Viker Vows to Create World’s Biggest Cryptocommunity in Mobile Gaming

Is there a way to make cryptocurrency – in all its complexity – more accessible to the masses? Dan Beasley, co-founder and CEO of London-based mobile games studio Viker, insists there is. He believes gamers around the world can use his studio’s blockchain games as the gateway games they need to enter the cryptosphere. 

Founded in 2019, Viker designs, develops, and publishes play-to-earn games. The studio has successfully grown a global audience, and their games have been downloaded more than 50 million times. A mere two years after its foundation, Viker integrated cryptocurriencies into its games in 2021 by bringing blockchain gaming to the masses. The studio partnered with Zebedee that same year to commit to its investment in the industry and has since then already launched five Bitcoin-powered games.

adjoe caught up with Dan Beasley to gain insights into how the landscape of blockchain gaming is evolving and how Viker’s business aligns with this evolution.

1. Could you tell us more about Viker’s move toward crypto? 

Since our foundation, we have never focused on a particular gaming genre. Instead, we have always looked for green areas to move toward in the mobile gaming space. 

We decided to create a business model based on enticing players to get paid for playing games. Accordingly, we created a bunch of free-to-win games, which rewarded users in dollars depending on their progression or time spent in the games through adjoe’s Playtime solution. We saw real success – millions of downloads – in a short period of time. 

As our business was progressing, we started to see the size of the opportunity with blockchain gaming and the mainstream. Its popularity was increasing, and it had great potential for gaming, which already has a long-term affinity with currencies (coins, diamonds, etc.). The integration of crypto into games is a natural step for the industry. So, in September 2021 we decided to completely pivot the business toward blockchain gaming for the masses.

2. Do your users tend to have crypto experience before interacting with your apps?

We brought everything we know about mobile gaming and the mass market approach together and asked ourselves “How can we create a frictionless crypto experience for first-time users?” And that is really where we are today. 

There are different blockchain gaming models in the market; some of them are really complicated. I believe that our games’ structure, the play-to-earn model, is the gateway to blockchain gaming. Anyone can easily have their first taste of this new world by winning in our games. They are easy-to-play, high-quality casual games, that have classic mechanics and reward users in cryptocurrency. I can say that 99 percent of our players are enjoying their first crypto experience through engaging with our games.

3. What kind of games do you have? Can you give us some information about the concept behind them?

Some of our games demand the combo of knowledge, skill, and luck. For example, we have Millionaire, which is the mobile app version of the famous Who Wants to Be a Millionaire game show, officially licensed by Sony Pictures Entertainment. You need to put your brainpower and trivia knowledge to the test by competing in daily quiz tournaments, or you just need to spin the wheel and answer the questions to win in these games. 

We also have an addictive puzzle game Amazeballs, which offers a compelling drag-and-drop gameplay and a super satisfying brick-breaker game Balls King. All of them reward users with cryptocurrency. 

4. How do your players earn crypto in those games?

You don’t need any kind of previous knowledge. For example, you don’t need to have a digital wallet beforehand to enter our games; that’s what makes us different. We tried to make this experience as accessible as possible to bring it to the masses. You come, just start playing the game, and get a good feel for it. As you are playing, you earn satoshis – or SATS – which is a fraction of a Bitcoin. Simply put, it’s the smallest denomination of bitcoin, equivalent to a 100-millionth of a bitcoin.

You collect SATs like any other in-app currency, similar to collecting diamonds in other games – but actually, you are earning Bitcoin. Once you’re ready to cash out your earnings, then you can download the Zebeede wallet from the relevant app store. Zebeede is our partner and offers one of the most simple and most intuitive wallets, which is designed for a mass audience. And then you have your earnings – your cryptocurrency – in your wallet, ready to cash out, whenever you want.

5. Why do you only offer bitcoin and do you plan to incorporate other currencies?

Bitcoin leads the cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalization, user base, and recognition. It is globally the most recognized and probably currently the most trusted crypto. That’s why we have started integrating Bitcoin into our games. 

NFT’s are also in our pipeline; we are planning to launch them later this year. 

6. How do you compare blockchain games users with more traditional gamers?

For blockchain games, we see really strong metrics in certain markets in terms of overall time spent in the game, session lengths, retention. Our core KPIs increased as we wanted them to after pivoting to blockchain. 

The reason for that, I believe, is that blockchain games are stickier and more appealing to come back to on a daily basis compared with traditional games. Users know that this digital currency can increase in value really rapidly, and this is an attractive proposition for them.

7. How does Playtime help you in terms of revenue growth and user engagement? 

We know that users like mobile games, and the majority of these users play more than one game. They are open to new discoveries. 

Playtime provides our users with the most relevant game offers, and they enjoy it in a simple way. It also allows us to offer our players another fun, fast, and easy way to earn crypto rewards. They have increased session durations and session numbers compared with our other users. This helps the players progress in the games and complements our user experience. 

We also see that they continue playing our games, meaning, we don’t face user churn. It is a win–win situation for us, and really profitable. Playtime creates incremental revenue and also satisfies users. That’s why it is a core part of our monetization stack, and adjoe is an important monetization partner for us. 

8. Are you planning to launch any other blockchain games this year? 

Currently, we have five apps, and we’re planning to have up to 20 games in the market by the end of this year. We will be launching at least one game per month on Android and iOS. These games will be a mix of Viker-owned brand games and also a globally recognized entertainment IP, which brings recognition and audiences. 

We have the ambition to build the world’s biggest community for casual blockchain-based mobile games, using globally recognized entertainment IP and our own branded mobile games. 

To accompany us on this mission, we would like to continue our partnership with adjoe and include Playtime in our upcoming titles. I’m positive that Playtime will be compatible with the holistic user experience we want to achieve and will continue to provide us with impressive results. 

9. How do you see the future of blockchain gaming and cryptocurrencies? 

It’s here; it’s happening. Everyone – every single studio – is going to be involved in it. Web 2.0 – the “old world” – will be embracing cryptocurrencies through innovation, acquisitions, or partnerships.

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies offer an alternative to traditional banks, and it brings along with it a huge potential. They can be viewed by anyone, anywhere, so you can take part in the financial markets and make transactions with no intermediaries whatsoever. Recently, we saw the benefit of Bitcoin when Ukraine raised millions of dollars as Bitcoin donations against the war. 

Luckily, we see that lots of people are working to make it more accessible, and it is becoming easier to get involved. There are already brilliant tools in the market, and there’ll surely be more to come. We should continue to build up consumer trust in the ecosystem, educate users, and push for its adoption. These are necessary steps we need to take to ensure we see blockchain gaming reach its great potential.