Summary
- Solana-based 3D skateboarding game with procedurally generated, 1-of-1 skateboards
- Studio behind the project, Block Tackle, raises $5 million in seed funding to build SkateX
- No release date available at time of writing this
There are a few genres of games that have been central to my life as a gamer, and one I didn’t expect to see in the blockchain gaming space any time soon; I was mistaken. SkateX is coming to Solana and has just had a healthy seed round to fund it.
I started skateboarding when I was around 10-years-old and was still going, albeit less frequently, into my early twenties. I grew up playing Tony Hawk’s, eagerly awaiting every release, as well as Thrasher: Skate and Destroy, and eventually, Skate. It’s a genre of game and a sport I hold dear, but for whatever reason, I hadn’t connected it with blockchain gaming. That is, I hadn’t seen the very obvious value blockchain technology has in this area.
What Is SkateX?
Rather than summarize, I will let SkateX answer the question first:
“SkateX is a NFT Skateboarding project, powered by Solana. There are 10,000 skateboards built in full 3D & game-ready, created by amazing artists with each one being procedurally generated, 1-of-1 & totally unique. Your deck will be your key to unlock Field name an epic digital experience.”
As excited as I am, that is the worst copy I have ever read. Nevertheless, there are the important foundations: SkateX will be on the Solana blockchain, it will be a 3D game, and the skateboards — 10,000 of them — will be NFTs and unique. That’s a strong start.
Behind the project is Ben Topkins and Rob Oshima who have impressive CVs, and then the rest of the 13-person team has experience with the likes of Lucasfilm, EA, Sega, Konami, Twitch, and a great many others.
I am far from alone in my interest in SkateX, and as the title of this article suggests, it has received some financial backing. The studio behind the project, Block Tackle, has had a seed funding round led by Play Ventures and Cadenza Ventures that raised $5 million. There were a lot of familiar names throwing in for SkateX, including Coinbase Ventures, Twitch co-founder, Kevin Lin, and Solana Ventures. Interestingly, Animoca Brands were nowhere to be seen… no, of course they were — they invested too, I couldn’t possibly go a day without mentioning the sugar daddy of blockchain gaming!
Final Thoughts
Anyone who enjoys skateboarding games will know there has been a void left by the game Skate, that has never been filled. If a blockchain game can sate that hunger it will be an unexpected pathway for mainstream gamers to be onboarded into the space.
The team behind the project is A-tier and while I am highly optimistic about this one, I will reserve all judgment on SkateX until I’ve at least seen gameplay footage. I will do my utmost to bring a comprehensive preview of this project as soon as I am able.
