Most digital collectibles are stored in crypto wallets; however, the Ethereum-based narrative project Forgotten Runes launched in 2021 turned them into characters in a fantasy world owned by players.
The independent team behind the project, Magic Machine, has built a system where those who own Forgotten Runes NFTs can write their backstories in an on-chain archive called 'The Book of Lore.'
Each entry is permanently recorded on blockchain technology, etching members' contributions as part of a shared, evolving history. Unlike the traditional entertainment industry, where studios control every aspect of the story, Forgotten Runes allows its community to directly participate in shaping the world.
This new model comes at just the right time: traditional models of game and entertainment companies are increasingly showing cracks. For instance, in March 2025, the production company Village Roadshow, behind The Matrix and Ocean's Eleven series, just filed for bankruptcy after years of debt and legal disputes with its business partner Warner Bros. Discovery.
Even with a content library worth $400 million, this production company (and countless similar companies) finds it harder than ever to stay afloat.
The co-founders of Magic Machine are veterans of the entertainment industry who have witnessed how corporate control over intellectual property (IP) can land beloved series into legal disputes, development hell, or lose value due to profit-driven decisions. Fans invest time and passion into these worlds but have no say in their future.
Thus, Magic Machine created Forgotten Runes to change this situation, hoping to give holders true ownership of characters and stories. By decentralizing intellectual property, it can protect the universe from studio politics and hand world-building to those who care the most.
Now, Magic Machine is expanding 'Forgotten Runes' from an NFT collection into the gaming space. The multiplayer online role-playing game (Forgotten Runiverse) will launch on March 26, bringing Forgotten Runes characters into an interactive world.
Thanks to the efforts of game developer Bisonic, the game has been approved for release on Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, and mobile devices. Bison has secured console distribution rights, which will reach beyond the crypto audience and introduce digital ownership to fans in ways they may not have realized they needed.
Next, OpenSea spoke with the founding team of Magic Machine, with CEO Dotta responsible for the company's direction, engineering, and all blockchain matters, COO Bearsnake focusing on partnerships and business development, and Creative Director Elf overseeing art and lore.
The three discussed their transition from digital collectibles to gaming, their approach to community-driven storytelling, and the implications of Runiverse for the future of the entertainment industry.
OpenSea: Congratulations on securing the approval for Forgotten Runes from Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox! What does this milestone mean for the project and the entire blockchain gaming ecosystem?
Bearsnake: Essentially, we have been building for nearly four years since web3 was still a small emerging community. This approval was won by our outstanding game developers at Bisonic. This is an important moment, as it marks a turning point where we can expand the business beyond tech-savvy early adopters and introduce blockchain-supported games to mainstream audiences.
Not everyone can afford expensive NFTs, but millions play video games, which is a key step in breaking down barriers and attracting new users into blockchain gaming.
OpenSea: Forgotten Runes has a passionate community. How do you balance serving the native web3 audience while expanding into a broader market?
Bearsnake: Our top priority is our community 'The Cult' and the broader native web3 audience, who have been guiding the game from day one. The first phase is web3; the second phase is expanding to a wider audience beyond cryptocurrency. These major web2 platforms—Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox—are part of that second phase.
But our approach has always relied on the people who were with us from the beginning, those who truly understand what we are building—the core community of a thousand true fans—who drive us forward. We leverage this momentum to attract a larger audience. This has always been our plan, but it's important to talk about it now because, in my opinion, the biggest concern in this field is that everything could go to zero.
Without new people joining, this cycle will repeat—one person buys an NFT, then another, then another—but without broader participation, it will stagnate. That's why we want to make it clear that this isn't just web3; we won't settle for a niche market. We want a billion people to know about Forgotten Runes and everything we are doing in gaming.
OpenSea: You mentioned 'The Book of Lore.' What is it? Why is it such an important part of the Forgotten Runes ecosystem?
Elf: To understand 'The Book of Lore,' you must first understand the core of our project. Forgotten Runes is a fantasy-themed NFT project where the main tokens are characters. Our flagship series features wizards, but we also have warriors, ponies, and a group of monsters known as souls.
There are legendary beasts and artifacts and items that wizards can use in quests and adventures. It is essentially a complete set of creative building blocks that our community uses to create art, stories, and lore—basically building entire worlds. That's why I call it a decentralized world-building project.
Typically, during the world-building process, you would have a creator, such as JRR Tolkien, George RR Martin, JK Rowling, or George Lucas, who creates an entire universe filled with characters from which you can derive countless media—comics, video games, toys, movies, books, you name it.
What we want to ask is, what happens if you decentralize the entire process instead of allowing a single creative genius to occupy the top? What if fans create worlds alongside you?
Take Star Wars as an example. George Lucas made three great movies, then Disney bought it and told millions of fans that if they made a Darth Vader T-shirt, they would be sued, and if they wrote a book about Yoda, they would also be sued. The message is: you can like it, but you can't touch it.
We are changing this situation. We say: make shirts, write books, and build franchises with us. If you own a 'Forgotten Runes' character, you can create for it, and the blockchain will track this progress.
'The Book of Lore' is a central archive that stores all creative works. If you open it, you'll see the full backstories, biographies, and artworks of each character, all created by their owners. For me, this is the most powerful indicator that Forgotten Runes has the largest and most passionate community of builders and storytellers in the NFT space.
What's cool is that the stories in 'The Book of Lore' don't just stay there; much of the content in the game comes from it. Our comic series is directly based on the lore created by the community. Even better, if your wizard appears in the comic and the comic sells a certain number of copies, you'll earn a share of royalties.
Our goal is to create a world where narratives are driven by the community rather than dictated by a single entity. This not only promotes participation but also allows creators to have ownership of their contributions.
OpenSea: How does IP ownership work in your ecosystem? Did you obtain Creative Commons (CC0) licensing?
Dotta B: No, we are not CC0. While CC0 can be a good model, we find that it often lacks the economic structure to capture the value of intellectual property. Our approach provides character holders with up to $5 million in commercial rights revenue before they owe royalties to Magic Machine. Magic Machine then redistributes those funds to the community, ensuring fans can monetize their contributions while maintaining a degree of brand management.
OpenSea: What key partnerships have you established with traditional media (such as publishers or production studios)?
Bearsnake: In addition to video games, we have comics and graphic novels. We have a global publishing agreement with Titan Comics, so our comics are available in physical comic bookstores everywhere, and graphic novels are sold in major bookstores, having become one of Amazon's best-selling new releases last month.
OpenSea: Some major film companies have approached you to buy the television rights to Forgotten Runes, but you turned them down. Why?
Bearsnake: After we hired Derek Kolstad, the creator of John Wick, as executive producer, a major studio offered to buy the series. The deal structure was similar to a typical Hollywood agreement—meaning they would own almost everything while we would only get a small percentage. This is not the model we are building. We want to retain control over intellectual property and ensure the community benefits from its success.
Instead, we leverage the momentum generated by the game and comic books (which are bestsellers on Amazon) to strengthen our position in future deal negotiations. Our goal is to co-fund our TV series while keeping ownership decentralized, and we should have more updates about the animated series soon.
OpenSea: There are over 4,000 entries in The Book of Lore. How do you decide which stories to adapt into comics or other media?
Elf: This is a combination of natural selection and creative curation. Sometimes our writers use keyword searches to find relevant lore, and at times we highlight community members who have built strong narratives around the characters. We also have some outstanding creators who naturally stand out, like community manager Magus Devon, who has been creating engaging art and stories. If you work hard on developing your character, people will take notice.
OpenSea: What kind of royalties do people see from this? When someone's character appears in a comic, do they actually get a share?
Elf: Yes, if your wizard appears in the comic and the comic sells a certain number of copies, you can earn a share of royalties from the sales.
OpenSea: So, this is not just about the storytelling part of decentralization, but also includes the financial aspects?
Elf: That's right. When I say 'decentralized world-building,' I mean not just the creative process but also business and monetization models. The entire series is horizontally decentralized, so fans are not just spectators; they are participants.
Bearsnake: So far, we haven't paid much in royalties; currently, these royalties are mainly symbolic. I think we paid creators about $10,000 for the stories in the comics, but it's not about the royalty numbers. It's about building a system where those who contribute to this world are ultimately compensated when there is demand on the other side. We are very optimistic about what this means for the brand's future.
OpenSea: Looking ahead to the March 26 release of the video game, what expectations do players have for Forgotten Runiverse?
Dotta B: This is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), combining elements of World of Warcraft and Stardew Valley, where players can battle monsters, harvest materials, craft equipment, and build houses on a player-owned land system. The game prioritizes fun and has a carefully designed economic system to avoid the pitfalls of past web3 games that collapsed due to unsustainable token economics.
We will be launching on Ronin, which is the best web3 gaming platform. We have learned a lot from previous blockchain games that struggled to balance play-to-earn models. Our focus is on creating a great game first and ensuring that the economy remains sustainable.
OpenSea: Please tell us about the development studio behind 'The Forgotten Runiverse.' Magic Machine operates independently, but you have a strong network of partners and industry collaborators behind the scenes.
Dotta: Aside from the NFT collections we sell, we are entirely self-funded—100% owned by the three of us. We launched and sold Wizards as an NFT collection, then a few years later launched Warriors, followed by a Bitcoin Ordinals collection called Shadows.
Our game development partner Bisonic is an independent gaming company with about 50 employees, while our company Magic Machine has around 10 employees. When we launched this game, Bison raised a round of funding by selling land to investors, including Dialectic, 776 (the company of Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian), early-stage venture fund One Confirmation, and several other investors. This round of investment is tied to NFT sales from two or three years ago.
OpenSea: Got it. Well, this has been a great conversation. Before we wrap up, where can new players or NFT collectors go to interact with Forgotten Runes?
Dotta B: The best starting point is our website ForgottenRunes.com, where you can explore 'The Book of Lore,' view 3D character models, read about the game, watch our animated trailers, and we also have an active Discord community where people can connect and start contributing to the world.
OpenSea: Blockchain gaming is still in its early stages. How do you think the field will develop in five years?
Elf: I think we are redefining the relationship between fans and series. Traditional media is consolidating, leaving fewer opportunities for artists to create. By building on web3, we can break this cycle and allow fans to own and participate in the worlds they love. In five years, I hope 'Forgotten Runes' can prove that decentralized storytelling can create lasting, community-driven series.
OpenSea: Awesome! Thank you very much for taking the time to chat. Looking forward to seeing Runiverse launch.
Bearsnake: Thank you for the invitation.
Elf: Thank you very much.
Dotta: Yes, that's great, thank you!
#MagicMachine #Runiverse #ForgottenRunes
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