Funding the Future of Gotchi Battler

Author: Immaterial (16559) Quorum Requirement: 20% (7.2M) Vote Duration: 14 days

TL;DR

This proposal directly addresses the biggest challenges facing the Aavegotchi ecosystem today: a shrinking rewards pool, declining player numbers, and limited utility for GHST and core assets. It lays out a fully costed plan to transform Gotchi Battler into a revenue-generating game that attracts thousands of new players and transitions us towards a sustainable rewards program that will strengthen the ecosystem for the long term.

Due to the urgency of the problems facing us, we knew this couldn’t be a project that took years to see the light of day. So we took the initiative to start development three months ago which means we’re aiming for a Beta launch in September and a public release on Base in Q4.

Here’s a closer look at what we’re solving, and how we plan to solve it:

The Problem(s)

The Aavegotchi ecosystem is facing serious challenges. This proposal is designed to address the most urgent problems our ecosystem faces today:

• Shrinking player rewards pool: The DAO’s GHST rewards wallet is starting to run low. We need to move to a more sustainable model, where rewards are powered by revenue generation and new user acquisition. Without this there is an existential risk to the entire ecosystem if our rewards run out.
• Declining player numbers: Despite the strength of its assets and community, Aavegotchi has struggled to grow its active user base in recent years. The lack of accessible gameplay, onboarding funnels, and external marketing has made it difficult to bring in new players.
• Underutilized assets and GHST: GHST, Gotchis, and Wearables are under-leveraged in terms of gameplay. These core ecosystem assets currently lack meaningful utility beyond collection and speculation.

These challenges aren’t unsolvable but they require a clear and immediate path forward. Gotchi Battler is positioned to provide exactly that.

The Solution

To reverse these trends and put the ecosystem on a sustainable path, we need a game that grows the player base, creates real utility for Aavegotchi assets, and funds its own future through revenue. Here are the features we are building to achieve this:

• Campaign Mode: A story-driven PvE experience that solves two of Gotchi Battler’s biggest challenges: high barriers to entry and the absence of a proper tutorial, while also delivering meaningful progression and replayability for all players.
• Dungeon Mode: Repeatable PvE challenges designed for progression, depth, and strategy. Players will battle mobs and bosses across various themed dungeons, each with unique mechanics, difficulty tiers, and exclusive rewards. These will become the backbone of long-term engagement and endgame content.
• Spirits and Spirit Crystals: Spirits are playable characters earned through gameplay, while Spirit Crystals are equippable items used to boost stats. Both of these can come in higher-tier versions existing as tradeable NFTs on the Baazaar, providing an additional revenue source back to the DAO via fees.
• Battle Passes: A monthly progression system offering constantly updating daily/weekly challenges, valuable rewards and tournament access across four tiers: F2P, Basic, Premium, and VIP. Inspired by successful models in mainstream gaming, the Battle Pass balances accessibility and monetization while doubling as a bot-prevention mechanism and reward filter.
• Monetization and Economy: Gotchi Battler’s revenue will be driven by proven web3 and gaming models, including: Battle Passes, NFT sales, gacha tickets, and premium in-game resources. All monetisation is fair, optional, and designed to reward engagement, not extraction. Revenue will be split 50/50 between player rewards and continued development, creating a self-sustaining loop that eliminates the need for long-term DAO funding.

Together, these systems create a feedback loop that rewards players, grows the ecosystem, and builds long-term sustainability. All while putting Aavegotchi assets front and center in a fun, competitive, and modern web3 gaming experience.

For much greater detail on the gameplay and monetization, please see Part 2 of our Future of Gotchi Battler forum post: https://discord.com/channels/732491344970383370/1374395448546295898/1374395448546295898

Funding Details

We’re requesting $245,000 USD in development funding, covering all work leading to launch and a 3-month marketing push. The team includes long-standing contributors alongside a few key new additions. Budget breakdown:

• Immaterial (Game Director): $8K/month × 6 = $48K
• DeadFolk (2 x Unity Devs): $16K/month × 4 = $64K
• StellarHobbes (UI/UX): $8K/month × 3 = $24K
• Eitri (Frontend Dev): $8K/month × 3 = $24K
• Game Economy Designer: $4K/month × 2 = $8K
• Brillz (Community Manager): $3K/month × 6 = $18K
• NoFuturistic (Marketing & KOLs): $3K/month × 6 = $18K
• KOL Marketing Budget: $5K/month × 3 = $15K
• Ambassador Program Budget: $5K/month × 3 = $15K
• Infrastructure & Software: $6K
• Unity Art, Assets & Music: $5K

For more details on the funding request, player rewards and marketing plan, please see Part 3 of our Future of Gotchi Battler forum post: https://discord.com/channels/732491344970383370/1383120623928217621/1383120623928217621

Payment Structure

To reduce risk and align incentives, funding will be released in three milestones:

• Payment 1: $99K: Released immediately after this Core Prop passes. Covers early development + upfront costs.
• Payment 2: $56K: Released upon public beta launch (September). Covers second half of dev costs (excluding Immaterial).
• Payment 3: $90K: Released only after a follow-up Snapshot signal vote post-beta. Covers marketing + second half of Immaterial’s payment.

By tying later payments to tangible outcomes, including the public beta and a follow-up sigprop, the DAO reduces their risk and holds the project accountable before releasing a marketing budget.

Notes to the DAO Directors

USD will be acquired by selling unstaked ETH, per the Treasurers recommendation

All funds to be sent to:
0xfE698c212526F15cc25aF671BebA14aAC309457f