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About Pixelmon
Pixelmon is an open-world monster-raising game on Ethereum whose assets split into Genesis NFTs, which carry commercial rights to a character's IP, and in-game NFTs used for training, battles and evolution. It addresses the split in blockchain games where assets belong to players but IP belongs to the studio: image licensing sits in the ERC-721 contract so holders can negotiate collaborations themselves, and evolution outcomes are set by on-chain state in the Evolution Serum contract rather than by a server. Entry is free, with spending shifted to tradable characters and items.
Genesis holders get commercial licensing over a character's likeness and can negotiate collaborations directly, with scope and revenue share written into the contract; in-game NFTs carry training, battles and evolution, whose stats advance through on-chain state in the Evolution Serum. Entry is free, revenue comes from a cut on character and item trades, and training and evolution consume in-game resources. Both asset lines sit in one wallet, with ownership and gameplay data booked apart.
Pixelmon launched its Gen1 NFT via Dutch auction in February 2022, raising approximately $70 million, but the subsequent reveal of low-quality 3D models sparked intense community backlash.
In September 2022, Web3 studio LiquidX acquired the project, with Giulio Xiloyannis as CEO, pivoting to transparent development and rebuilding trust. Since then, casual games like Kevin the Adventurer and PixelPals were released, with the open-world game Hunting Grounds planned. In 2024, the MON token launched, but its market cap fell significantly from the listing price. Recently, Hyperliquid unilaterally changed the MON token symbol, raising questions about decentralization commitments and highlighting risks of relying on external infrastructure.
Pixelmon is a Web3 gaming IP that has been through a complete reputational reversal. It is unrelated to the Minecraft Pixelmon mod, which is maintained at reforged.gg. In February 2022 it raised roughly $70 million through an NFT sale, then drew widespread mockery when the artwork reveal showed awkward-looking characters, with the ogre-like Kevin becoming the symbol of one of the most criticised NFT launches ever. A new team took over, overhauled the art, rebuilt the brand as a free-to-play Pokemon-style monster collecting IP and deliberately left Kevin unchanged as a symbol of crypto resilience.
The product line is built around the IP rather than a single game. Kevin the Adventurer on Base drew about 36,000 active players, alongside PixelPals on Mantle, the open-world adventure Hunting Grounds and a free-to-play desktop title called Arena. Underneath sits Mon Protocol, a decentralised IP infrastructure whose native MON token launched at its token generation event on 27 May 2024, claimable by Gen 1, Trainers and Armoury NFT holders plus presale participants. It uses a two-tier NFT structure called Right-of-Game, where Genesis holders benefit from the in-game activity and transactions of Layer 2 in-game NFTs. Funding was an $8 million seed round with Animoca Brands and Delphi Ventures participating, and angels including Immutable co-founder Robbie Ferguson and Yield Guild Games co-founder Gabby Dizon.
Future strategy and roadmap: Pixelmon has shifted emphasis from its own games toward cross-platform IP licensing and interoperability. On 25 July 2026 Kevin became a playable avatar inside Otherside, Yuga Labs' metaverse, available to Gen 1 holders, so the utility of the genesis NFT no longer depends on Pixelmon's own games succeeding. The risk is that Web3 gaming retention and monetisation remain unproven, and free-to-play removes the NFT gate as a revenue mechanic. The IP also began with a widely remembered failed launch, so Kevin's meme status is both an asset and baggage.
Pixelmon's turnaround is run by an operator with an e-commerce background. CEO Giulio Xiloyannis started out inside the Rocket Internet ecosystem as a co-founder of ZALORA, the Southeast Asian fashion retailer, then built the Web3 studio LiquidX to incubate and restructure on-chain consumer brands.
In September 2022 Xiloyannis took over as CEO and replaced the art and engineering teams.
Jun Hao Yap, who served as CTO since July 2023, has departed from Pixelmon. His departure marks a significant change in the project's technical leadership. No new hires were reported during this period.