Big Time Studios is a company that builds next-generation and multiplayer AAA entertainment where players have control over their virtual assets. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Big Time Studios founder Ari Meilich to learn more about the company.
Big Time Studios is a trailblazing gaming company renowned for its multiplayer RPG, Big Time. It immerses players in adventures through time and space, featuring procedurally generated dungeons and NFT trading. In addition to their innovative game, Big Time Studios created the Open Loot platform, a Web3 gaming distribution platform that simplifies NFT and token management for developers and players. The platform supports a dynamic marketplace where users can seamlessly buy, sell, and trade digital assets. The Open Loot token ($OL) enhances the player experience by offering exclusive benefits, such as better deals on the marketplace and additional rewards in games. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Big Time Studios founder Ari Meilich to learn more about the company.
Ari Meilich’s Background
What is Ari Meilich’s background? Meilich said:
“I am an entrepreneur in the Web3 gaming space. In April 2020, I founded Big Time Studios to bring quality game entertainment to crypto. Previously, I was the founding CEO of Decentraland, a decentralized metaverse where users populate their virtual land with interactive 3D content they build. Decentraland lets users create, experience, and monetize content and applications. I led the project until April 2020, when I moved into an advisory role.”
Formation Of Big Time Studios
How did the idea for the company come together? Meilich shared:
“We at Big Time Studios set out to address the massive and unnecessary friction between players and web3 and the lack of engaging content. I believed there had to be a fix, so I brought together a team of AAA gaming veterans to create a platform to integrate crypto assets into video games seamlessly. MMORPGs have had thriving game economies for decades, and crypto assets (scarce and transferable by design) would unleash their full potential. This vision led to the creation of Big Time Studios, intending to make web3 games more accessible and enjoyable for players. Big Time was our flagship game, and the rest is history.”
Favorite Memory
What is your favorite memory at the company so far? Meilich reflected:
“Our offsite retreat in 2024. We founded our company as a fully remote startup, believing that the best talent knows no boundaries and can be anywhere in the world. Some of us collaborated for years before we got to know each other in person. So last year, months after Big Time became a hit, we brought our entire team to a resort off the Mayan Riviera to decompress and have face time.”
Core Products
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What are the company’s core products and features? Meilich explained:
“Big Time Studios enables developers to launch quality multiplayer games that seamlessly integrate blockchain technology. Our flagship game, Big Time, is a free-to-play multiplayer action RPG in which players engage in fast-paced combat and adventure through various eras of time and space. The game features a player-driven economy, procedural generation for unique experiences, and the ability to customize a personal metaverse. Players can also switch character classes during gameplay.”
“Besides Big Time, we offer Open Loot, a Web3 gaming distribution platform and marketplace. Open Loot supports game developers and publishers with their go-to-market, game economy design, payments, asset custody, and compliance. The platform’s native cryptocurrency, the $OL token, fuels its growth and provides exclusive user benefits, such as marketplace transactions, discounts, rewards, and in-game spending.”
“Open Loot supports games like World Shards, Boss Fighters, The Desolation, ShatterPoint, and Clockie Chaos, a mobile-only game available through Telegram, where players blast away rogue Clockies to restore the balance of time while collecting valuable Time Shards.”
“We also recently announced our $150 million Open Loot Fund, which aims to provide financial backing, marketing expertise, and development support to game developers on the Open Loot Platform. By offering strategic guidance on in-game economy design, sales strategy, monetization guidance, marketing, and community building, we ensure developers on or coming to our platform can focus on crafting engaging gameplay while seamlessly integrating blockchain technology.”
Evolution Of Big Time Studios’ Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Meilich noted:
“We built our custody system initially on top of Ethereum, but since early 2020, most second-layer blockchains have not been mature enough. Over the years, we’ve enabled asset minting, deposits, and withdrawals on several other blockchains.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Meilich cited:
“Here are some of our milestones:
- Founded in 2020.
- 2021 Series A Funding: Raised $10.3 million from investors, including FBG Capital, North Island Ventures, Digital Currency Group, OKEx Blockdream Ventures, Alameda Research, Circle Financial, and Ashton Kutcher’s Sound Ventures. We raised an additional $11 million to invest in game companies adopting its technology through the Open Loot Ecosystem Fund.
- November 2021: Over $70 million in NFTs sold.
- April 2022: Early Access Version launched.
- October 2023: Big Time Economy launched.
- November 2024: $OL token launch
- November 2024: During its Early Access (we are calling it the Preseason Phase), Big Time achieved remarkable milestones, making it the most successful NFT game, outperforming all other 2024 released games:
a.) $443,386,952 in total marketplace volume
b.) 28,820 average $BIGTIME grant to players
c.) 60,342 unique purchasers
d.) 1,389,096 unique platform users
e.) 1,980,398 digital collectibles sold
f.) 310,681 players in Preseason
Customer Success Stories
When asking Meilich about customer success stories, he highlighted:
“In addition to Big Time, Open Loot has launched two highly successful games: WorldShards and Boss Fighters. WorldShards is a sandbox MMORPG for endless exploration, offering players an immersive world rich with discovery. Bossfighters invites players to dive into an exhilarating gaming universe where Bosses and PC Fighters clash in futuristic battles for glory, fame, and real tangible; every match is a high-stakes showdown where performance can earn valuable tokens and digital collectibles.”
“Together, these games generated a combined $6,535,174.32 in NFT sales last year while investing minimally in marketing; Open Loot users originating from Big Time primarily driven sales. I genuinely believe in our community and ecosystem, as all these sales occurred before the formal launch of the game economies, indicating strong anticipation for both titles. This early success highlights that WorldShards and Boss Fighters are highly anticipated and poised for greatness in 2025.”
Funding
When asking Meilich about the company’s funding details, he revealed:
“We had a successful Series A back in 2021 for $10.3m and raised an additional $11m to invest in game developers coming to our platform. In November 2021, we sold over $70m in NFTs. In November 2024, during the Preseason for our game Big Time, our total marketplace volume was nearly $450 million.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Meilich assessed:
“We are targeting a substantial TAM by positioning ourselves in the emerging Web3 gaming sector, which is the next evolution of the gaming industry. Drawing inspiration from mobile gaming’s growth—from $2 billion in 2010 to $111 billion in 2023—we anticipate Web3 gaming will follow a similar explosive trajectory. Just as mobile gaming became the dominant segment, Web3 gaming is poised to become the largest category, potentially exceeding $100 billion by 2030. Blockchain technology, decentralized ownership, and innovative monetization models like play-to-earn will fuel this growth.”
“As Web3 technologies continue to gain traction and achieve a global reach similar to mobile gaming, our company is perfectly positioned to capture a substantial share of the expanding global market. Similar to the advent and growth of the mobile gaming, we believe Web3 gaming will transform consumer gaming experiences and drive substantial revenue growth. Ultimately, our vision is to lead in this dynamic space, leveraging historical growth patterns to achieve market leadership in Web3 gaming.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Meilich affirmed:
“Many early Web3 game developers prioritized NFT technology, attempting to layer games on top of it without achieving the desired success. A few titles experienced explosive initial growth but fizzled out quickly because their games lacked immersive and enjoyable experiences. Most of these early games failed, highlighting the immense challenges found in game development. At Big Time, our team adopted a different strategy. We first focused on creating a compelling and fun core gaming experience while thoughtfully integrating NFT technologies to build a thriving player-driven economy.”
“All the exceptional developers on our Open Loot platform embrace the philosophy of prioritizing great gaming experiences. This game-first belief ensures our games are engaging and enjoyable, naturally supporting the integration of NFTs and robust in-game economies that truly benefit players. We are committed to building player-driven economies that work for the community, so we do not allocate tokens to our team or sell tokens to investors at lower valuations. Instead, we focus on distributing tokens directly within the game, putting players first and fostering a sustainable and equitable economic environment. By prioritizing the players and the quality of our games, we create thriving economies that support both our games’ growth and our players’ success.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Meilich pointed out:
“We’re now about to help a handful of our portfolio games (WorldShards, BossFighters, etc.) launch their games’ native tokens, which would enable them to release their entire game economies. Their launch will mark a massive milestone for Open Loot, our web3 distribution platform. Throughout 2025, we plan to expand our roster of third-party games, deploying capital to help game entrepreneurs and doubling down on crypto gaming. We spent years focusing on Big Time to show the world what a successful crypto game would look like. Moving forward, we will focus on sharing our expertise with those game studios that want to foray into web3.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Meilich concluded:
“The infrastructure for crypto gaming has reached a level of maturity that makes now the perfect time to transition your game into the Web3 space. Advancements in blockchain technology, seamless integration of digital assets, and robust security measures enable game developers to easily layer Web3 features and economies on top of their game. Better games with seamlessly integrated Web3 features and economies bring in more players.”
“Our Open Loot platform exemplifies this maturity. In less than a year, it has over 1.5 million registered players and facilitated nearly half a billion dollars in transaction volume. Our flagship game, Big Time, has generated over $100 million in revenue during that time. Our proven track record and growing user base make it an ideal moment to leverage the mature crypto gaming infrastructure and transform your game into a crypto game.”
