Last week I kind of hinted that we just closed one of the biggest deals of my career. This is the first of two parts.
This is a personal accomplishment that I adds a huge level of responsibility. Unikrn has made plenty of acquisitions since we were founded such as Pinion, DotaProHub, Vision IP, and LEET, but nothing is quite on the scale of ChallengeMe.GG.
I don’t take multi-million deals lightly. This is a big deal for me, for Unikrn and, honestly, for the entire gaming ecosystem. CME’s technology is amazing, and their team is killer — and all they really need is gas to fuel their engine.
Last October, Unikrn launched the first-ever community CS:GO tournament with a crypto (UnikoinGold) prizepool on ChallengeMe.GG. Since then, we’ve been running weekly events, ladders and challenges with our partners at CME.
After that success, we immediately began the months-long process of acquiring them. As we got through the legal process of making this happen, we’ve been strategizing on how Unikrn + CME could be even better. How can we bring unprecedented merger of crypto and gaming and give players around the world revolutionary experiences?
Now the acquisition is complete.
CME’s amazing team is now our amazing team, one in the same. And we’re using their unparalleled platform to create skill-based betting experiences in addition to everything else they do.
Right now, if you go on CME, you’ll find competitive and quickplay matchmaking, open lobbies (for friends or Twitch streamers needing easy viewer game setups), direct challenges, fully automated tournaments and ladders with amazing prizes, missions and raffles, detailed customizable player stats pages, achievements, demo file downloads on the best, fully-automated 128 tick CS:GO servers available on Earth.
Very soon, that’ll be expanded to include Dota 2, then other games (we’re looking at PUBG, Rocket League, and tons of other potential titles that, honestly, could really use this kind of third-party functionality).
This is going to be the platform we use to bring skill-based betting products to our users as well. Remember, Unikrn has patent-pending technology on placing crypto bets on video game contests. Now it’s time for us to flex that IP, starting with the CME platform.
Back when games were played in person, you could challenge that shittalker to 1v1 and put something on the line. You could have an in-house poker game with a few dollars on the table. You could go to the bar and shoot pool for drinks.
Now you’ll be able to do the digital equivalent, but with full stat tracking, community interface, and access to the entire network of CME users. Fully powered by our internal blockchain, fully secure, with anti-cheat protections and the best possible equipment to give a fair experience.
CME can even matchmake for you.
We’re also going to be seeding UKG tournaments to which users can donate their earned UKG from Connekt, and we’ll be boosting those tournament payouts by adding from entry fees. In fact, CME’s tech with our token will make putting together and crowdfunding tournament brackets unlike anything to-date produced for supported titles.
With CME, there’s going to be a lot of new ways to utilize crypto and gaming to enhance the lives of players and keep gamers motivated to improve, not to mention give them ways to earn back for their hobby.
This is a revolution. This is all stuff CME has wanted to do, but they needed blockchain technology. They were going to make their own token, but we already have the best, most-sold and most widely traded esports and gaming token on the planet. With this acquisition, everything is in place. This new world is coming upon us quickly.
In the last few months, we’ve added people in New York, Las Vegas, London, Singapore, Sydney and Vietnam. With the CME acquisition we’re adding more people in Berlin and Poland. We’re building the sort of badass, all-included gaming behemoth that would have been science fiction when people were first putting together gaming clans two decades ago. What’s next for CME? We need to do a proper marketing integration, brand/ux/content/etc, and bring on a number of new titles. Ezpz.
If anyone is interested in getting involved in video game betting with crypto, we are open to licensing talks in certain regions. Feel free to reach out anytime, you can find me on Linkedin or Twitter.
Oh, and if you’re wondering what part two is — strap in. It’s coming, and it’s a monster.