Champions Ascension, a AAA blockchain game invested by a16z, unexpectedly suspended operations, and the team turned to new projects to focus on customer acquisition

Author: Zen, PANews

The development team of Champions Ascension recently announced that it will suspend game operations due to strategic adjustments and focus all resources on a new project, REACH Labs. The suspension of service involves the main server of Champions Ascension and its ancillary functions (including Imperial Expeditions and Dudo), which officially took effect last Friday.

This game, which was once supported by a16z and positioned as a "AAA" blockchain game, was once highly anticipated. However, faced with the downturn in the blockchain game market and the continued decline in user activity, the team finally decided to suspend operations. The development team emphasized that the suspension of Champions Ascension does not mean that the project has been completely abandoned. REACH Labs plans to pave the way for the future return of Champions Ascension through a new user acquisition and distribution model.

Champions Ascension, once backed by a16z, may return in the future

Champions Ascension, which was positioned as a "AAA" next-generation blockchain game, was first initiated by the well-known mobile game company Jam City. Due to the weakness of the global game industry and increasingly fierce competition, there was a debate within the company to abandon the project. In the end, Jam City co-founder Chris DeWolfe, who had high hopes for blockchain games, left Jam City with several executives and developers and Champions Ascension, and established Plai Labs, a next-generation social platform that focuses on building AI and Web3, and Rough House Games, an independent game studio. Their first entertainment experience product is of course Champions Ascension.

Based on Chris DeWolfe and his team's rich experience in social media and game design, Plai Labs also completed a $32 million seed round in the bear market, led by top venture capital firms a16z Games and a16z Crypto. In addition, Rough House Games, a game development studio led by DeWolfe that focuses on the intersection of Web2 and Web3, has also received support from a16z, Coinbase, Crush Ventures and UTA.

However, in the context of the continued downturn in the blockchain game industry and the continuous loss of players, Champions Ascension, which has been tepid, finally chose to suspend game services. The development team also said that this does not mean that the game has been completely abandoned. On the contrary, the Web3 game distribution platform REACH Labs, which the team is currently focusing on, may give Champions Ascension a new life in the future with its new "customer acquisition method". The development team emphasized that they attach great importance to the contribution of the player community and will announce the follow-up arrangements of Champions Ascension after the launch of REACH Labs in the future.

Turning to REACH Labs: Dedicated to Solving the Problem of Game User Acquisition

Reach Labs is a new Web3 game publisher, founded by Rough House Games and game startup Overworld. Overworld founder Jeremy Horn is also the co-founder of Web3 company Xterio. He has been deeply involved in the game industry for many years and has worked in companies such as FunPlus, Jam City, TinyCo and Gameloft.

Chris DeWolfe and Jeremy Horn, two veterans of the gaming industry, co-founded Reach Labs to solve the current gaming industry's user acquisition problems, including audience distraction, increasingly competitive market, and soaring marketing and user acquisition costs. According to GamesBeat, DeWolfe and Horn used to discuss how user acquisition essentially failed, and they also believed that existing games were not social enough. After fully exchanging opinions, they decided to "establish a very deep partnership to jointly develop a platform called Reach."

The decision to suspend Champions Ascension is to devote all energy and resources to REACH Labs. REACH Labs plans to provide a new infrastructure for game distribution and marketing through the Keystone protocol. The Keystone protocol is a decentralized protocol developed by Rough House Games and donated to the Keystone Foundation, which aims to create a fairer and more efficient distribution network for blockchain games.

Reach aims to enhance game distribution by integrating blockchain technology and community participation. Their unique solution is to democratize game distribution through a proprietary marketing and distribution platform, attracting more users by rewarding players for playing and sharing games. Reach hopes to promote active player participation by incentivizing players, KOLs and guilds, while making user acquisition more decentralized and social, reducing dependence on traditional Web2 platforms such as Facebook and Google.

Specifically, players can generate exclusive referral codes, promote games on social media or platforms such as Twitch, attract new players to the game, and get a share of the revenue generated by the referral. In this way, REACH not only improves the user acquisition efficiency of the game, but also creates a new source of income for players.

According to previous disclosures by REACH Labs, Reach Labs will start in the future by developing and operating a diverse portfolio of high-quality cross-platform games, including the currently discontinued Web3 fighting game Champions Ascension, as well as Overworld’s action role-playing game Conquest and free strategy mobile game Kingdoms. It is said that several other projects are also in the works.

The suspension of Champions Ascension is undoubtedly Chris DeWolfe's compromise with the poor performance of the game. On the other hand, his focus on exploring new game distribution and user acquisition models is also a crucial strategic transformation, which also determines whether Champions Ascension and even other blockchain games can usher in new development opportunities.