Tezos Shooter ‘Reaper Actual’ From EverQuest Co-Creator Enters Alpha Playtesting

Video game veteran John Smedley—who helped build fan-favorites EverQuest, H1Z1, and PlanetSide—debuted his crypto open-world persistent shooter Reaper Actual on Wednesday in what is branded as a “Foundation Alpha” playtesting phase. 

Smedley has previously faced backlash from his non-crypto gaming fanbase due to Reaper Actual’s use of crypto, although it is entirely optional. He has previously estimated that only 8% of the player base will use the NFT marketplace, where they can trade in-game characters, bases, and cosmetics.

“Reaper Actual is first and foremost a skills-based shooter, and that will never change. But building on Etherlink with the help of Sequence lets us give players something unprecedented: true ownership of their in-game assets,” Smedley, CEO of Distinct Possibility Studios, told Decrypt. “For example, just like you can buy and sell a home in the real world, you’ll be able to do the same with your bases in Reaper Actual.”

Reaper Actual is a PC-based open-world multiplayer first-person shooter, developed by Distinct Possibility Studios, where players are tasked with creating, defending, and attacking bases. Smedley told Decrypt in July that the game would feature the largest map of any first-person shooter.

Those wanting to get their hands on Reaper Actual can pay up to $74.99 for the “Stygian Oath Edition” of the alpha game—which is on the high-end for an in-alpha title. This package includes four Reapers, a bunker base, a warehouse base, and access to the game. There are also $49.99 and $29.99 editions of the game that grant players fewer Reapers and bases off the jump.

Gamers will find themselves on the island of Marova, which is involved in a brutal civil war. Players controlling characters called “Reapers” will be given missions from one of the five at-war factions. Users will rig their bases with a series of traps to prevent enemy Reapers from stealing their loot. While gamers can only control one Reaper at a time, any Reapers not currently in use will guard their base. 

As promised by Smedley in a previous interview with Decrypt, players can optionally choose to purchase these packages with web3 elements—with a supply limited to 10,000. By purchasing this version, players will be able to trade Reapers, bases, and cosmetics as NFTs through a marketplace based on Tezos layer-2 Etherlink. 

“Being able to give players true digital ownership of in-game assets is really important to our team,” Smedley told Decrypt. “After all, players should have the freedom to do whatever they want with the things they own in our game, and that’s what this technology enables.”

Smedley believes the player base trading on the crypto marketplace will grow to 30% over the next two years.

“We aren’t limiting the number of copies we’re selling to create FOMO. We’re actually doing it for a simple reason—we playtest this thing every day and now we need players to tell us if we’re delivering on the fun,” Smedley, CEO of Distinct Possibility Studios, said on X. “ This is an actual working Alpha of our game. Many features aren’t there yet but we’re going to be updating frequently and spending a lot of time listening to our players,” he added.

The CEO encourages playtesters to livestream the game and share their thoughts on Discord, as the studio is actively looking to improve the alpha build. 

This is a move that leans into crypto gaming’s history of building in public, which became synonymous with the industry. However, the approach has resulted in several games failing in public as pressure mounts during the earliest phases of development. 

Popular crypto shooter Off the Grid deviated from this standard last year by requiring early access players to sign non-disclosure agreements to keep the public’s first impression squeaky clean. And, in many ways, it worked with a massive October launch as traditional gaming livestreamers went viral playing the game.

Reaper Actual will not require an NDA, meaning first impressions of the game will quickly spread on Wednesday after it goes live at 9 AM PDT.

After the announcement of Reaper Actual, fans of Smedley’s previous work appeared frustrated that the game wasn’t a new PlanetSide title and angry with its use of crypto.

“Really disappointed with the Web3 integration, all of my excitement yesterday is gone,” one X user posted in July. “If the goal of the game is financial reward, then the focus is definitely not on what I want from a game,” another replied.

Smedley defended his game and usage of crypto in a stream of social media posts, stating that the use of crypto is entirely optional and its primary goal is to be fun—not make money.

“I’m not a fan of ‘play-to-earn’ or mechanics like that. I also don’t like seeing tokens being viewed as a slot machine,” he said. “For us, it’s an ecosystem play. No different than [the] Steam Community market except that it’s way more transparent.”

With part of his community already apprehensive about Reaper Actual, all eyes are on its Foundation Alpha launch.