CryptoKitties is more than a game — it’s a platform
Today, we launched the KittyVerse with updated terms of service, an open-source license, and a program to invest in creators
We’ve got a lot of updates for you today
First, we’ve updated our Terms of Service
We know that might sound dry, but it’s actually super exciting, we promise. Here’s why: third-party apps built on top of CryptoKitties are now allowed to officially use our art.
Which ties in nicely with something else we’re doing…
We’ve open-sourced the Nifty License
This open-sourced license demystifies the ownership rights of ERC-721 tokens (also known as NFTs, or “Nifty” — see what we did there?) when it comes to things like art. Essentially, it allows any cryptocollectible project to take the foundation we have laid and build upon it.
We’re eager for feedback and suggestions for how to improve the Nifty License—this is intended to be a collaborative, public, and iterative process resulting in a shared foundation everyone can use. We think it’s important to support blockchain development as a whole, not just development that supports CryptoKitties.
That said…
We’ve unveiled our new Nifty Kitty Program
The Nifty Kitty Program is how we’ll invest in KittyVerse projects leveraging the Nifty License.
When we launched CryptoKitties we avoided an ICO in favour of a product launch with a sustainable revenue model. In a similar way, the goal of this program is to promote the growth of a community with a sustainable path to revenue rather than an ecosystem fund.
We’ve already enrolled a few projects, and this is how we currently envision the program working: we’ll give the projects a small loan they repay via revenue, and we’ll invite them to CryptoKitties HQ (on our dime) for an on-site working session.
No revenue? No problem; the loan becomes a grant.
Introducing the KittyVerse
Within a month of launching CryptoKitties, a handful of community creations were already being built on top of the core experience. Now there are dozens of these games, projects, and tools — and there are more to come. We call these experiences the KittyVerse.
CryptoKitties and its community extend far beyond our smart contracts and the blockchain they live on. We believe this will be the case for all future crypto games.
In many ways the experience of the average CryptoKitties player is analogous to the experience tied to physical collectibles like baseball cards or postage stamps: a lot of time spent speaking and geeking with a passionate community, while the actual buying and selling is just one small part of a much larger experience.
But cryptocollectibles are capable of so much more — first off, your cats can breed. Good luck trying that with stamps. With the Nifty Kitty Program — and the KittyVerse as a whole — we want to empower this larger experience in a win-win scenario, one where community creators can profit from the incredible experiences they’re building on top of CryptoKitties. Numerous KittyVerse projects have already generated revenue and innovations all their own, all while helping a network of passionate creators connect. That’s the kind of stuff we want to grow.
CryptoKitties is more than a game, it’s a platform. Completely unprompted, our community has created adorable dolls, wooden skateboard carvings, a charity fundraiser for the Seattle Children’s Hospital, and legions of fan art.
We believe that the KittyVerse is an important proof-of-concept for the future of blockchain development. It’s yet another way our community can be stakeholders in our collective project and shape their own experiences.
In the past week alone, everything from a developer sandbox to a CryptoKitties Wiki has launched by the community, and now players can display their cats as artwork thanks to a community member. We want to empower this stuff — whether it’s for passion, profit, or charity — as much as we can without acting as a *shudder* central authority.
We built CryptoKitties to showcase the future potential and value of blockchain to everyone, not just industry insiders. Today’s announcements are just the latest examples of why the future is meow.
If you’ve got a great project idea, we want to hear about it — creators can apply for the Nifty Kitty program via our landing page.
