You download it from the App Store, just like any other game. You tap to start a match, draft a team of NFL players, and tap again to throw a pass. The onboarding doesn't mention wallets, gas fees, or blockchains. It's only after you've been playing for a while, perhaps after you've earned a rare player card, that you might notice a small, optional button labeled "View on Marketplace." That button is the entire point.
Mythical Games, a Los Angeles-based game publisher founded in 2018, is executing a quiet experiment. Its flagship title, NFL Rivals, is closing in on 3 million signups and gaining more than 20,000 new players each day [The Block, 2026; cryptonews.com, 2026]. The game has generated "millions of dollars" in revenue since its August launch [cryptonews.com, 2026]. For a mobile arcade football game, those are solid numbers. For a web3 company, they're a revelation. The bet is that the path to mainstream digital ownership runs through fun, licensed mobile games where the blockchain is a background feature, not the main attraction.
The quiet wedge into mobile
Mythical's portfolio reads like a standard mobile gaming publisher's slate: NFL Rivals, a collaboration with the National Football League; FIFA Rivals, developed with Bacon Games; and Pudgy Party, a live multiplayer obstacle-course game based on the popular Pudgy Penguins NFT collection [mythicalgames.com/news; Nikki Schulz - Mythical Games | LinkedIn]. The games are free-to-play and live on the Apple and Google app stores. Pudgy Party, for instance, has surpassed 750,000 downloads and holds a 4.8-star App Store rating [Reddit, r/Polkadot, 2026; juicenews.io, 2026].
The blockchain element is tucked away in the Mythical Platform, a backend system that allows players to truly own, and potentially sell, their in-game assets like player cards or cosmetic items [EGamers.io, November 2021]. The company acquired DMarket, a marketplace for digital skins, to power this ecosystem [Tamara Slanova - Co-Founder at DMarket | LinkedIn]. The user experience is designed to feel familiar first. You play the game. If you choose to engage with ownership, you can. It's a deliberate inversion of the early web3 gaming model, which often required crypto literacy before you could even start playing.
The team betting on fun-first
The strategy is led by CEO John Linden, a former Call of Duty studio head, alongside co-founders including Jamie Jackson and Rudy Koch [PR Newswire, October 2025; webthreefyi.substack.com]. This is not a team of crypto purists but of gaming veterans applying a new technology layer to a familiar business. Their credibility with major licenses like the NFL and FIFA suggests they're convincing rights holders that blockchain can be an additive, not a disruptive, force.
The company's recent funding underscores institutional belief in this approach. In October 2025, Mythical announced a Series D investment from Eightco Holdings, with participation from ARK Invest and World Foundation [PR Newswire, October 2025]. This follows a substantial $150 million Series C in 2022 [webthreefyi.substack.com, 2022]. The capital is likely fueling both game development and the underlying Mythical Platform, which the company also licenses to other developers [CryptoNinjas, November 2021].
Traction and the marketplace moat
The early metrics suggest the fun-first approach is working. Beyond NFL Rivals, the company is building a portfolio with distinct audiences.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| NFL Rivals Signups | 3.0 million |
| Pudgy Party Downloads | 0.75 million |
| Daily New NFL Rivals Players | 20.0 thousand |
This traction creates a potential network effect for Mythical's marketplace. As more players engage with games like NFL Rivals, the marketplace for trading assets within the Mythical ecosystem becomes more liquid and valuable. It's a classic platform play: the games attract the users, and the users give value to the platform. The company was recently a finalist for "Most Impactful Web3 Company" at the Pocket Gamer Awards, a nod from the traditional gaming industry [Tymur Smirnov - Senior Graphic Web Designer - Mythical Games | LinkedIn].
The risks of a two-front war
For all its momentum, Mythical is fighting on two difficult fronts: the brutally competitive mobile gaming market and the still-nascent world of consumer blockchain adoption. The risks are not trivial.
- Execution on fun. The primary product must be a great game. Early user reviews for FIFA Rivals note buggy interfaces and crashes, a reminder that technical polish is non-negotiable in the mobile arena [TapTap, FIFA Rivals - Mobile Football Ratings & Reviews]. A blockchain backend cannot save a mediocre game.
- Regulatory fog. The regulatory environment for digital assets remains uncertain. While Mythical's model of optional engagement is prudent, any broad crackdown on consumer crypto could chill investor and partner sentiment.
- Platform dependency. Success hinges on the App Store and Google Play's continued tolerance for NFT-adjacent applications. A policy shift from either gatekeeper could be catastrophic.
- Economic abstraction. The company must prove that its digital ownership layer actually enhances player retention and spending over the long term, rather than just adding complexity. The "millions in revenue" cited is a start, but the renewal motion for digital assets is unproven at this scale.
The company's answer to these risks appears to be a relentless focus on the core gaming experience. The blockchain is an enabling feature, not the value proposition. By securing major licenses and hiring from traditional gaming, Mythical is building a moat of credibility and content that pure-play crypto studios lack.
What to watch in the next year
The next twelve months will test whether Mythical's hybrid model can scale. Key milestones will be the continued growth of NFL Rivals past the 3 million player mark, the successful launch and performance of new titles, and the expansion of its third-party developer program for the Mythical Platform. Another likely event is a clearer valuation signal from its recent Series D, which closed with undisclosed terms [Crunchbase, Series D - Mythical Games].
The deeper question Mythical is trying to answer isn't about technology. It's about desire. Do players, when given a fun game and a clear, optional path to true ownership of their virtual items, actually want it? The early download numbers suggest they're at least curious. The next step is to see if that curiosity converts into a new, lasting relationship between players and the things they earn on their screens. Mythical's bet is that if you make the game good enough, the answer will quietly become yes.
Sources
- [mythicalgames.com, Unknown] Mythical Games | https://mythicalgames.com/
- [PR Newswire, October 2025] Eightco Holdings Inc. Makes Strategic Investment into Mythical Games | https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eightco-holdings-inc-orbs-makes-strategic-investment-into-mythical-games-to-accelerate-human-verification-and-digital-identity-in-gaming-302581585.html
- [The Block, 2026] NFL Rivals is closing in on 3 million signups | https://www.theblock.co/
- [cryptonews.com, 2026] NFL Rivals metrics and revenue | https://cryptonews.com/
- [Reddit, r/Polkadot, 2026] Pudgy Party download figures | https://www.reddit.com/r/Polkadot/
- [EGamers.io, November 2021] The Mythical Platform | https://egamers.io/
- [webthreefyi.substack.com, 2022] Mythical Games Series C round | https://webthreefyi.substack.com/p/-mythical-next-gen-gaming
- [TapTap, Unknown] FIFA Rivals user reviews | https://www.taptap.io/
- [Crunchbase, Unknown] Mythical Games - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mythical-games
- [Tamara Slanova - Co-Founder at DMarket | LinkedIn, retrieved 2026] DMarket acquisition | https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamara-slanova/
- [Tymur Smirnov - Senior Graphic Web Designer - Mythical Games | LinkedIn, retrieved 2026] Pocket Gamer Awards nomination | https://www.linkedin.com/in/tymuradsmirnov/
- [Nikki Schulz - Mythical Games | LinkedIn, retrieved 2026] FIFA Rivals development | https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikki-schulz-8a269a2b6/