On March 30, GRIPNR will launch  The Glimmering, a next-generation TTRPG experience designed to be played with Genesis Collection NFT heroes that let players’ character progress live on the blockchain.  The company over a three-day period will mint phase two of its collection of characters, available for 250 MATIC (which gets one much more than a jpeg, I can tell you what holder benefits include) to play on-chain. Unlike countless NFTs that mint with the promise of “future utility,” players will take their freshly minted characters and schedule sessions to play The Glimmering starting the same day (this hasn’t been done before).

Recently it was announced that a strategic partnership with famed NFT collector and evangelist Jimmy McNeils, a.k.a. j1mmy.eth to bring several of his Mutant Apes (Bored Apes who have been mutated by Mutant Serum) to The Glimmering as villains in the game. The collaboration will be celebrated with a future Glimmering Mutant Ape derivative collection.

The Apes will be reimagined by GRIPNR Lead Artist Justin “Angryblue” Kamerer and will be included in future adventures of The Glimmering game. Owners of the Glimmering’s Genesis Collection of heroes will be given first dibs to mint the Glimmering Mutant Apes, when they’re released in the spring of 2023.

The Glimmerings takes place in a tiny corner in the far north of a world called Asuwa in the Moonstone Empire. It’s a world that thrums with magic. Danger lurks everywhere in the world of Asuwa; but fame, glory, and riches wait for those willing to take the risk. The first six adventures of The Glimmering will be available for character levels 1-3 and rooted in a modified version of the 5th Edition ruleset, players already familiar with D&D can easily transition to The Glimmering without learning a new system.

Using the Polygon blockchain, all games will be logged, and players can track character development, loot, and campaign progress transparently. As players’ characters level up through gameplay, each character’s artwork will morph visually over time based on in-game outcomes, allowing NFT holders to influence their own rarities. Digital collectibles allow players to resell characters, weapons, armor, treasure, and other items acquired through play or purchase.

The team creating the world of The Glimmering are some of the best in their respective industries, including game design, art, technology, and storytelling.  GRIPNR is a New Orleans-based web technology company bringing tabletop games to the blockchain.  Its mission is to preserve the magic of classic TTRPGs while expanding player capabilities beyond the traditional gaming world and onto the blockchain.

Please let me know if you would like to speak with Brent and/or if there’s anything I can assist you with.

Movie Games S.A., a game publisher and producer listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange, has just confirmed the co-op mode in Drug Dealer Simulator 2, the highly anticipated sequel to one of the biggest indie hits in the last few years. The series will thus be expanded with a multiplayer element, one of the most important components ensuring the titles’ longevity and the so-called long sales tail.

Players were informed about the new co-op mode on the Steam platform, where the footage was published showing multiplayer gameplay mechanics in a test environment based on token visuals, which will eventually be replaced by final detailed models and textures.
Drug Dealer Simulator 2 is the sequel to 2020’s hit Drug Dealer Simulator, which has been updated with 6 free expansions to date. The release of the last of the expansions in November 2022 generated a peak of over 2,000 concurrent players, which is comparable to the successful launch of the new title. At the time of writing this, Drug Dealer Simulator 2 is in 379th place among the most wishlisted games on Steam (globally) and is constantly improving its position. It is worth noting that the Steam website had its launch 5 months ago, on 17 October 2022. So far, the wishlist growth has been organic without any marketing activities. The announcement of the coop is the start of a more active marketing approach.

“When designing Drug Dealer Simulator 2, we wanted to bring the gameplay to a new level. Our goal was to keep the essence of the original while improving and expanding it in many aspects. The experience gained since the release of part 1 and the better structure of the project, built from scratch, allowed us to expand the game’s sequel with a cooperative mode, which is not only an element desired by fans of part 1, but also, in my opinion, represents the future of gaming, offering a new kind of experience, combining the advantages of single and multiplayer modes,” says Rafal Pecherzewski, creator of the Drug Dealer Simulator series.

“The co-op in Drug Dealer Simulator 2 is a fulfillment of the wishes of a huge community of fans, with whom the dialogue is one of the pillars of our publishing activities. At the same time, as a publisher, we are opening up to the players, offering them the opportunity to see what working on their favorite titles looks like. The strategy of publishing the so-called developer’s diaries worked perfectly for the Alaskan Truck Simulator project. It is also well-suited to games from the DDS universe. These titles have an international and very active community of fans, for whom the value is not only the game itself, but also the interaction with the developers and the opportunity to learn about the behind-the-scenes of production,” says Piotr Gnyp, Chief Marketing Officer of Movie Games S.A.

“The added value from a marketing perspective is that fans of Drug Dealer Simulator, thanks to the recent showcase, had the opportunity to see what the game looks like at the prototyping and testing stage of the mechanics. This addresses the frequent questions and requests from community members to see the various stages of development work. The footage we showed is a glimpse behind the scenes of the work to sublimate the best possible form of designed gameplay even before the final implementation of the content. This is a common practice in the industry and a very effective one to get the best possible product even before the stage of final polishing. In due course, and with pleasure, we will also share with the world and fans the final visuals, which the developers are currently carefully refining behind the curtains,” says Michal Puczynski, Head of Content at Movie Games.

“We are very pleased with the pace of work and the commitment of the team working on Drug Dealer Simulator 2. We are confirming this year’s release date for the sequel to Drug Dealer Simulator with confidence,” adds Mateusz Wcześniak, CEO of Movie Games S.A.

The accepted release window for Drug Dealer Simulator 2 is the year 2023