Can a casual party game with penguin avatars make blockchain ownership useful for people who do not follow crypto?
Pudgy Penguins and Mythical Games are launching Pudgy Party, a mobile party game that will go live on August 29 for iOS and Android. The title introduces Pudgy Penguins characters into short multiplayer mini-games, adding item ownership, trading, and seasonal events through the Mythical Platform and its marketplace.
This collaboration pairs a Web3 native brand with a game studio that has shipped mainstream mobile titles at scale. Mythical runs NFL Rivals and FIFA Rivals, both built for casual play on phones. NFL Rivals is live on the App Store and Google Play, while FIFA Rivals launched worldwide in mid-2025 and quickly gathered a user base, which shows Mythical’s ability to distribute and operate mobile games with live services.
For Pudgy Penguins, the launch extends an IP that already moved beyond NFTs into retail shelves in the United States. The brand expanded toy distribution from Walmart to Target and other chains in 2024, which indicates the company can reach non-crypto buyers through physical products.
The product at a glance
Pudgy Party uses familiar party-game structure. Players join short rounds, compete in rotating mini-games, and customize characters with outfits and emotes. The game offers both non-tradable items called NAT and tradable items called LE. Players can convert select NAT cosmetics into LE collectibles by using a Talisman. Tradable LE items can be upgraded and fused and are meant to be bought and sold in the Mythical Marketplace.
The launch includes Season 1: Dopameme Rush, a month-long slate of events, a global leaderboard, and a Brainrot theme that references viral meme culture. The season model is simple. A free track gives basic rewards and a premium pass unlocks more cosmetics and progression. The company says tournaments will run as open, real-time, round-robin brackets where players compete for prizes and ranking.
~ Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins, says,
“Bringing our beloved, viral characters to life in a mobile multiplayer game is an exciting step forward in our mission to create joyful, meaningful experiences for our growing global community. Pudgy Party is fun, accessible to players of all ages, and designed to bring people together.”
How ownership works in practice
Ownership flows through Mythical’s tech stack. Players who mint LE items receive tokens on the Mythos chain, then list and trade on the Mythical Marketplace, which runs on iOS and Android inside the rules of the app stores. Mythical uses a custodial wallet by default. That means players can hold and trade items without managing seed phrases, while advanced users can connect external wallets when supported. This design is intended to reduce friction for people who have never used crypto.
A quick guide for readers who are new to these terms
-
Custodial wallet: the game manages keys for you, so login feels like any other app. You can still buy and sell items in the marketplace.
-
Minting: turning a game item into a token on a blockchain, so it can be tracked and traded outside a single database.
-
Marketplace on mobile: Mythical runs an in-game marketplace on iOS and Android that allows players to buy and sell digital items, which the company positions as a first in this category.
In Pudgy Party, the NAT to LE flow with Talismans is meant to let anyone start with standard cosmetics and later convert select items into tradable versions. A simple example is a player who unlocks a costume through play, later applies a Talisman to mint it as an LE, and then lists it for sale. The value of that item will depend on demand, rarity, and the ongoing strength of the game.
Why Mythical is a relevant partner for a mobile launch
Mobile scale is not only about downloads. It is about compliance, payments, live operations, and the ability to adjust content quickly. Mythical runs multiple live titles. NFL Rivals has a stable presence on the major app stores and FIFA Rivals launched globally in 2025, which shows the partner has recent experience shipping sports and arcade titles under licensing constraints.
~ John Linden, CEO of Mythical Games, explains,
“We’re thrilled to launch Pudgy Party with them and bring this playful IP to gamers around the world. This is exactly the kind of project that shows how Web3 can deliver fun, value, and accessibility to everyone.”
Under the hood, Mythical uses the Mythos chain to settle transactions and manage item ownership. Public materials describe Mythos as a gaming-focused network that emphasizes scalability and low fees, with a DAO that governs token-level decisions. While those claims come from the ecosystem itself and related partners, they are useful context for how Pudgy Party expects to move items and payments at scale.
For Pudgy Penguins, the distribution lesson from toys applies here. The brand found non-crypto customers through Walmart and Target. If similar reach can be replicated on phones, the next wave of players may never read a white paper. They will download a free game, play a few rounds, and only notice the chain when they choose to trade a costume.
What success will look like and what to watch
There are three simple tests for this launch.
First, does ownership change player behavior? If trading and minting become part of the loop, players will return for reasons beyond cosmetics. Watch marketplace liquidity. Are items selling, and at prices that reflect scarcity rather than hype The Mythical Marketplace reports ongoing activity across titles, and external trackers cover Mythos chain volume, but the useful signal will be item turnover inside Pudgy Party categories.
Second, can the game hold a non-crypto audience? NFL Rivals succeeded with fast matches and clear progression. FIFA Rivals moved quickly out of the gate after launch. Pudgy Party will need similar stickiness, since party games rely on a steady flow of new mini-games and events. Seasonal structures and leaderboards help, but the content cadence must stay high.
Third, do mobile platform rules remain stable? Apple and Google continue to refine how apps handle crypto and marketplaces. Mythical already operates an in-app marketplace that complies with store policies through a custodial approach, which lowers risk, yet policy shifts could still affect fees and flows. Readers should note that this risk is structural for any Web3 game on mobile.
Final Outlook
Pudgy Party is a clear test of whether Web3 features can help a casual mobile game rather than distract it. The design choice to start with free play and NAT items, then let players convert to tradable LE items with a Talisman, keeps the door open for people who do not care about chains on day one. That is the right order of operations.
The bigger question is retention. Mythical has shown that licensed, arcade-style games can reach scale on mobile. Pudgy Penguins has shown that a Web3 brand can sell toys to non-crypto customers. If Pudgy Party combines those strengths and ships mini-games and seasons at a fast clip, the marketplace will feel like a feature, not the headline. If content cadence slows, ownership will not save engagement.
I expect the first months to act as a baseline. Watch daily active users, item sell-through on the marketplace, and the conversion rate from NAT to LE. If those numbers trend up while support tickets for wallet issues stay low, this launch will be a useful data point for Web3 game design on phones.
Don’t forget to like and share the story!
:::tip
This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYO
:::
