Irreverent blockchain gaming startup creates AI characters as NFTs

Irreverent Labs, a newly funded blockchain gaming startup founded by entrepreneur and former Microsoft Ventures executive Rahul Sood, is aiming to break the gaming mold by creating a player-focused, play-to-earn, and widely accessible game with artificially intelligent characters living on the blockchain as NFTs. 

The ambitious new startup, which has a team with vast experience in gaming, blockchain, and machine learning, raised $5m round of funding led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z Crypto), and additional investment from The Chainsmokers’ Mantis Fund, Keen Crypto, Unlock Ventures, and AdvancIt Capital. 

Irreverent Labs’ mission is to create artificially intelligent, 100-year entertainment experiences on blockchain. The first project is a game, set in a fun and engaging metaverse, that transcends any one player and is designed to remain fresh for multiple generations. 

The game is easy-to-learn with simple onboarding for players of any level of blockchain experience. It features artificially intelligent non-player characters (NPCs) which live and breathe on the blockchain as NFTs, thereby enabling decentralized private ownership. This vast framework will be underpinned by a feature-complex economy with play-and-earn experiences.   

“Our first game is hilarious, and I’ve never had as much fun as I’ve had with the Irreverent Labs team,” Sood said. “I speak often about gaming and blockchain’s inevitable convergence. Players should own their gaming assets the same way they own physical games, and blockchain lets us give control back to players to own, trade, sell, use and build new metaverse experiences using components from our games.”  

There are already emerging contenders showcasing the potential of play-to-earn game titles such as Axie Infinity or ZED RUN, one of blockchain’s earliest play-to-earn successes which was recently valued at over $200m and had Sood as an early investor. Irreverent Labs’ ambition is to go even further, creating multi-generational, ever-evolving worlds where players and AI mingle to create an altogether new experience: the 100-year game.