Dot Play Bounty

Overview DOT Play

Project Name: Dot Play: Accelerate Gaming Adoption of Polkadot

Following our successful application to the DFF as the specialized business development arm for Polkadot gaming, along with the establishment of Dot Play as curators of the Games Bounty, we are submitting a new proposal herein. The details are identical to the original Dot Play bounty, except that we have adjusted the amount requested to 400k DOT from 1 million DOT. This accounts for the 100k DOT that previously existed in the Games Bounty, and provides an opportunity to demonstrate our abilities as responsible stewards of Treasury capital. Below please find our ambitious road map to create a games accelerator for the Polkadot ecosystem, using our resources and IP relationships, game studio talent, and tools.

Background and Teams

Game Master Partners

The team has deep experience and expertise both in the gaming industry and in Polkadot. Nicholas Douzinas is Co-Founder of Ajuna Network and Angela Dalton, CEO & Founder of Signum Growth, has a 20-year history in the gaming vertical as an analyst, investor, and board member, including as a seed round investor in Mythical and as board member of the largest esports org, FaZe Clan. She also served as Lead Advisor to the Web3 Foundation on the launch of the Polkadot network.

Our accomplishments before Dot Play

— Served as Lead Advisor to the Web3 Foundation on the launch of Polkadot from 2019-2024, working closely with regulators to achieve Polkadot non-security status

— Seed round investor in Mythical, named as #1 in blockchain gaming by Blockchain Gamer.biz, and led the business development process to transition Mythical from Ethereum to Polkadot

— Co-Founded Ajuna Network on Polkadot

— Polkadot Play was formed as a collective of parachain teams including Ajuna Network, Astar, Moonbeam, Tanssi, and Unique and open to all

— Successfully worked with Unity and Parity Technologies on the Verified Solution Polkadot SDK for Unity

— Delivered the Verified Polkadot SDK for Unity in collaboration with Unity Technologies

— Organized and hosted many Polkadot & gaming & entertainment meetups at industry conferences

— Hosted weekly podcasts with the top game developers and creators

— Fostered relationships between studios, investors, and partners that have been pivotal to their success

Queen’s Council (QCs)

NEW TEAM: Questing Party Partners

We are inviting the previous members of the Games Bounty and others in the community to use your knowledge of Polkadot and your interest in gaming to be eyes, ears and creative brain power for us and our projects. Present ideas at the Game Souk, and if the community votes your idea in, execute on it and get paid for your services. Help us grow, battle and avoid spiked floors and sand traps!

Dot Play Signatory Team

The Dot Play Signatory team will be comprised of five members and will be responsible for the release of funds for successful Qualified proposals. Signatory team members for Bounty:

— Chrissy Hill

— Bill Laboon

— Joe Petrowski

— Angela Dalton

— Nicholas Douzinas

Vision

Dot Play’s goal is to position Polkadot as the top blockchain solution for games. We will achieve this by focusing on the highest growth genres and the largest audiences within gaming, by building essential integration tools, and by providing sustainable business development support. Our strategy will provide a new way to create long term sustainability for the Polkadot treasury by entering into revenue share agreements with our target investments, thereby replenishing the Treasury and growing our impact. We have identified top developer studios working at the forefront of social gaming, AI, tools and user generated content (“UGC”) platforms that tap into mass market audiences and highlight Polkadot as the optimal Web3 solution for gaming. Dot Play will serve as a top-of-funnel hub to foster a ‘New Superstars’ community.

Why Now

We have witnessed several attempts at blockchain gaming “ecosystem funds” starting with the EOS fund in 2018. All in, we estimate that at least $1 billion has been invested in game developers since this time. Despite having little impact, each time a large gaming fund launches, it shifts the narrative and generally creates a lot of attention for a period of time. The newest such launch - the Arbitrum Gaming Fund announced on June 10, 2024, a ~$215 million gaming ecosystem fund, including a ~$25m operating budget, to be deployed over three years.

The general approach of blockchain gaming investments is to offer financing to game developers, launch a token and liquidate. This has led to hundreds of short-lived games with low engagement. In fact, most are simple speculation games, similar to meme assets. Immutable X is a good example of a blockchain gaming developer that is making games which are targeted only to the crypto community - this week, the company announced that they had launched more games in the first five months of 2024, at 147 games, than all of 2023. They added that they will launch another 60+ games over the next five months with an estimated 300 games currently available on the network.

Putting Immutable’s announcement in context, Mythical NFL Rivals has created a mass market accessible game called NFL Rivals, which has garnered more than five million players and with a rating that has surpassed Electronic Arts’ 35 year old game, Madden. The Mythos blockchain, with NFL Rivals as a key driver of transactions, reported sales of $22 million over the last 30 days, greater than all Immutable games in total, with sales of $10 million.

We believe the current environment in blockchain gaming presents an opportunity to emphasize the fact that when potential builders test all available blockchains, they cite Polkadot as the most secure, scalable and resilient platform, with an unprecedented ability to handle high transaction volumes. In fact, Mythical has mentioned many times publicly that, after a full evaluation of available protocols, they chose to build on Polkadot with full confidence that the company would be at the bleeding edge of industry technology and with the best engineering support for a mass market gaming platform.

“The commitment of Polkadot to innovation, security, and governance provides tremendous development value for Mythical Games. This on-chain ecosystem will not only support the growth of Mythical Games but also help other Mythos partners to strengthen and build their projects.”

-John Linden, Founder and CEO of Mythical Games

Dot Play Bounty

The Dot Play Bounty will serve as an accelerator for the gaming and entertainment verticals for Polkadot. We believe that establishing a presence early in the highest growth genres within gaming is a differentiated strategy that builds sustainability for the Polkadot ecosystem. We are entering the market alongside Arbitrum’s recent launch. Our hands-on accelerator approach ensures that we can achieve greater results at lower costs.

Our Network

The Dot Play network is extensive. As part of Signum Growth, we have made investments in Mythical, Epic Games, Discord, Build A Rocket Boy (Everywhere platform), Sortium, Blockade Labs and GBM, which is the auction mechanism for online and offline applications, built on Moonbeam. Separately, we have an extensive network in the video game and esports industries, which may be tapped to benefit the Polkadot community. In addition, we are a Gold Member of the Blockchain Games Alliance (BGA), the preeminent non profit organization of the blockchain gaming industry, which offers many opportunities to feature Polkadot and educate game developers.

Dot Play Go To Market

“We see the future of gaming being secured by Polkadot infrastructure.”

The Dot Play Bounty aims to capitalize on the shift in the entertainment industry, particularly the convergence of gaming and traditional media, such as movies, TV, and music. We recognize the shift in audience preferences and the increasing appeal of user-generated content platforms like Roblox and Fortnite among Gen Alpha and Gen Z.

The substantial payouts to developers on platforms like Roblox (2023 $740 million) and Epic’s UEFN (Year 1 ended March: $320 million), signals a growing opportunity for creators to monetize their content. Roblox recently announced that 77.7m players visit the game daily, placing Roblox alongside the largest platforms globally.

The team has been working together since March, in daily meetings to strategize the most impactful way to go to market within the gaming vertical with Polkadot. Our plan is to roll out a multi-faceted go-to-market depending on the game genre, audience and the potential ease of Polkadot adoption in various scenarios. As an overall rule of thumb, we will focus on the earliest stage of game development when we can influence substrate adoption. We have seen in the past, there is significant time and cost friction in “converting” an existing game with a token to Substrate. We will focus on the largest potential audiences with the strongest engagement, which has not been attempted to date. We believe that audience size and engagement are the key metrics to focus on to build brand value for the Polkadot ecosystem over the long term.

Creating a Games Accelerator in Polkadot

Evaluate a steady inbound flow of game studios or game tool companies each week - studios, independent and AAA games, and tools
Introductory call, led by one or both of the Dot Play managers, with questions prepared in advance by the Gaming Analyst
Follow up to schedule second meeting or if at any point, we decide the project is not a fit for funding, evaluate other paths in Polkadot and communicate to the project
Dot Play team to write strategy memo and build financial model, if enough information exists
Evaluate Technical integration and Tokenomics- Technical Advisory
Evaluate Product Market Fit - Games Advisory
Channel Checks - Gaming analyst to lead analysis
Investor Checks - Dot Play managers to reach out to other investors who have previous experience with the team, if appropriate
Provide feedback to Technical and Gaming Advisory teams for further use in the ecosystem
Submit to Dot Play Curators for Bounty approval
Continued support of the studio and the project to further identify opportunities
Foster collaboration between Polkadot studios and projects, e.g., the IP and studios that are building on Polkadot

Proposed Refill of Dot Play Bounty:

Total ask: 400k DOT into game projects

Treasury / Dot Play profit split: 80/20; Note: Dot Play will not receive any fees as a percentage of the Treasury allocation, but instead will only receive a percentage of successful / profitable outcomes that grow the Treasury. This will create a way to grow the bounty over time by driving new capital back into the ecosystem.

— Tooling and Game publishing operations across projects: $700k

Tooling, website hub, including Polkadot Engine SDKs Unreal $475k
Game publishing accounting, investment reporting and legal $225k

Business Development in Dot Play will focus on:

Developing a Sustainable Deal Flow

The primary focus is establishing a robust and consistently replenishing pipeline of opportunities within the gaming sector. This involves proactive outreach and engagement strategies aimed at forging valuable partnerships and collaborations.

Creating a Dedicated Gaming Portal within Polkadot

Initiate the creation and deployment of a centralized hub dedicated to serving the gaming vertical within the Polkadot ecosystem. This hub will serve as a hub for relevant resources, information, and networking opportunities tailored specifically to the gaming industry stakeholders

Facilitating Project Onboarding to Polkadot

Actively facilitate the integration process for gaming projects seeking to leverage the capabilities of the Polkadot network. This entails providing guidance, support, and necessary resources to expedite the seamless transition onto the platform. Additionally, Dot Play will ensure each gaming project is matched with the most suitable ecosystem partner or partners, offering the best sustainable solution for the project's growth and success

Optimizing Outbound Support for Parachain Teams

Efficiently streamline the provision of outbound assistance to parachain teams operating within the gaming vertical. This involves enhancing communication channels, refining support mechanisms, and ensuring the timely resolution of any queries or challenges encountered by these teams.

Ecosystem Tooling

Identifying and implementing ecosystem solutions to onboard game developers. Following the successful implementation of the Polkadot Unity SDK, we intend to facilitate the implementation of other solutions such as Unreal Engine and GoDot. In the case of the Unity SDK, the technical solution and implementation were offered by Ajuna Network and the Business development effort has been led by Parity. Dot Play intends to lead these efforts in tandem with ecosystem Teams.

For further reading, our Dot Play deck is attached.