Pixels and Forgotten Runiverse, a pair of crypto games on the gaming-focused Ethereum scaling network Ronin, are teaming up to bring Pixels’ PIXEL token to the Runiverse—the massively-multiplayer online role-playing game or MMORPG that just opened to the public in early access.
Forgotten Runiverse, developed by Biosonic, is based on the lore of the Ethereum NFT collection Forgotten Runes Wizard’s Cult. The game opted to move from layer-2 Arbitrum to Ronin in July 2024 and will eventually have its own native token, XP, which will act as the ecosystem token for Forgotten Runes.
Social farming game Pixels also made its own move to Ronin in late 2023, driving substantial renewed attention to the Ethereum network ahead of last year’s launch of the PIXEL token. Amid a recent push to open up Ronin to all builders, the two teams are now collaborating.
“We’ve always seen a lot of potential synergy between our teams, as we both are focused on creating interoperable, sustainable Web3 economies, and we’re constantly thinking about how we can work together to push that vision forward,” Pixels founder Luke Barwikowski told Decrypt.
“Honestly, if there’s one thing the industry needs right now, it’s more collaboration,” he added. “Ultimately, this is a win-win for all of us.”
Thanks to the collaboration, Runiverse players will be able to claim PIXEL rewards with Quanta—the in-game currency of the Forgotten Runiverse. PIXEL will also be used for purchasing mana, boosts, and exclusive items within the game.
“By integrating PIXEL into the Runiverse, we’re offering players the chance to engage with a proven token economy inside a new game,” Biosonic COO Shane Bierwith told Decrypt. “This not only adds immediate utility for PIXEL, but also strengthens our own ecosystem as we prepare to launch our native token, XP.”
The teams expect that the integration will not only enhance token utility for PIXEL, but also “offer valuable data to optimize player engagement and play-to-earn strategies.”
“Success, for us, comes down to the data,” said Barwikowski. “We’re all about using big data, AI, and predictive analytics to refine our play-to-earn models and boost reward efficiency.”
“Partnering with Forgotten Runiverse allows us to dive deep into player behavior, optimize our P2E systems, and ultimately improve retention and engagement,” he continued. “By building more insights through this partnership, we aim to develop strategies and data points that we can take to additional teams in the future.”
Bierwith too will be analyzing the data, telling Decrypt that Biosonic will measure “how effectively PIXEL drives repeat engagement, retention, and meaningful in-game spend,” including how many users swap Quanta into PIXEL and how it’s used in the game’s gacha-style rewards system called the Font of Memory.
To commemorate the collaboration, Runiverse-themed quests will launch in Pixels, plus a special Runiverse avatar will be available prior to the official launch of PIXEL in the fantasy MMORPG. That token integration is expected to take place sometime this quarter.
Barwikowski said that this integration with the Forgotten Runiverse team is “just the start.”
“The ultimate goal is to work together and bring Web3 into the mainstream,” he told Decrypt. “At Pixels, we’re committed to sharing our insights and tools to help other games scale and grow because collective progress helps us all in the long-term.”
Pixels has generated more than $20 million in revenue and boasts more than 10 million registered players, according to its team. PIXEL has already been integrated into not only the core Pixels game but also spinoff Pixel Dungeons, which launched in December.
Edited by Andrew Hayward