So, What Exactly Is Epics.gg?

“First, my co-founder Gavin [Weeks] and I were both card collectors when we were younger and, like a lot of people, started picking the hobby back up again around 2016/2017. We also happened to be at the intersection of a lot of different ecosystems that ended up generating our interest in the concept of Epics. We both came from gaming and esports backgrounds, and we also had some experience with digital goods as we were involved in the scene around Counter-Strike. We ran a high-end skin auction site, and we were kind of blown away by the value high end collectors would place on some of the rarest items in the game—some skins were selling for $150K back in 2016/2017, and our friends had started a website for selling skins that hit $2 billion in topline yearly turnover. The numbers were just insane.

Lastly, I happened to have some friends and former business partners who were very early in the blockchain space,” Donovan further explained. “And so I got to see a lot of the early development of the space and understand the potential that true distributed ownership could have for in-game items. We had a bit of a lightbulb moment over beers at a Counter-Strike event where we were talking about how Topps and Panini just didn't seem like they would 'get' the new generation of collectors out there. And being completely naive, we felt like we could create the collectibles company for the new collector generation.”

Just like their physical brethren, Epics.gg’s digital cards sport custom artwork, signatures, and iconic photos of the players/streamers themselves. Those same digital cards sport one major difference, however—they’re capable of playing out special video highlights that bring each spotlighted player/streamer to life. Epics.gg also offers a cool lineup of physical/digital hybrid cards that lets users show off their favorites, while also being able to transport them over to the Epics.gg companion app.

Speaking of the Epics Digital Collectibles app, players can put their collection of digital cards to good use in a variety of ways. The cards that come into users’ possession are officially licensed and represent the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive eSports scene. Collectors can participate in the Epics.gg marketplace to buy digital cards from other users, sell whatever they have in their collection, and trade with other users in an effort to acquire cards with the lowest mint numbers. 

Simply put, there’s a huge sense of satisfaction that comes from obtaining the rarest cards and ascending to the higher rankings on the collectors’ leaderboard. It’s also possible to combine certain cards in an effort to create higher-tier versions or limited edition cards that can be redeemed for all sorts of cool rewards. A fruitful partnership between Epics.gg and Tencent has now brought PUBG Mobile into the mix by releasing a collection of physical/digital hybrid cards that feature the game’s biggest teams and players as well.

From a gameplay standpoint, players can assemble the ultimate CS:GO dream team and head into battle against other players in realistic game simulations. The stakes are certainly high for those digital card skirmishes since players can compete in the app’s regular-season core circuit and tournaments. You can easily find yourself acquiring awesome rewards, such as signed digital cards and official merch if you manage to ascend the game performance leaderboard. That particular aspect of the app becomes quite addicting thanks to those unique features. And the fact that each card’s stats update throughout the season means your favorite player’s viability can be impacted in minor or major ways.

Besides Epics.gg’s fruitful union with Tencent, the digital trading card company is also entering into a monumental partnership with Immutable. The company, which deals in using blockchain technology to give gamers ownership over the digital items they acquire, is working alongside Epics.gg to release a special collection of NFTs. Immutable co-founder and president Robbie Ferguson exclaimed his excitement about the Epics.gg partnership. “Epics has been looking for a scalability solution which doesn’t compromise on security for years,” he noted. “We’re thrilled they’ve finally decided to use Immutable X as the first layer two for NFTs on ethereum.”

When speaking of how the union came to be, Donovan recalls the similarities Epics.gg and Immutable share.“We finally met Robbie [Ferguson] and the team from Immutable, and after talking with them a few times, we realized that we share a lot of the same experience working with Ethereum. They had a solid plan and were using the types of scaling solutions that we feel are the best long-run solution. So when they asked us to be one of the first projects on Immutable, we jumped at the opportunity to work with them. We're going to be leveraging their tech to mint our items and provide trades/a marketplace that doesn’t have any transaction fees - all on top of Ethereum with its security and decentralization, which is really going to change the game for NFTs and make it possible to scale out to millions of items at much lower price points than are currently possible.”

In a company first, Epics.gg will be leveraging Immutable’s tech to release a new digital trading card set that celebrates the world’s top NFT artists. Some of the artists attached to this project’s grand launch include Coldie, Shelly Soneja, and John Orion Young. The first batch will treat users to a set of unique digital NFT trading cards and 50 ultra-rare physical cards that also provide access to their digital renditions. “The first step in the partnership is our newest content drop on Kolectiv.gg,” Donovan explains. “We're extremely pumped about this set as it's our first purely Ethereum based NFT's. It's going to be a yearly collector card set that's focused on the people, projects, memes, and art that define that year in the crypto ecosystem.”

Donovan also delved into the gargantuan effort that went into this latest set and what he hopes its success leads to. “The art is all provided by the top NFT artists on the scene, and we've partnered with people like Pranksy to curate the set,” said Donovan. “Anyone who's interested can check out the site. If you're an artist, you can also submit your work to be considered too. We really want Ethereum to be successful and are all in personally, so we're going to invest our own time and money to make Layer 2 happen and show the potential.”

Epics.gg’s future is certainly bright, to say the least. “We're going to be the leading next-generation collectibles company,” Donovan stated. “That means creating the best and most innovative product, working with the biggest IP partners, and giving collectors what they want where they want it. This includes games like our Rush mode for Counter-Strike, where collectors can use their cards to create their ultimate team and battle against other players in the app and expand our physical/digital hybrid cards, which are unique physical cards that can be scanned to unlock a digital twin in the app. We're just going to push the bar and see how far we can go.”