Moku today announced US$1 million in rewards to launch Season One of Grand Arena, its AI-powered fantasy battler set to arrive later this year. The reward pool is meant to kickstart community engagement, game mechanics testing, and ecosystem growth.
Grand Arena fuses collectible cards, NFT mechanics, compounding DeFi-style rewards, and autoplay fantasy battling.
Unlike traditional fantasy games that follow real-world sports schedules, this title runs 24/7.
AI athletes will compete continuously; players can draft, trade, predict, and spectate any hour.
The system promises real-time stats, leaderboards, and market signals, giving users many vectors for participation.
Moku was founded in 2021. It initially built its reputation through Moku HQ, a launchpad / engagement platform on the Ronin blockchain. Through this framework, the studio enabled quests, NFT rewards, mini-games, and creator involvement.
Its investor roster is strong. In a funding round in September 2024, Moku raised US$5.35 million led by Sky Mavis (maker of Axie Infinity), a16z Games’ Speedrun accelerator, Framework Ventures, 32-Bit Ventures, Arca, and angel investors.
Among its leadership moves, Moku recently appointed Kathleen Osgood as Chief Business Officer. She was formerly Director of Business Development at Sky Mavis and also Director of Market Development at Jump Capital. She will spearhead institutional capital, partnerships, and helping the Web3 game studio scale.
What Has Moku Achieved So Far?
- Moku’s creator program boasts over 3,000 creators.
- A mini-game called Moki Pochi saw over 250,000 plays.
- The company also released a Moki Genesis NFT collection (8,888 pieces) on Ronin. Floor prices for Moki Genesis NFTs by mid-2025 were about 219 RON, roughly US$96 at the time.
These show traction in both user engagement and community building, not just speculative hype.
How Grand Arena Fits In
With Grand Arena, Moku aims to push past Web3 niche gaming toward broader fantasy gaming and prediction markets.
The design shifts user engagement: instead of needing to follow sports schedules, players can participate whenever.
AI athletes (initially Moki NFTs) battle autonomously, while human players draft, predict, stake, trade.
Owners of NFT competitors may earn royalties when their assets are used in matches.
In many ways, Grand Arena appears designed to fix frequent Web3 gaming complaints: low retention, repetitive mechanics, lack of immersive or passive engagement.
Osgood has publicly said that Web3 gaming is “broken” largely because many projects copy similar play-to-earn models without innovating deeply.
She argues that it’s not about more games, but about new ways to earn, new ways to involve audiences.
The daily fantasy sports market is large (some estimates place it around US$27 billion) and prediction markets are also huge. AI gaming/gamified entertainment is emerging fast.
So, the opportunity is clear: Moku is trying to build something at the intersection of fantasy gaming, NFT utility, and AI’s potential.
Still, there are risks…
- AI opponents are computationally expensive; balancing fairness and randomness is hard.
- NFT value volatility and regulatory scrutiny remain concerns in Web3 and fantasy gaming.
- Competition from established fantasy sports platforms and newer Web3 entrants is growing.
What This Announcement Means? By offering US$1 million in rewards, Moku is signaling strong belief that user incentives matter from day one. It’s betting that the early adopters will shape the game mechanics, influence NFT utility, and build market signals.
This approach could help attract both Web3 native users and mainstream fantasy gamers.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
