Pokemon-inspired ‘Pixelmon’ NFT game clowned over “horrible” artwork

A Pokemon-inspired NFT RPG game called ‘Pixelmon’ was being hotly tipped as the next blue-chip NFT for investors to get involved in before it blew up — but it quickly came crashing down to Earth when the artwork was officially revealed.

NFTs are only growing in popularity as profile picture jpeg artwork runs rampant on social media and buyers are looking for a project they can invest in and, ultimately, sell for a huge profit.

We’ve seen the most expensive NFTs sell for tens of millions of dollars, and the Pixelmon project was believed to be next up.

In fact, investors believed in the project so much that, in a Dutch auction, the cost to mint a Pixelmon (pre-reveal) was 3 ETH (approximately $9000), with the price dropping 0.1 ETH every 10 minutes.

Pixelmon owners let down by “unacceptable” artwork reveal

The artwork for the Pixelmon project was finally revealed at the end of February, and almost immediately, buyers felt like they had been conned, and the wider community at large was making jokes and memes in abundance.

• Read More: Gabe Newell explains why Steam has banned NFT games

While early sneak peeks at the artwork for the collection looked promising, what was actually revealed left a lot to be desired.

While you can see all of the artwork on the Pixelmon OpenSea page (as well as buy one if you’re at all tempted), one that has taken the internet by storm is a turtle-looking creature that has been affectionately named Kevin.

In the days since the reveal, Kevin has become not only a notorious meme but also widely beloved by holders and haters alike.

In fact, so beloved is Kevin that his floor price currently sits at almost 9 ETH. That’s three times more than the highest mint cost, and 20x the floor price of the rest of the collection.

The Pixelmon founder later tweeted that the reveal was “unacceptable” but that he intends to see the project through.

Needless to say, while Pixelmon has become a huge meme in the community, there’s clearly a market for at least one of their creations.

Whether the game actually amounts to anything, however, is harder to feel so confident in considering its launch.