Community Backlash Following Pixelmon NFT Artwork Reveal

The artwork unveiling for Ethereum NFT game project Pixelmon is getting smashed on social media after great anticipation and a $70 million mint.

The reveal was "unacceptable," according to Syber, Pixelmon's founder, but the project's development will continue. (NFTs are one-of-a-kind blockchain tokens that represent ownership of a digital asset.) Each NFT in Pixelmon indicates ownership of a specific in-game asset.)

According to the Pixelmon website, players will be able to catch other Pixelmon and collect them as NFTs in an open-world RPG when the game opens. The initial batch of collectibles will be "playable genesis collectibles" that will not be available in-game. Holders of the initial batch of NFTs will also get “gain exclusive access to an airdrop of Pixelmon land.”

Pixelmon mint prices—the cost of purchasing an NFT in a main sale—started at 3 ETH (about $8,100) and gradually decreased through a Dutch auction process, with some mints costing less than 3 ETH.

Some Twitter users were disappointed with the artwork, claiming that the price paid for the pixelated NFTs was ridiculous, while others said that some of the NFTs were "broken" and accused the initiative of being a scam.

Syber addressed what happened over the weekend, claiming that the NFTs minted did not appropriately reflect the in-game assets. He apologized on Discord, calling the OpenSea NFT revelation a "horrible mistake."

“The plan was always to use the funding raised from mint to create proper and better models,” Syber posted on Twitter, he further stated that NFTs “are updateable and what they look like now is poor quality—we own up to that—they will be made better.” He also said that the “funds raised will be used to build Pixelmon.”

"Pixelmon is the new blue chip," Syber tweeted in December. “This is financial advice. Don’t do your own research." The statement parodies crypto influencers' frequent usage of the phrases "Not financial advice" and "Do your own study."

The NFT gaming sector is surging, with leading games like Axie Infinity now worth more than $3 billion and the digital card game Splinterlands collaborating with Warner Music Group to include musicians in future games. However, many blockchain gaming projects have faced backlash, and Pixelmon is unlikely to be the last.