- John Smedley’s new studio, Distinct Possibility, is launching Reaper Actual, an open-world PC shooter with crypto-backed base upgrades and huge maps.
- The game uses limited NFT bases with unique characters but lets players skip blockchain entirely, offering assets via Epic Games or Steam too.
- Backed by US$30.5M from Bitkraft and Brevan Howard, Reaper Actual aims for a slow rollout, blending classic shooter tactics with optional Web3 perks.
John Smedley, the force behind genre-shaping titles like EverQuest, H1Z1, and Planetside, is back at the helm with Distinct Possibility Studios and a new bet on blockchain gaming: Reaper Actual.
The PC-only open-world FPS drops players into the biggest shooter map Smedley’s ever built, four times the size of Warzone’s Al Mazrah. Inside it, players will secure, upgrade, and defend bases that double as both strategic hubs and revenue streams for the studio’s blockchain layer.
Unlike past crypto game flops that alienated traditional players and practically enforced crypto assets, Reaper Actual splits the difference like this: Bases come as limited digital assets bundled with unique characters. Moreover, early adopters buy in to access the pre-alpha Foundation phase, the studio’s gateway to a slow, community-first rollout before it flips to full free-to-play about six months after launch.
The project is already flush with cash, pulling in US$30.5M (AU$46M) from Bitkraft and Brevan Howard Digital to push Reaper Actual through its next stage. After two years in development, the studio says the Foundation phase is close.
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Traditional Mechanics With Web3 Elements
Basically, crypto is integrated but never forced within the game, as players can simply claim in-game bases as NFTs or skip blockchain entirely and buy the same assets through traditional storefronts like the Epic Games Store.
In that sense, the game is not just about holding territory. Players have to create and execute strategies using set traps, guard vaults, raid rival bases to grab loot, and more, all backed by crypto mechanics that stay optional for anyone who wants to ignore the chain altogether.
Smedley says that split is deliberate: the game’s economy leans on Web3 without demanding every player does.
“If Call of Duty: DMZ and Escape from Tarkov collided in an open world and threw in Rainbow Six Siege tactics, you’d get our game,” Smedley told crypto outlet Decrypt.
Out in the open world, Reapers hunt for loot to craft weapons and upgrade defenses. Gear can be traded like any other game skin through Steam’s marketplace — or minted as NFTs on Tezos layer-2 Etherlink and sold peer-to-peer in-browser.
Smedley’s bet is that the dual approach lets players see the upside of on-chain ownership without the usual crypto onboarding friction. Those who want blockchain perks get them. Those who don’t, don’t. Either way, every stolen crate of resources is up for grabs.
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