Former Magic the Gathering: Arena director joins blockchain-card game Gods Unchained

Gods Unchained, a blockchain-based strategy trading card game that leverages the Ethereum blockchain, announced that the former game director of Magic The Gathering: Arena, Chris Clay, is joining the team.

The card game, created by Immutable (formerly Fuel Games), is looking to expand on the initial success of the Gods Unchained beta which has seen more than $4 million worth of card purchase sales, according to a prize pool counter that takes in 10% of all card sales. The studio expects to launch the full game in October.

While at the helm of MTG Arena, Clay helped onboard more than 3 million active players by prioritizing community access and responsiveness to feedback. MTG Arena grossed more than $100 million in revenue during his time there.

Immutable is backed by Coinbase Ventures and Sora Ventures, is hoping Clay's 20+ years in game design and development can help the game break out of the smaller crypto gaming market and into a wider audience. Immutable also announced that Gods Unchained is launching debit-card enabled in-game purchases, in addition to allowing payment for card packs in ether, to allow more players to participate regardless of their blockchain knowledge.

"A blockchain card doesn’t just sit in a database, it has the ability to travel the world and know where it’s been." said Clay. "Esports pros, streamers, and artists alike can digitally sign and sell digital items to fans. Blockchain isn’t just for digital currency; it is laying the foundation for a whole new digital economy.”  

"We need these games to show value, and we don’t want ‘blockchain’ to sit as just another buzzword,” said Robbie Ferguson, Gods Unchained co-founder. “But now is the time for mainstream adoption.  Gods Unchained will become a game that any person can play, regardless of their blockchain familiarity. And the fun of the game will not be predicated on the underlying tech.”