Polygon’s Crypto Unicorns Game Adds Former Axie Infinity Esports Head

Laguna Games, the developer of Polygon-based NFT game Crypto Unicorns, announced today that it has appointed Andrew “Zyori” Campbell as its Product and Market Growth Lead.

Campbell previously served as the Director of Esports for Axie Infinity, the most successful NFT game of all time in terms of total trading volume, topping $4.2 billion worth. Before that, Campbell was an esports commentator for games like Dota 2 and StarCraft II.

In his new role at Laguna Games, Campbell will help expand the studio’s lineup, including potential additional games that utilize its NFT unicorn pets—creating a “multiverse” of Crypto Unicorns experiences, according to the announcement. Campbell told Decrypt that he’s been a fan of the game since its initial 2021 NFT mint.

“I’ve been impressed with the distinctive art style, commitment to experimentation, and activity within the DAO,” he said, adding that the game has “maintained a very engaged community” that he said is eager to participate in decentralized governance.

Crypto Unicorns is a browser-based video game built around NFT unicorns and land plots minted on Polygon, an Ethereum scaling network. The game pairs virtual pet and farming gameplay elements, and the NFTs have yielded about $49 million in total trading volume to date per CryptoSlam. The studio raised a $5 million seed round in 2021.

While at Axie Infinity developer Sky Mavis, Campbell spearheaded the game’s move into competitive play, including last year’s Axie Infinity World Championship, the $2.4 million AXS token grant program for community organizations, and collaborations with major esports teams like Cloud9 and Method.

In his new role at Laguna Games, Campbell told Decrypt that he will “be working more closely with the product team, ensuring alignment across the ecosystem [and] user experience, and engaging directly with the community.” From there, the studio plans to start expanding Crypto Unicorns to incorporate new types of gameplay.

“Crypto Unicorns has created a great foundation for [its] universe and a captivating land gameplay experience—but that’s just the first step,” he said. “Now that the groundwork is set, we can think about expanding into a wider variety of genres that will capture a more diverse audience. Players need more things to do with their unicorns!”