Grapes has done amazingly well, so welcome to Mob76 Outlook and our readers, Dan.

Thanks for having me, looking forward to sharing.

Tell us about Grapes and what you’re doing?

Grapes is the biggest and most successful blockchain project launched in 2023. We launched in the midst of a bear market and saw more than $110 million flow through the project, which was a combination of NFT volume and our token launch.

We are backed by the biggest and most reputable investors in Web 3 including Animoca Brands and we’ve raised $8 million as part of our strategy to be a recognised global entertainment brand.

What type of entertainment do you offer?

We entertain consumers in a number of different ways. We develop exciting and addictive games, build IP, foster an interactive sense of community, partner with huge global brands and create token and DeFi products for the native web3 community.

We like to think we do it differently by creating games content in Web3 and utilising them there, but also taking that content into Web2 and making it highly accessible for everybody.

We aren’t building games and experiences that require huge knowledge, massive gaming PC rigs or numerous wallets and bridges. Everything we do is available in places that consumers are already familiar with and comfortable in using, such as  the Apple Store, Google Play, Roblox, Steam and others.

So you’re a Web3 games company?

Yes, but more importantly, we’re a global entertainment brand that was born on mobile, but is relevant in all forms of entertainment categories.

It’s not just other Web3 projects that are our competitors. It’s any company that offers entertainment on mobile, so it could be King or it could be Spotify or Netflix. All of us are all competing for people’s attention.   

We are building a long-term, trustworthy, sustainable and profitable business model. The Grapes IP is designed to appeal to all age groups and we offer a simple front door into the world of web3 through games, experiences, products, tokens and NFTs.

Where did you get your inspiration for Grapes?

The mobile game Angry Birds back in the late 2000s changed everything for mobile games. It became popular because of its simple, yet addictive, gameplay, fun characters and widespread availability and Grapes is seeking to emulate this. 

The inception of Grapes was born from our years of experience looking at what scales globally in entertainment on mobile in particular combined with what was then the current art style and project thesis in Web3.

We felt strongly that there was a huge opportunity for a fun, playful and entertaining brand to be born in the space that had no limits on where it could develop in the future.

What’s the back story of the company?

Grapes was founded by myself and Ben Cusack, veterans of mobile content, but from significantly different backgrounds. 

Ben started in mobile games in 2004, building content, games and studios for some of the planet’s biggest gaming IP.  He led the Square Enix Mobile Gaming Studio in Europe for more than 10 years, taking mega gaming franchises to mobile, including Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy, Space Invaders, Championship Manager and many more.

I started in mobile in 2006 taking David Beckham to mobile and has more than two decade’s experience in mobile gaming and entertainment and has been integral in taking many influencers and TV brands to mobile for the first time, including David Beckham, Who Wants to be a Millionaire with Sony Pictures, X Factor, Mr Bean and KSI to name but a few.

Between us, they have created more than 500 million downloads and countless No 1 games to our names. 

Where do you think you stand with your competitors?

Our goal is not to smash Web3 lingo at the wider audience. Anyone can play our games. If you are a Web3 fan, you can connect your wallet and get various unlocks (special tournaments and so on). Also, soon players will be able to use $GRAPE to play each other.

In Web3 in particular we would count Pudgy Penguins as best in class as of today. Alongside elements of Yuga (BAYC / MAYCprojects, Memeland and Mocaverse). 

But when it comes to our gaming infrastructure, we are miles ahead of our Web3 competitors. We have four games in the market already and decades of joint experience on how to scale these.

Grapes was designed with product expansion in mind and we built our team ahead of launching. Other less thought-out projects from potential competitors are now struggling. Their strategy of NFT collection first saw huge initial success in that space, but are now backpedalling to create utility with no previous experience.

Web3 content seems to have hit a significant bump in the road, what are your thoughts on the market?

Web3 and crypto is going through a transitional period, from its dark underworld reputation to FTX headlines of chicanery and fraud to a need for a more regulated industry, but the crypto winter is thawing and arguably, we’re in the early stages of the bull market.

Bitcoin ETFs have dominated both industry and retail news over the past few weeks and have opened a huge new market for potential investors. Consumer interest is building again in these sectors with positive global sentiment moving apace.

We built in a bear market preparing for a bull market and we believe that this strategy will enable us to grow and scale rapidly throughout 2024.

Exciting times, thanks for sharing with us

My pleasure. Looking forward to catching up in 12 months’ time in early 2025.