplace wanted to waive the fee altogether, there’s nothing stopping them from doing so.

NFT marketplaces like x2y2, Yawww and Sudoswap have decided to make royalty payments optional on their NFT transactions. Sure, in the short-term that means buyers pay less for their NFTs, but that also means the original NFT artists and creators could wind up getting [does math things, carries the one] zero dollars in recurring revenue. 

(We should note that while these marketplaces are making NFT royalties optional, these same marketplaces are still keeping their transaction fee percentages firmly in place.) 

Like a virus, you’re starting to see this zero royalty notion spread to other established marketplaces and even other NFT projects. Recently the Solana NFT project DeGods announced it was getting rid of its royalties as part of an “experiment.”

The leader of the DeGods project, who goes by the handle “Frank” posted to Twitter: 

Honestly, I actually hope that our move to 0% accelerates real solutions that create enforceable royalties.

Whether or not Frank is actually altruistic or more mercenary remains to be seen. DeGods already made $6 million in secondary sales of its y00ts NFTs, and Dust Labs, the startup associated with DeGods raised $7 million in venture funding last month. So Frank and Co. are doing just fine.   

But what about the newer and smaller NFT projects? If market forces push them to abandon royalties, will they even get off the ground? Or worse, will it spur more rug pulls? 

The longer-term consequences of all this have yet to reveal themselves and raise a lot of questions: 

• Will burning tens of thousands of creators counting on royalties threaten the future of NFTs?
• Will creators need to charge more for initial mints, shutting people out?
• Do creators get in an arms race with marketplaces, each writing code to continuously circumvent each other?
• Will consumers now expect to pay zero royalties all the time? 
• Will fewer NFT projects and games launch because there is no longer a secondary revenue stream?

All these moves to get rid of royalties feels very web 2. It’s like something Amazon would do – use its size to undercut competition, squash innovation and grab marketshare. It also seems to fly in the face of what web3 is supposed to be about – community and empowerment. Like, web3 is great during the good times, but do its fundamental beliefs get immediately abandoned to protect losses during a downturn?

Obviously, we have a horse in this particular race and would love to see a robust and revenue-generating secondary market. NFT sales is how we generate revenue to fund our Game Developer Fund and pay small, independent developers to make games. We are confident that ultimately technology will create enforceable smart contract revenue to creators, but if in the meantime the Web3 community burns all the creators that took an early bet on NFTs for their music and art, how long will it take to regain their trust? Can we? 

Part of being a web3 company is open dialogue, something we hope this post spurs. We’d love to hear from the members of our community. What do you think about not paying royalties on NFTs? Head over to our Discord and share your opinion!

We felt that this issue was also too big to contain in just one blog post, so we brought in Benny from NFT aggregator Hyperspace for a lively discussion on our Jump Pod Unioverse podcast.

The Unioverse wants you! Yes, you! 

I’m happy to announce that we have officially kicked off the Unioverse Creator Program. 

What is the Unioverse Creator Program? I’m glad you asked. 

A core pillar of the Unioverse is that it’s a community-owned franchise. While we are creating the story of the Unioverse and building out an initial series of games – we are just as interested in seeing what you create. That’s why all the AAA-quality artwork, character models, music – everything that we make – will be made available to our community, royalty-free. 

What you create with those assets is entirely up to you! Make your own comic books, short animations, lunchboxes – I’m not kidding, whatever you want to make. 

The Unioverse Creator Program

We’re heads down right now creating those assets as well as the expansive lore of the Unioverse and plotting the first series of games. But you shouldn’t have to wait for us to start making your own Unioverse stuff. That’s why we’ve launched the Unioverse Creator Program.  

The Creator Program is a way for you to show off your talents right now. Head over to our Discord server where we will hold regular contests, discussions with our creative team, and provide links to download Unioverse assets. 

Our first contest launches today! We want you to design a Unioverse T-shirt

Whatever style you like, just make it awesome. Go over to our Discord server and join the Creators Area for all the details, artwork, and submission guidelines. All entries are due by Midnight US Pacific Time, Oct 25, 2022. The winner gets a free Unioverse T-Shirt (they designed), lots of Creator Points (see below) as well as other giveaways we are planning. Additionally, because we are a community-owned franchise, the winner (or any contestant) can even sell their shirt design online AND keep all of the money. 

Create. Level Up. Repeat.

Creating isn’t just a way to win great prizes either! Just by entering these Creator Program contests and participating on our Discord, you can earn Creator Points and level up your Creator status. Do a lot of stuff (like T-Shirt contests!) and level up faster to unlock perks such as:

• Whitelist spots on future NFT drops
• Exclusive chats with the Unioverse team (pitch us a game!)
• Direct connections with other Creators
• and more!

I sound like a broken record, but really, head over to the Creator Area on our Discord for more details. 

We know you’re going to love the Unioverse and we are going to love seeing what you make.

Nope. The Unioverse is not a Metaverse. End of blog post.

Well. That was quick. Who said writing is hard?

All kidding aside, the answer to that question, like so many aspects of the Unioverse, is both straightforward and more nuanced.

The Unioverse is not a Metaverse, but someone could build a very Metaverse-y experience on top of the Unioverse.

Allow me to explain.

Heroes, not Twins

The biggest difference between the Unioverse and a Metaverse is you.

Metaverses are about you. Whether you enjoy them as a digital twin of yourself with the same approximate hairstyle, face and body, or a more fantastical avatar with wings or horns or whatever that more fully represents you, the point remains the same. YOU are the person walking around and talking, emoting, dancing, whatever-ing with others in a virtual world.

But in the Unioverse, you play as one of our heroes. Among the many things the Unioverse is, at its heart is a gripping, expansive sci-fi story filled with a galaxy-spanning cast of characters. Just as you hop over turtles as Mario or blast the Covenant as Master Chief – in the Unioverse, you play as one of the heroes we create.

But any Unioverse hero you play will be uniquely yours. Because these hero characters are NFTs, and through our rarity model, no one else in the Unioverse will look exactly like you. Each hero character will have different traits (color, lighting, etc.) and some level of rarity (common, rare, legendary, etc.).

These heroes aren’t just about looks, though. Unioverse hero characters are your ticket to every Unioverse game that gets made.

One Unioverse, Infinite Games

When you think of a Metaverse today, you might think of Second Life, PlayStation HOME or games like Roblox and Fortnite.

Your mileage may vary with these different experiences, but consider this:

• Current Metaverses are massive, single spaces, controlled by corporate interests that do not interact with one another.

The Unioverse, on the other hand, is a distributed, community-owned franchise. That means there is no singular Unioverse experience. There will be hundreds of different games set in the Unioverse and they will all be different from one another. Any developer is free to create whatever kind of game they want: battle royale shooters like Fortnite, League of Legends-style MOBA games, or even racing games a la Mario Kart.

We don’t dictate what games get made, but you’ll be able to interact and play any of them, thanks to your hero character NFT. Developers are free to make whatever game they want, but it must work with our Unioverse heroes.

So instead of a massive, one-size-fits-all Metaverse, you’ll have hundreds and eventually thousands of different meta-experiences.

Which leads us to the nuanced part of this blog post.

Unio-Meta-Verse

Because we don’t tell developers what they can build in the Unioverse, an enterprising studio might create its own, traditional metaverse-like experience in the Unioverse.

For instance, a developer could create their own massively multiplayer RPG complete with quests across Unioverse planets. On a much smaller scale, someone could create their own version of a Mos Eisley-style cantina in the Unioverse where hero characters hang out. And, since anyone will be able to download the music we provide and remix it, Unioverse DJs (never say never!) could perform concerts.

The point is, that we are not building the Unioverse to be a monolithic, meta-experience. We are building it to knock down barriers and unleash creativity around the world and potentially be a place where a thousand metaverses bloom.

And that is the end of this blog post.

We launched the Unioverse last week and the feedback has been phenomenal. Because the Unioverse is an entirely new concept in franchise entertainment, we’ve also been getting a ton of questions on our Discord (which you should join!) and on Twitter.

So we thought it would be a good idea to collect some of these frequently asked questions (<- see what we did there?) and provide some answers!

Who is behind the Unioverse?

The Unioverse is the first franchise from Random Games, a venture-backed games studio Co-Founded by Tony Harman (GTA, Donkey Kong Country, Crackdown) and Wyeth Ridgway (South Park, Pirates of the Caribbean, MLB). We’re going to re-invent franchise entertainment through a combination of insanely great storytelling, innovative blockchain technology and a more open intellectual property system. Our first franchise will be the Unioverse.

What is the Unioverse?

The Unioverse is many things:

• It is an epic sci-fi story being created by a world-class team of artists, writers and developers who have expanded the narrative worlds of Star Wars, Marvel, The Walking Dead and more.
• It’s a series of videogames being developed by gaming industry vets who have worked on enormous titles like Grand Theft Auto, Crackdown, League of Legends and Star Citizen.
• It’s a reinvention of the way videogames get made. As we like to say, it’s like Roblox, but for AAA game developers.

But most importantly, the Unioverse is a “community-owned” franchise. That means all the AAA-quality art, character models, music and more that we create are made available to other game developers and our community royalty-free. Anyone can download our assets to make their own creations (comics, board games, T-shirts, etc.). Even better, those creations can be sold and we won’t take a dime.

Royalty-free? What’s the catch?

No catch! After working in the games industry for decades we recognize:

1. The whole games industry is broken. Developers lose too much money paying out royalties to app stores and spending money on user acquisition. By handing over these assets, developers can get straight to creating games and not worry about gaming their players with loot boxes.
2. Users create mind-blowing content when given the chance. Let’s see what happens when we equip our community to take off with their imagination, rather than limiting them with takedown notices.

How does Random Games Make Money?

We generate revenue by selling NFT hero characters. All revenue generated goes directly back into the franchise through expanded story, more assets and a Game Developer fund that will pay developers to make more games.

I think NFTs suck!

That’s not really a question, but we get it. The gaming community thus far has been burned by predatory NFT projects posing as games and giant corporations tacking on NFTs to existing franchises as a blatant cash grab. Random Games is using NFTs in the Unioverse in a thoughtful, limited way, and incorporating them from the ground up.

How will Random Games use NFTs?

Our NFT pitch is simple: In order to play a Unioverse game, you need to own a Unioverse character avatar NFT. That’s it. Owning a Unioverse NFT will give you access to all Unioverse games. Now, other developers making Unioverse games may add other crypto elements to their games — but that’s up to them.

What blockchain are you using?

We will start out using Ethereum and Polygon, however we are blockchain agnostic. You will see us embrace Solana, Avalanche or any other prominent technologies that emerge.

I’m a developer, how do I make a Unioverse game? What assets do I get?

Awesome! We’d love to hear from you. Check out the developers channel on our Discord, or head over to the Developers tab on this website and sign up for developer information. We’ll keep you updated as we have more news and announcements.

Developers working on Unioverse games will get access to our Unreal and Unity SDKs as well as our full library of assets (character models, environments, etc.). Plus you’ll get direct access to our talented team to get tips and tricks on game design and implementation.

If your game is great, we will pay you to make it.

Are you only going to work with big, established game devs?

Nope. No matter who you are, where you are, or how big your team, everyone will have access to our assets and SDK. And if you’re game is good, we’ll help fund it!

I’m not a developer, will I still be able to access and use Unioverse assets?

Heck yeah! You’ll be able to download our art and use our story however you want! Download the official image of one of our characters and print a T-shirt. Write your own short story. Animate a short film. Just make something and share it with the world!

Do developers have to make certain types of games?

Nope. Make whatever game you want (FPS, strategy, MOBA, etc.) and use whatever business model you want (freemium, premium, free-to-play, play-to-earn, subscription). It doesn’t matter to us.

What royalties will Random Game charge?

Again. All these assets are royalty-free and if you sell your game, you keep all the money. The only requirement is that your game uses our Unioverse character avatars.

When will assets be available?

We will have more news on that in the future. The best way to learn all about the Unioverse is to be active on our Discord, follow us on Twitter and go sign up for our newsletter using the form below.

When will your NFTs go on sale? How much will they cost?

Our first series of NFTs will actually be Unioverse collectibles and we’ll have more to say about them in the coming weeks. Not only will these look amazing, they will also help you unlock higher status and various rewards in our community. NFT collectibles will launch soon, so be sure to stay active on our Discord.

We will have more information about the availability of our hero characters in the coming months. Not to sound like a broken record, but the best way to learn about those is to be active on our Discord, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter using the form below.

Is there a roadmap or a whitepaper I can check out?

We will be publishing both of those things soon. Stay tuned.

Anything else I should know?

I think that’s it. We’re excited to build the Unioverse franchise with our community. Be active on our Discord, connect with other folks from around the world and be ready for a revolution in entertainment.

When I was 23 years old, I literally walked through the doors of the Nintendo of America in Redmond, Washington and said I would do anything in the building to get into the videogames business. I had no experience other than playing videogames for 15 years and a business degree.

Fortunately, someone in that lobby heard me and gave me a chance. I made the most of that opportunity and eventually ran development and acquisition for Nintendo for nine years, where I learned directly from legends like Shigeru Miyamoto. From there I was able to head up other independent studios to launch hit franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Crackdown.

But almost no one today can start like I did by just walking into a company building and asking for a job. Most people don’t live near a videogame studio, and even if they did, security wouldn’t even let them in the door.

This is actually a pretty apt metaphor for the entertainment business at large. Big media companies have all the resources to make a game, or comic or movie — but they wall themselves off from the vast, eager talent pool that’s hungry for its shot. No matter how creative you are, or how amazingly talented your work, if you aren’t in the right place at the right time or don’t know the right people, those doors are shut.

Or at least they were.

Today, I’m thrilled to announce that we are busting those doors wide open for everyone with the official launch of the Unioverse.

Welcome to the Unioverse

The Unioverse is a massive, sci-fi game-first franchise. The story is being developed by a team of world-class writers and artists who have written for and expanded the narrative worlds of huge entertainment properties of Star Wars, Marvel, Call of Duty, The Walking Dead and more.

Unlike those titles, however, the Unioverse is what we are calling a “community-owned” franchise. This means that you, whoever you are, wherever you are, will have access to the same art, models, music and more that we use, to create whatever you want.

The Unioverse and You

There are so many talented people in the world and I am continually blown away by the user-generated content I see in games. Modded characters, map levels, fan art – there is amazing stuff being created every day. The Unioverse will be a place that not only encourages its community to create, but also provides the tools to do so!

The same art, character models, music and more that we use to make Unioverse games will be made available – royalty-free! – to you (and anyone who wants to use them). These are AAA-quality assets made by some of the best writers, artists and developers in the industry, and you’ll be able to download them (again, for free!) and use them to make whatever you want.

• Want to make a comic but can’t draw? Use our art.
• Want to build a game, but have no budget? Use our character models and dive straight into development.
• Want something sci-fi and cool to pack your lunch in? Print a Unioverse lunchbox.

I think of it this way. I could sit and come up with an idea for a T-shirt, and it would turn out pretty cool. But if I turned to the Unioverse community and said “design a cool T-shirt,” they would come up with loads of amazing ideas way more awesome than mine.

Even better? Those creators can then sell those Unioverse shirts (or comics or games) and keep all the money! Let’s see you try and do that in the Marvel universe.

Unioverse U

As I said before, I got lucky at the start of my career and have been fortunate to work with some of the best minds in videogames. And now I want to return the favor and share what I’ve learned with the next generation of aspiring creatives.

Along with empowering the Unioverse community with industry-leading tools and assets, I want to teach you how to best use them. Collectively our team has decades of experience producing, writing and developing hit games, TV shows, books and more. The Unioverse community will have opportunities to talk with our team to learn the best tips, tricks and strategies for not just producing stellar content, but taking it to the next professional level.

As a part of the Unioverse community, you’ll also be connected with other creators just like yourself from around the world that you can learn from and collaborate with on projects.

I believe the Unioverse and its community-driven approach is the future of franchise entertainment. There are just too many talented people waiting to show the world what they can do, and they deserve a chance. I can’t wait to see what people create in our world when they come through our doors.

Join our Unioverse Discord channel to get first looks at the games as they progress, exclusive access to our team, and support from a community of like-minded creators.

It’s easy to get romantic about making a videogame from scratch… until that first blank screen stares back at you. That’s when you begin to realize all the things you have to create. and revise. and create again. and throw out.

And that’s before you even get to building the actual game.

Don’t get me wrong, I have some fond memories of the arduous process of creating games like Lemmings, GTA and Crackdown. But what if there was a way to get a running start and skip over that initial blank screen? To dive right into game development? What if there was a better way to make games that benefitted players too?

That’s the idea behind the Unioverse, an entirely new concept in videogame development and participation. Sure, the Unioverse will be a series of world-class videogames, comic books, novels and more. But the real power lies in the Unioverse as a community-owned franchise and its innovative use of blockchain.

The Unioverse community will have access to the same AAA-quality assets used in Unioverse games. Art, character models, music, etc., can be downloaded by anyone, royalty-free. Armed with Unioverse assets, the community is free to make their own comics, games and more and even sell those creations (also royalty-free!).

That’s an exciting new way to think about who gets to make games, whose stories are told and who truly benefits. And that is why I invested in the Unioverse and why you will love it.

Get Into the Game

For game developers, time is money. Well, money is money too, and developers can save a ton of both by using the royalty-free Unioverse assets. These tools are being made by a team of industry veterans who have helped make blockbuster videogame franchises like Crackdown and All Points Bulletin. So they know what they’re doing and know what developers need to succeed.

Using these building blocks, game developers of any size can dive into building a fantastic game. Smaller or even single-person shops won’t have to settle for sub-par art or spend loads of money on outside contractors. On the other end, bigger development studios will have a low-cost path to experiment and create a variety of games.

Even better, developers can make whatever kind of Unioverse game they want: FPS, strategy, deck-building – it’s up to them. And if developers choose to sell their Unioverse games – they keep all the money.

When more developers can get into the games business and focus on building rather than budgets – everyone wins because there is more diversity and better games.

But this isn’t just about developers.

More Utility for You

You wouldn’t buy a set of golf clubs that you could only use on one course and never sell when you upgraded, would you? Of course not! And soon, digital goods in games will be much the same, offering actual ownership, thanks to blockchain. 

Blockchain and NFTs are polarizing topics, to say the least, in videogames. But strip away the baggage of those terms, and you realize that digital ownership is fundamentally a solid proposition,  and will eventually benefit both gamers and developers. 

People used to spend sixty dollars on one game every few months. But today, players can spend thousands of dollars on a game when you include content like DLC, skins, sprays, emotes and other add-ons. That’s real money, and all of it vanishes when someone stops playing the game, or the developer decides to shut that game down.

When digital goods are player owned, however, they can live outside the game if they are on the blockchain. This means owners are free to do with them as they wish. Keep, collect or sell their digital gaming assets; that’s entirely up to the owner. And if they do want to sell, there are plenty of marketplaces that make it easy.

Additionally, unlike current in-game goods, blockchain assets can be engineered to move between games. Your Unioverse NFTs, for example, will work across different Unioverse games. That type of freedom has never been available in videogames before.

And that, perhaps, is the most exciting part of the Unioverse – it’s never been done before! Who knows where developers and the community will take it. Instead of a blank screen, we’re all looking at a pretty brilliant future for games.

You can be a part of the Unioverse from the very beginning! Head over to our Discord channel to get early access to Unioverse news and direct connections with the team behind it.

“When I grow up, I want to design loot boxes!” said no kid – ever. We got into the videogames business because we wanted to make great games, but over the years, actually making games has taken a backseat to gaming the audience. 

The entire games industry is broken and in dire need of a new approach. Thankfully, we believe we’ve created a better way in our new games franchise, the Unioverse. 

Twenty Cents on the Dollar

First, let’s look at what brought us to our current broken system. Over the past decade, game development has been crushed under the weight of three macro-trends: 

1. Freemium Games: We created a generation of gamers that now expect games to be free. The inability to charge for a game means revenues must be generated by interrupting gameplay with ads, micro-transactions and loot boxes.
2. User Acquisition: As the games audience grew and development tools got more accessible and cheaper, more games flooded the market. This is great, creatively speaking, but to get your game noticed in a sea of competitors, the user acquisition market was invented, sucking 14.5 Billion dollars out of development and into marketing in 2021 alone.
3. Mobile App Stores: With the rise of smartphones came the rise of mobile gaming, which IDC estimates will gobble up 60 percent of spending for the entire gaming market in 2022. This shift also made Apple and Google de facto gatekeepers, giving them unprecedented control over the market and the ability to charge exorbitant fees just for being on their platform.

A developer needs to consider all these factors and bake them into their game before development even begins. That’s all time spent figuring out monetization loops instead of refining gameplay. 

And all that is only if a developer creates a game based on original IP. If you want to make a game with an existing popular property, there is often a minimum paid guarantee costing hundreds of thousands of dollars (not to mention a cut of revenues going forward). 

But, suppose you get through all that, and you make a game and it’s great – congratulations! Now you most likely have to make your game free (see above), pay to acquire users (see above again) and then pay platforms like Apple and Google to host your game (see above one last time).  

Under this current model, we estimate that for every $1 a gamer spends, less than $0.20 gets to the game developer. Let that sink in for a moment. Game development is riskier than ever, developers make less per game, and even great games fail because they don’t figure out how to “trick” people into spending money. 

The good news is – it doesn’t have to be like this, and our new gaming franchise the Unioverse is a vision for revolutionizing the industry.

Development Made Easy

Think of the Unioverse like a “Roblox for Game Developers,” where we provide the content, audience, and a way to monetize; you provide the amazing games. The Unioverse empowers game developers in a number of significant ways, including: 

• Free Assets: Developers will have access to Unioverse in-game assets like environments, high-end artwork, character models, vehicles, music and more –  as well as SDKs for Unity and Unreal. All of this will be royalty-free and at no cost to the developer! This means developers don’t have to spend time and money creating building block assets and can go straight into game design. 
• More Flexibility Developers can make whatever game they want: shooter, platformer, strategy – as long as it works with Unioverse characters, it doesn’t matter to us!
• More Money: Developers can sell their games for whatever they want – and they keep 100 percent of the money. We won’t take a dime. Premium, freemium, give it away – that’s up to the developer. 
• Bigger Audience: Unioverse will already have a large, baked-in community ready to play games. So there’s no need to spend money on user acquisition because your user base has already been acquired! 
• Getting Paid: Our Game Developers Fund will actively pay third-party game developers to make more Unioverse games!

Our goal for the Unioverse is that at least 90 cents of every dollar a gamer spends goes back to growing the franchise or to the game developer building games – not to user acquisition companies or platforms like Apple and Google.

Blockchain Fuels a Path Forward

The only way crypto games will win over the mainstream gamer audience is by providing an overwhelming value proposition. Despite the current public perception, NFTs are a great mechanism to make videogames better for everyone involved. 

Sure, the use of NFTs and blockchain in games has been marred by too much hype and too many scams. Those setbacks, however, will ultimately prove useful because they will help gamers recognize when there is a legitimate use case that actually benefits them. 

NFTs underpin the Unioverse, our forthcoming gaming franchise currently under development by the creators of Grand Theft Auto, Crackdown, All Points Bulletin and more. Our pitch is simple: To play our games you need a Unioverse character avatar. That’s it. 

Game developers who want to partner with us can use our Unity and Unreal SDKs, and just need to ensure that our Unioverse avatars work in their games. They don’t have to introduce or build out any other blockchain functionality (but are free to do so, if they like).

We will take revenues from NFT avatar sales and put them back into the Unioverse ecosystem through further development of Unioverse assets that developers can use royalty-free, and by directly paying developers to make games through our Game Developer Fund.  

By opening up the Unioverse as a platform for developers, using blockchain in a straightforward manner, and allowing developers to keep the revenues they earn, we will revolutionize the games industry and hopefully fix the way future franchises are created.

If you’d like to develop a Unioverse game, visit our Developers page and join our Developers Channel on the Unioverse Discord server.

Resolute Ventures and Asymmetric co-led the round for the new startup game studio founded by industry veterans Tony Harman (Grand Theft Auto, Donkey Kong Country, Crackdown), Wyeth Ridgway (Pirates of the Caribbean, MLB and WWE2K)

Highlights:

• Random Games raised a $7.6 million seed round co-led by Resolute Ventures and Asymmetric, with participation from IGNIA, 2 Punks Capital, ID345, Polygon and renowned game-developer David Jones.
• The company plans to upend the traditional videogame business model with the Unioverse, a massive “community-owned” game franchise that empowers players with blockchain and free distribution of high-end assets.
• Random Games was co-founded by gaming industry legend Tony Harman (Grand Theft Auto, Donkey Kong Country, Crackdown) and is being created by an all-star team that has worked on hit franchises such as Star Wars, Call of Duty and Star Citizen.

BOULDER, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Random Games, a new studio reinventing the videogame business through a combination of community empowerment and blockchain, raised a $7.6 million seed round of funding. This multi-million-dollar round was co-led by Resolute Ventures and Asymmetric, with participation from IGNIA, 2 Punks Capital, ID345, Polygon and notable game-developer David Jones.

Random Games is creating the Unioverse, a massive “community-owned franchise” that flips the script on the relationship between developer, gamer and fan. The Unioverse will kick off with a series of videogames, but unlike any other franchises, the assets used to make those games will be made available to other developers and the community, royalty-free. The Unioverse AAA-quality characters, artwork, models, music and more can be downloaded and used by anyone to make their own games, comic books, movies, lunchboxes, T-shirts – whatever they can imagine. Plus, creators can sell whatever they make and keep the money.

“Imagine if Marvel released character art and 3D models and told fans to go make – and profit from – their fan films and comics,” said Tony Harman, Co-Founder of Random Games. “That’s how big this idea is. We have a team of world-class writers, artists and developers building the Unioverse and we are basically giving it away!”

Random Games is co-founded by a pair of gaming industry veterans that bring a wealth of creativity and experience with global entertainment franchises. Harman previously ran development and acquisition for Nintendo of America, launching iconic hits such as Donkey Kong Country and Killer Instinct; and has run multiple independent game studios responsible for developing such genre-defining franchises such as Grand Theft Auto and Crackdown. Random Games Co-Founder, Wyeth Ridgway, was Founder and CEO of Leviathan Games, which over the past two decades has worked with dozens of beloved franchises including Terminator, Star Trek, South Park, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

The Unioverse will use NFTs as part of its path to reinventing the games business. Players will purchase an NFT character avatar, which is used to access and play Unioverse games. Because these avatars are NFTs, players can keep or sell them as they wish, and avatars will be interoperable across games in the Unioverse.

“We’re very excited to back such a strong team and are looking forward to watching them build a franchise that is literally changing the economics of gaming,” said investor Joe McCann, Founder and CEO of Asymmetric. “In the Unioverse, blockchain technology is organically and thoughtfully incorporated and will change the name of the game in the entertainment economy.”

In addition to fostering creativity in its community, Random Games is actively seeking independent studios of all sizes to develop games set in the Unioverse. Third-party developers can use the AAA-quality assets developed for the Unioverse royalty-free to make whatever type of game they want – and can sell those games without paying any royalties. Random Games will also expand the Unioverse by taking revenues from character avatar sales to both establish a Game Developer Fund to finance third-party titles, and also fuel the creation of more assets and deeper lore for the Unioverse.

“Rarely do you see a truly disruptive concept, cutting-edge technology and a stellar founding team converge in a single startup like this,” said investor Raanan Bar-Cohen, Co-Founder of Resolute Ventures. “The Unioverse is poised to change the relationship between game developers and players in a way that benefits everyone involved.”

The Unioverse team is rounded out by a number of high-profile executive and creative talents from across the tech, entertainment and gaming worlds. Paul Walborsky, who was previously Co-Founder of AI.Reverie, SVP at The New York Times and CEO at GigaOM, joined as Random Games’ President. The Unioverse narrative is being led by Brent Friedman who has written for such household names such as Star Wars, Star Trek, and Call of Duty. Visionary game designer David Jones has once again re-teamed with Harman as an investor in and advisor to the Unioverse. Harman and Jones previously founded hit-making independent game studios DMA Designs (Grand Theft Auto) and RealTime Worlds (Crackdown, All Points Bulletin) and nWay (acquired by Animoca Brands).

Random Games will use the new funding to expand its team, begin work on its first Unioverse games and develop AAA-quality game assets freely available to the community. Those interested in being among the first to learn about Unioverse news and community activities can visit UNIOVERSE.com, follow @TheUnioverse on Twitter and join the Unioverse Discord channel.

About Random Games

Random Games (https://random.games/) is a development studio spearheading an entirely new concept in videogames and franchise entertainment through a combination of community empowerment and blockchain technology. The company’s first franchise, The Unioverse, is a sci-fi epic that will span across videogames, comic books, novels and more. At the same time, the Unioverse community will be encouraged and equipped to create their own stories, games and more with official high-quality artwork and other assets available as royalty-free downloads. To join the robust Unioverse community, visit the Unioverse Discord server.

About Resolute Ventures

Resolute Ventures (https://resolute.vc/) is a lead seed and pre-seed investor dedicated to forging connections with its community of founders who bond over shared tenacity and entrepreneurial spirit. As a community, Resolute is driven by the desire to work on impactful projects, advising startups from the very beginning and providing support every step of the way. Its founders and partners have worked on a broad spectrum of companies, including AI Reverie, Automattic, Bark, Bitium, Opendoor (OPEN), and more.

About Asymmetric

Asymmetric (https://asymmetric.financial/) is a multi-strategy investment fund focused on early-stage venture and liquid investments in cryptocurrency and Web3.