Pixelmon, the monster-collecting game franchise inspired by Pokémon, has signed an exclusive deal with Avalanche to bring its upcoming mobile games to the blockchain platform. The agreement marks a key step in Pixelmon's shift to mobile, with its new flagship title, Warden's Ascent, set to go live in the second half of 2025.

This partnership also includes plans for more titles to be released on Avalanche in the near future, as Pixelmon expands its world and aims to grow its reach well beyond the web3 crowd.

Warden's Ascent Is Just the Start

At the heart of this deal is Warden’s Ascent, a turn-based RPG designed for mobile. The game lets players discover, hatch, and evolve more than 100 unique monsters across a fantasy world called Nova Thera. Alongside campaign battles, the game will also include PvP modes and strategic features. Early access is already up on the Play Store, with wider campaigns expected soon.

Pixelmon is calling this its "flagship" title and the first big swing in a new mobile-first strategy.

Why Pixelmon Chose Avalanche

Pixelmon CEO Giulio Xiloyannis says the choice to go with Avalanche came after talks with several blockchain networks. Avalanche stood out for its speed, flexibility, and strong gaming track record.

"Avalanche makes sense for us as it is the right fit for the scale, ambition, and audience of our games," Xiloyannis told Decrypt in an interview. He pointed to Off the Grid and MapleStory Universe—two games that recently launched on Avalanche and showed strong performance—as proof that the platform can handle large-scale gaming.

Starting on Avalanche's C-Chain allows Pixelmon to bring its games to market quickly. But over time, the team plans to launch a dedicated Layer 1 chain on Avalanche for full control over game features, costs, and user experience.

"By launching on Avalanche's C-Chain, we're able to bring blockchain features to players quickly and with minimal friction," he said. "As our needs evolve, we'll seamlessly upgrade to our own Avalanche-based Layer 1—giving us the power to fully customize performance, costs, and gameplay without compromising the player experience."

More Titles Coming

Pixelmon's plans with Avalanche go beyond just one game. The team is now making two to three more titles that will launch on the platform. These include Nova Thera Chronicles, an idle RPG for mobile, and Warriors of Nova Thera, a real-time battler.

Meanwhile, the earlier game Monster Tycoon will remain live on Immutable's network, but no further updates or expansions are planned for it. Pixelmon says it will keep the servers and player services running, but the focus is now firmly on new mobile-first releases.

A New Focus on Mobile

Pixelmon's earlier releases were small-scale, casual games spread across multiple chains. These projects were meant to test game design and user behavior. With Warden's Ascent, the studio is now aiming for a full release that could appeal to mainstream gamers.

To match this shift, the company has put its PC-based project, Warriors of Nova Thera, on hold. The goal now is to focus efforts on mobile gaming, which dominates in Asia-Pacific—home to over half of the world's gamers.

With a strong fan base in Asia, Pixelmon hopes the Avalanche deal will also help it grow in key markets like Japan, Korea, India, and Indonesia.

From Tough Start to Big Plans

Pixelmon got off to a rough start in 2022, when its first NFT drop brought in $70 million—but also sparked backlash for its low-quality art. That moment turned the project into a meme. But under new leadership, Pixelmon has rebuilt. It's launched new games, raised more funds, and even released its own token.

Now, with Avalanche backing its biggest release yet, the team is aiming to create something much larger. Beyond mobile RPGs, Pixelmon has plans for a trading card game, anime series, and other forms of community-driven storytelling.

What's Next?

Pixelmon says it will launch pre-release campaigns for Warden's Ascent over the next few months. Once the game is fully live, the team plans to keep it fresh with new seasons and updates.

For Avalanche, the deal adds another big-name game to its growing list of partners. The network now supports over 3 million monthly active users and continues to expand its gaming reach.