🎮 Cardano Gaming Digest #8

Welcome back to your weekly dose of Cardano gaming insights—where we track what’s building, launching, and reshaping the space.

After a short pause, we’re back with a fresh batch of updates, gameplay events, and development progress across the ecosystem. From Derp Birds’ long-awaited Season 2 launch to massive improvements teased by Cornucopias, this week proves Cardano’s game scene isn’t slowing down.

We’ve also updated the Weekly Checkpoints section to include even more recurring events—like the now-consistent Machiavellic convoys, happening nearly every weekend.

As always, every headline comes with a peek into my personal journey—what I’m watching, where I’m jumping in, and what I’m learning along the way.

Let’s dive into what’s been happening across Cardano gaming 👇

📰 Cornucopias Prepares Biggest Update Yet with Massive Game Overhaul

The Cornucopias team is gearing up to ship their most substantial update to date, with testing for the next build already underway. According to lead developer Rob the Fox, this release introduces Avatar 3.0, a new starting zone, smoother character movement, and combat mechanics—plus major improvements across Calido Valley and Solace regions.

Highlights include:

• NFT-integrated weapons and outfits

• A revamped Rumbleball 2.0 game mode

• Updated maps and lighting for performance

• New areas like the Glimpse of Esperanza

The release notes are being finalized, with even more surprises teased for later builds.

👉 Read more

📝 My Opinion: Cornucopias continues to raise the bar. This kind of world-building and gameplay depth is exactly what Web3 gaming needs to break through.

📰 Derp Birds Season 2 is Live: Vamps, Crafting & Burning Mechanics Introduced

Derp Birds has officially launched Season 2, kicking off a wave of new mechanics and collectible opportunities. Players can now burn their legacy Vampire Invasion NFTs to receive upgraded Derp Vamps—or they can dive into the game to discover tomes, craft, and mint new Vampires directly from the app.

These new Vamps are more than cosmetic—they unlock new gameplay loops:

• Crafting materials for new traits and fame

• Additional strategic depth and progression

• Expanded in-game utility across Derpetonia

This marks a new phase in Derp Birds’ evolving ecosystem of staking, quests, and seasonal content.

👉 Read more

📰 Pixel Cab Games Enters GDevelop Game Jam with 9-Day Build

The team at Pixel Cab Games took on the challenge of creating a full game in just 9 days as part of the GDevelop Big Game Jam. The theme? “Overpowered.”

Despite a packed week of over 60 hours of fiat work, they pulled it off—delivering a playable entry with original music, detailed animations, and solid gameplay.

Now they’re inviting the community to play and rate the game to help boost its visibility in the jam. It’s a great way to support a Cardano-native studio participating in a global event.

👉 Play the game and rate it

🎯 My Move: I’ll be playing the game this week—it’s great to see Cardano-native devs take on creative challenges like this.

📰 Stag Alliance to Conclude Season 2 with Over 70K ADA in Rewards

Stag Alliance has announced that Season 2 will officially end on June 9th, with rewards distributed to holders shortly afterward. The total rewards for the season will surpass 70,000 ADA, underlining the project’s ongoing commitment to community incentives.

Looking ahead to Season 3, Stag Alliance plans to evolve its reward system to better recognize and incentivize those who actively contribute to the growth of the project.

👉 Read more

🎯 My Move: I’ll be keeping an eye out for the rewards I’m eligible to receive from Season 2.

📰 CardanoLands Reveals Roadmap for Cross-Chain Integration & Gamification

CardanoLands is preparing for its next major leap—cross-chain integration. This will expand the reach of its Kingdom App beyond Cardano, opening the door to a more interconnected NFT gaming experience.

The team is also doubling down on gamifying the app, promising a richer and more interactive user experience in future updates.

👉 Read more

📰 New PXLWARS Dev Diary Incoming

Adrian Fanatiu, the creator behind PXLWARS, just teased a new development diary. While details are still under wraps, dev diaries like this often reveal behind-the-scenes progress, upcoming features, and design decisions shaping the future of the game.

Stay tuned if you’re following the evolution of this pioneer in Cardano NFT gaming.

👉 Read more

🌀 Weekly Checkpoints – What Happens Every Week

Stay in the loop with recurring events and community content that power the Cardano gaming ecosystem:

📺 COPICafe – Every Friday, Cornucopias drops a new episode full of updates, leaks & dev insights. Don’t miss the next one on YouTube.

📖 Stag Alliance – Friday Fix – Weekly lore drops and reward summaries from Elderworld land every Friday on Discord.

🗳️ CardanoLands Kingdom Polls – Ongoing votes in Discord let landholders pick the next staking-eligible project. Cast your vote weekly if you own land.

🚀 Machiavellic Convoys – Time-limited weekend convoy events offering big token and NFT rewards. Missions change weekly, so be sure to check X for announcements and don’t miss out on the action

🎙️ From Cristian’s Desk

First off, I want to sincerely apologize for skipping last week’s Digest.

I’ve been deeply involved in organizing Azteca 2025, a major community event we just hosted in Puebla and Tlaxcala, Mexico. It was a beautiful experience—bringing together passionate Cardano users from across the country, plus incredible speakers from Latin America who made the trip to join us.

Seeing the strength and heart of the Cardano México community in person left me both humbled and inspired. From thoughtful panels to deep conversations about the future of decentralization, these two days reminded me why we do what we do.

Here are two photos I wanted to share from the event:

While I haven’t been as active in the gaming ecosystem over the past week, I’m catching up quickly—and I’ll be back in full swing this week with fresh tutorials, insights, and news drops.

Thanks for sticking around. Let’s keep building.

— Cristian
🧵 Follow along in real-time: @CrisRo0787