What is it about game shows that makes them so hard to hijack? Is it the prospect of winning big prizes that gets viewers’ blood pumping? Or maybe it’s the frustration of seeing competitors fail at challenges that feel like a walk in the park?
Of course, we know exactly why game shows are so popular, because by watching other people’s successes or failures, we imagine ourselves being able to succeed if given the chance. Yet, due to their popularity, it’s notoriously difficult to get your name shortlisted for a role on a game show. And it goes without saying that performing in front of a live audience and millions of viewers at home isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
What if there was a Web3 solution for game shows? One that allowed participants to register and compete from the comfort of their own homes? This is what the creators Jordan Lejuwan and Krish Jagidar aim to deliver, in what they’ve dubbed the “Squid Game of NFTs”.
And it’s called Internet Game.
What is an Internet game?
Simply put, Internet Game is a Battle Royale Web3 mini-game that almost anyone can play. Built around the power of blockchain technology, the game allows NFT enthusiasts to participate in multiple online games for a chance to win prizes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Internet game tournaments are divided into seasons, where each series of mini-games can only be played within a certain amount of time. So far there have been two seasons; one in March 2022 and one in September 2022. Users can only access these tournament seasons by purchasing a Game Token, which is essentially a ticket to the festivities, or a Metaverse Access Card (MAC), which gives holders access to all upcoming season.
Although the concept of internet gambling is quite simple, to many it originally seemed too good to be true. Given the multitude of scams and rug pulls we’ve seen in the NFT space, it’s no surprise to Lejuwaan that potential participants were initially skeptical of the project. “It was actually a lot harder than expected to get people to join,” Lejuwaan said in an interview with nft now.
Due to the popularity of PFPs and free mint NFT trends, Lejuwaan says that at first it was difficult to communicate that internet gaming, despite being an outlier of the NFT market, was not a scam. “Because it was hard to understand and because it was different, we had to spend a lot of time educating people about what we were doing and why it was going to be awesome,” Lejuwaan said.
Fortunately, the blockchain is immutable, and verifying that Lejuwaan and Jagidar actually owned the prizes they were offering was simple. After the arrival and end of the first season, it became clear that Internet Game was a one-of-a-kind company in the Web3 space.
How was the Internet game born?
Apart from the obvious benefit of Internet Game giving users a chance to win valuable NFTs, the true usefulness of the project dates back to its origins. While the Internet Game founders have been adamant that the project’s philosophy will always be fun, according to Lejuwaan, his idea and Jagidar’s were born out of a social experiment.
“Our thesis, which we talked about for about a full year, was how to make social media and social networks more interactive,” Lejuwaan said. “We decided to do some experiments in space to really understand what worked before we decided to build something. And the first idea we had was Internet Game.
Considering the popularity of Netflix squid game, Lejuwaan said that he and Jagidar decided to combine the concept of the show with their idea of creating social networks, especially those relating to Web3, with a more interactive touch. After raising about $750,000 in seed money from family, friends, and a few angel investors, they bought a Bored Ape and started marketing.
After the success of the first season of Internet Game, Lejuwaan decided to dub the concept because people liked it so much, putting ideas for other experiences into storage. It seems like it was a smart move, as soon after, Internet Game secured $7 million in another round of funding, adding to the $2 million or more in reported revenue from the first season.
With the second season, Internet Game leaned into the ongoing bear market, bringing on board silver to organize the tournament in collaboration with the actress and comedian Lea Lamarr. And after another round of successful games and awards, things started to change for the project and its founders.
“We started having a lot of people contacting us asking if they could start an internet game for their community,” Lejuwaan said. “It’s happened enough times that we realize that we really should just platform (sic) this thing and allow people to use our library of games and the interesting tournament infrastructure that we’ve built to be able to run games for themselves.”
Internet game: more than a game
With two seasons of Internet Game completed, the team behind the project has grown, with Lejuwaan and Jagidar now planning the future of the project. And it looks like that future will be twofold, as Internet Game seeks new ways to collaborate with established IPs, while expanding its own ecosystem to be more accessible.
Internally, Lejuwaan says the Internet Game is poised to become a live, interoperable platform for enthusiasts and brands. “What we’re working on now is launching his platform,” Lejuwaan said. “It will be a 24/7, always live platform where you can come and play games with your friends. You can create your own tournaments or play one that was developed by VaynerSports Pass or Yuga Labs or anybody.
When it comes to collaborative efforts, fans need look no further than the Internet Game’s upcoming collaboration with Tom Brady brand Web3, Autograph and global content leader Lionsgate. And, just in time for Halloween 2022, Internet Game is unveiling a special third season of the game tied to Twisted Pictures’ iconic horror movie franchise, SAW.
With this new experience, players will have the opportunity to participate in three SAW-themed games over three days, with a chance to win prizes, including a visit to the set of the next SAW movie, a Mutant Ape, a Doodles NFT , and more. With game tokens only purchasable through GameStop NFT, Magic Eden and Internet Game, this partnership is a first step towards the collaboration and interactivity features that Lejuwaan and Jagidar want to offer.
Additionally, the Internet Game Team hopes to blur the lines between the Web2 and Web3 fandom aspects of their project, as they venture into the future of gaming and social. While bringing an influential IP into Web3 is a crucial Internet Game goal, Lejuwaan says he thinks the best way to bring a broader base into NFTs is covertly.
“I think the best way to embed them is actually a Trojan. When a website doesn’t mention Web3, crypto, or NFT; none of those terms,” Lejuwaan said.[General consumers] will use credit cards and other things they are used to buying “tickets to play” instead of NFT passes. You know, they’ll have an NFT, but they don’t even know they have it. I think it’s movement.
Editor’s note: Two members of the nft now editorial team previously worked with Internet Game co-founder Jordan Lejuwaan at Futurismbut did not participate in the publication of this article.
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