Rumble Kong League - Research Report

Rumble Kong League - Research Report

Alen

Composed and presented by Impossible Finance Research Team based on information provided by FAME/RKL team.

Context

Web3 gaming has rapidly evolved from a niche segment into a significant portion of the blockchain industry. Blockchain-based games now account for a large share of overall Web3 activity, with usage surging to comprise ~26% of all dApp activity in Q3 2024, with daily active wallets reaching ~4.4 million (up 21% quarter-over-quarter). (1)

Top individual Web3 games are attracting on the order of 5 million monthly active users, indicating growing engagement at scale. Overall, unique wallet activity in Web3 gaming was up ~45% in 2024 vs the prior year, showcasing a strong growth trajectory despite the broader crypto market volatility. (2)

Within this context, Axie Infinity pioneered play-to-earn (P2E) but revealed challenges with unsustainable tokenomics and high entry barriers. (3)

Learning from these early models, Rumble Kong League (RKL) has refined its economic framework to emphasize skill and long-term engagement.

Aligned with the Ronin Blockchain—the scalable, low-fee platform that houses Axie Infinity—Rumble Kong League's sustainable approach to P2E is resonating with both players and B2B partners. Early traction and positive reviews on Google Play and the Apple Store further underscores its strong positioning to find PMF in the evolving Web3 gaming space.

Project Overview

Rumble Kong League (RKL) is a fast-paced 3v3 basketball mobile game blending explosive basketball action with fashion and basketball culture. Partnered with Ronin, season 1 hit 60k+ active players with incredibly high retention (D1 58% D7 60%)

RKL is the first game built on top of the FAME Network, a multisport ecosystem connecting athletes, brands, fashion, and entertainment with gamers and fans, bringing sports culture on-chain.

FAME Network’s IPs are connected through Athlos City, the open world hub for the multisport universe, hosting new adventures, AI Agent experiences and UGC game content.

Traction

User & Engagement KPIs:

  • 60k+ Users in 1-month soft-launch; 11k+ Daily Active Users
  • Strong Retention: 58% on Day 1, 66% on Day 7
  • High Engagement: 2+ hours average gameplay per user
  • App Store Rankings:

NFT Ecosystem:

  • Trading Volume: 20,000+ ETH
  • Unique Owners: ~3k+ across Kongs, Clubs, and Rookies

Team’s Track Record:

  • Proven experience with 6M+ users on mobile sports titles
  • Background includes partnerships with leading football clubs and best-selling indie titles (PSG, Arsenal, Man City)
  • Created #1 and #3 Best selling Xbox Indie Games of all time
  • Early team at The Sandbox

Strategic Partnerships & Collaborations:

  • Gatorade: Multi-year partnership focusing on in-game consumables and web3 activations—first activation drove 155k+ new on-chain wallets, 2.9M+ impressions, and over 400k minted in-game wearables.
  • Under Armour: Digital activation with Stephen Curry, enabling useable sneakers across RKL, The Sandbox, Decentraland, and Gala Games.
  • STANCE: Physical, digital, and AR collaboration with NBA star Paul George.
  • CAA: Multi-year contract granting access to top NBA talent and extensive marketing opportunities, with CAA also acting as a strategic investor and board advisor.
  • Ronin Migration Announcement: Generated 3M+ social media impressions and 9k+ organic posts, significantly expanding the user base.

Additional Collaborations: Partnerships with major Web3 projects including The Sandbox, Axie Infinity, OpenSea, and Pixelmon, as well as cultural placements with SLAM.

Product Breakdown

FAME Network

Multisport Platform:

From Basketball to Football, and from Fantasy to Sports Betting, FAME Network will host and fuel a diverse range of sports titles and activities built by a vast network of developers, with Rumble League Studios providing the blueprint with RKL for how to grow a sports IP onchain.

Athlos City:

At the core of the FAME ecosystem lies Athlos City, a digital metropolis acting like an interactable menu, with districts dedicated to different sports, new adventures, challenges, brand and athlete experiences, and user generated game content.

Core Features and Activities:

  • Player Challenges: Quickly find friends and rivals in The Plaza to initiate head-to-head matches.
  • Live Mini-Games: Wager $FAME on multiplayer challenges (e.g., 3-point contests).
  • Practice Courts: Sharpen shooting skills on futuristic basketball courts scattered around Athlos.
  • Wearables & Shops: Browse futuristic stores for jerseys, sneakers, and other in-game accessories.
  • Community Chat: Engage in real-time discussions, strategy talks, or friendly banter.
  • Game Spectating: Watch live matches and tournaments on large holographic screens with real-time commentary.
  • Tournaments & Leaderboards: Register for competitions and prove dominance in the Rumble Kong League.

FAME Network Launchpad:

A launchpad for new games, apps, and sports-world experiences, driving innovation and community engagement within the network. With already two successful community-driven ventures, a Toy Art line, and a Social Points Platform, backed by Steph Curry’s Penny Jar Capital, $FAME Accelerator plans to streamline and boost the ecosystem initiatives through funding, advisory support, and an expansive network to leverage as they grow their project.

Rumble Kong League

RKL is the first gaming title built on the FAME Network, a compete-to-earn, skill-based web3 mobile game. In the game, players can choose their team based on the digital collectibles they own (KONGS), rent from other owners, or simply use a generic casual bot player.

Key Mechanics in Core Gameplay:

Players control a team of 3, hooping against opponents with a mixture of special abilities, playstyles, consumables and, most importantly, strategy and skill.

  • Action Buttons: Buttons that give players direct control over what their Kongs are doing.
    • Offense: The team with possession of the ball tries to score by passing, sprinting, shooting, and playing offensive special abilities against the opposing team.
    • Defense: The team without possession of the ball tries to steal, block shots, and play defensive special abilities against the opposing team.
  • On Fire Mode: Both teams have a streak energy bar that charges up with every successful move they make, which activates automatically when full, lighting your team on fire, to give your entire team a buff.
💡
For more details on the Gameplay, visit https://docs.rumblekongleague.com/core-gameplay/action-buttons

Gameplay modes:

  • Casual Play: Casual mode is the free-to-play game mode of Rumble Kong League. It is a progressive match-making system that allows players to compete in the RKL for smaller rewards. Users can earn in-game currency through Casual mode gameplay, and get a feel for the game before they take on Leagues mode.
  • Leagues Mode: Leagues is a structured, competitive mode where players progress through divisions/Leagues by winning games and earning rank points. Each season, players compete to climb the ranks, with top performers earning exclusive $FAME rewards in the Sigma League. Players play 5 games per day, and rank on the leaderboard based on their highest scoring games.
  • Hotshot Challenge: Hotshot is a high-intensity, time-based shooting challenge, where players aim to rack up the highest score in a limited number of shots. Precision and speed are key, as players compete against others for leaderboard dominance and $FAME pots. It's a quick-fire, skill-driven mode designed for those who thrive under pressure.
💡
For more details on Gameplay Modes, visit https://docs.rumblekongleague.com/core-gameplay/casual-play; https://docs.rumblekongleague.com/core-gameplay/clubs-play

Digital Collectibles (NFTs)

Rumble Kong League digital collectibles are unique NFTs, handcrafted to feature distinct traits and boosts that not only define its in-game style but also unlock exclusive content.

Owning a Kong and a Rookie provides access to special tournaments, rare gear, and a vibrant marketplace for trading assets, making these 10,000 NFTs the cornerstone of the RKL and FAME Network ecosystem.

💡
Check out the RKL collections on: https://opensea.io/collection/rumble-kong-league; https://opensea.io/collection/rkl-rookies

Features:

  • Customization Options: Unlock rare gear and customization options to enhance player's appearance and abilities in-game.
  • Exclusive Content: Access special tournaments and events with $FAME rewards.
  • Rental: Earn tokens by renting out Kongs.
  • Marketplace: Trade and sell the NFTs.
  • Community: Join exclusive groups of Kong owners.

Rumble Clubs:

Rumble Clubs are a limited set of 50 exclusive digital collectibles that unlock unique competitive and social experiences within RKL.

They provide earning opportunities through prize pools and competitive intra-club games while fostering a vibrant fan community.

Clubs will compete in a structured, 12-week season within conferences, where strategic play—powered by Club tokens and tailored reward distribution—adds depth to team dynamics.

The ultimate goal is to clinch the season championship and earn significant $FAME rewards, drawing both dedicated competitors and casual fans into the action.

💡
Check out the Club Pass collection on https://opensea.io/collection/rkl-club-mint-pass

Features:

  • High Earning Potential: Compete for significant rewards through prize pools.
  • Exclusive Competitions: Participate in club-only multiplayer games and tournaments.
  • UGC Venue: Create and share player-driven narratives and content.
  • Strategic Team Play: Manage and distribute rewards among club members for added depth.
  • Structured Seasons: Engage in organized 12-week seasons with high-stakes matches.
  • Increased Visibility: Play in scheduled games showcased in Athlos Plaza and on major streaming services.
  • In-Game Currency: Earn valuable $FAME through conference success and finals qualifications.
  • Community Engagement: Build and foster a strong fanbase among both casual and competitive players.

Tokenomics

Supply Distribution & Vesting Schedule

TOTAL SUPPLY: 7 Billion

  1. Community Airdrop/Staking and Rewards: 30%
  2. Ecosystem Fund: 15%
  3. SocialFi + Early Playstesters: 3%
  4. Play to Airdrop First Season: 2%
  5. Team: 20%
  6. Investors: 22%
  7. Advisors: 4.5%
  8. Liquidity, Listings, Launchpad Partners: 3.5%

NOTE: The Team reserves the right to make changes to Tokenomics before the TGE should new GTM/launch opportunities arise, strategy, or conditions change.

Vesting Schedule:

  1. Community Airdrop/Staking/Play Rewards (30%):
    • 40% released at TGE
      • 12% released at TGE to NFT holders
    • 0 cliff
    • 18 months, unlocked monthly, vested linearly (Gamified Staking Rewards)
      • Kong Holders: ~**66.67% *(*20% Total Allocation Supply)
      • Club Holders: ~23.33% (7% Total Allocation Supply)
      • Rookie Holders: 10% (3% Total Allocation Supply)

NOTE: Not taking into account claim delay incentives system at time of TGE/airdrop. This can change individual allocations.

  1. Ecosystem Fund (15%):
    • 30% released at TGE
    • 0 cliff
    • 24 months, unlocked monthly, vested linearly
  2. SocialFi + Play to Airdrop Season 1 + Playtests (5%):
    • 100% released at TGE
  3. Play to Airdrop First Season (2%)
    • 100% released at TGE
  4. Team (20%):
    • 0% released at TGE
    • 6 month cliff
    • 24 months, unlocked monthly, vested linearly
  5. Investors (22%):
    • Seed Investors (20%):
      • 0% released at TGE
      • 6 month cliff
      • 24 months, unlocked monthly, vested linearly
    • Strategic Round (2%):
      • 15% released at TGE
      • 0 month cliff
      • 18 months, unlocked monthly, vested linearly
  6. Advisors (4.5%):
    • 0% released at TGE
    • 6 month cliff
    • 24 months, unlocked monthly, vested linearly
  7. Liquidity, Listings, Launchpad Partners (3.5%):
    • 100% released at TGE

NOTE: The Team reserves the right to make changes to Tokenomics before the TGE should new GTM/launch opportunities arise, strategy, or market conditions change.

IDO Terms:

  • FDV: $17.01M
  • Vesting: 100% unlock on day1
  • Buyback available with 90% of the buy price, 21 days after TGE
  • Pools:
    • Total Launchpad Sale Hard Cap - $225k
    • RON Staking - $200k (60% standard / 40% unlimited)
    • Whitelist Allocation - $25k

Token Utility - In-Game Economy; Token Sinks & Faucets

RKL's in-game economy is designed for a balanced player experience. It includes multiple currencies, rules, and mechanisms to facilitate item acquisition and progression.

Currencies

  1. Rumble Credits (SC) – Earned by playing basketball games, used for purchasing most in-game items, with rarer items requiring more SC.
  2. $FAME (HC) – Premium currency purchased with real money (fiat or crypto), offering convenience in acquiring items more easily.
  3. Rumble Tech (FG) – Obtained by recycling unwanted items and used as an additional resource for purchases.

Purchasable Items

  1. Characters – Different animal species with rarity levels affecting attributes.
    • High Rarity: Costs a large amount of SC or less HC.
    • Extremely High Rarity: Also requires FG.
  2. Equipables – Items enhancing characters' attributes and playstyles.
    • Available via: Store or RKL Bags.
    • Currencies: SC or HC.
  3. Special Abilities – Game-changing items in matches.
    • Extremely High Rarity – Requires SC, HC, FG, and a certain TF level.
  4. RKL Bags – Loot boxes containing randomized rewards.
    • Rarity Levels: Low, Medium, High, Extremely High.
    • Currencies: SC, HC, FG, and in some cases, TF to unlock access.

Economic Flow

  1. Earning:
    • SC: Earned by winning or losing games.
    • HC: Obtained via purchases or from High/Extreme RKL Bags.
    • FG: Acquired through recycling or dismissing unwanted items.
  2. Spending:
    • Store Purchases: Items and RKL Bags can be bought using a mix of SC, HC, and FG.
    • RKL Bags: The rarity of the bag determines the potential rewards.

Token Sinks

  1. Purchasing in-game items and services:
    • In-game wearables and customization/cosmetic items
    • Stamina refills
    • In-Game wagering / competitive pool buy ins (hotshot mini-game and more)
    • Gameplay consumables
    • Tickets needed for LEAGUE play
    • Abilities
    • Poses/emotes/dances (end of game screen)
    • Custom animations
    • VFX and SFX
    • Branded signature “moves”
    • Loot (which can contain any of the above) as well as keys to open them
    • Tournament buy ins/fees
    • UGC Lean ins through marketplace
    • and a lot more we haven’t unveiled
  2. Purchasing Game Character(s) (Kongs, Rookies, and future species). You can only buy game characters with RKL token.
  3. Purchasing Club(s). You can only buy clubs with RKL token.
  4. Purchasing Club Customizations (post-release). You can customize clubs, stadiums, and add extra engagement layers to your club(s)
  5. Rent Kong(s).
  6. Rent Club(s).
  7. Future Roadmap:
    • Wagering and Betting system
    • Branded Events and Quests
    • Sponsorships and Advertisement Placing in City

Faucets:

  1. Casual Play RKL Bags
  2. Ranked Play / Leagues
  3. Tournaments

Fundraising

The RKL Team has raised a total of $6 million from Tier 1 sports, entertainment, and crypto focused investors including:

JDS (SLAM), Animoca Brands, Framework Ventures, SkyVision Capital, IDEO Co Lab, Victory Creative Group, Stephen Curry, Paul George, CAA Sports, Sebastein Borget and Arthur Madrid (The Sandbox Co-Founders)

Roadmap

💡
Direct view of theRumble Kong League (RKL) — Public Roadmap

Short-Term: (Status: NEXT-UP)

  • Game Features:
    • League V2: Legends Mode
    • Hot Shot Minigame V1 (Async multiplayer with leaderboard)
    • Hot Shot Minigame Wagering
  • Ecosystem:
    • TGE Launch Target
    • $FAME In-Game Utility
    • Consumables Integration
    • Game Analytics V1
    • Onchain Avalanche Integration
  • Growth & Marketing:
    • Physical Item Wave 2

Mid-Term: (Status: FURTHER)

  • Game Features:
    • First-time-user experience (FTUE V1)(Core gameplay and minigames)
    • Real-Time Multiplayer Gameplay V1
    • Hub World Update (Live multiplayer)
    • Cosmetics System V1
    • Gamepad Support
    • Questing System (In-game)
    • Game Store V3
  • Ecosystem:
    • FTUE V2
  • Growth & Marketing:
    • Ronin Court & SZN Collaboration
    • PWA Features Update (Dailies/Quests/Season Pass)

Competitive Landscape

To keep the closest comparison for this analysis, we believe it’s appropriate to utilize as reference the top games on Ronin.

Established titles like Axie Infinity and Pixels set the benchmark for user engagement and economic value.

Axie Infinity remains a pioneer in P2E, boasting a robust market valuation, earned as a first-mover, and a dedicated player base that spikes during major events. Meanwhile, Pixels has carved out its niche with impressive engagement numbers, despite a lower overall valuation.

  • Axie Infinity:
    • FDV: ~$1B (1)
    • Userbase: ~55k currently, peaking around 79k during events (2)
  • Pixels:
    • FDV: ~$277M (3)
    • Userbase: Peak of nearly 868k daily active wallets; over 3M unique users overall (4)
  • Rumble Kong League:
    • FDV: $30M
    • Soft Launch Metrics (1 Month Total Push): 60k+ total users and 11k+ daily active users

Team

Team Composition

Rumble League Studios is comprised of 40+ team members spanning multiple functions:

  • Exec / Overarching (3)
  • Blockchain / Web3 (6)
  • Company Advisors (3)
  • Game Development (30)

The group brings a diverse background, with talent drawn from notable companies across the gaming and blockchain industries, ensuring a well-rounded skill set and extensive experience.

Core Team

CEO & Cofounder: Nick “Nickev” Vale

Nick has been building companies and products for 10+ years. He has built many different teams and led game development projects to the “#1 best selling of all time” and “#3 best selling of all time” spots for Microsoft XBLIG, among several private game development studios (Total Miner: Forge, Miner of Duty).

Nick has been in the web3 space since 2014 and was one of the co-founders of reNFT Labs which built NFT infrastructure products. Previously he was also on the marketing team at The Sandbox Game, one of the leading blockchain gaming projects for 2+ years.

CBO & Creative Strategist : Pedro Rocha

Pedro has over 20 years of experience in the advertising and marketing industry, leading creative teams and managing campaigns at renowned agencies like BBDO, TBWA, and The Grey Group. He has developed and executed strategies for major brands such as PepsiCo, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Henkel, and P&G.

Pedro’s innovative approach, blending technology with creative problem-solving, has earned him multiple awards from prestigious festivals, including The Cannes Lions, The One Show, Clio Awards, and Effie Awards. He believes that combining innovation and entertainment is key to creating memorable experiences and fostering a loyal audience.

Lead Game Designer : Leonardo Sandim

Also ex-Aquiris/EPIC Games Brazil

Vitor, Leo and team led to amass 6M+ Unique users across top football club licensed casual and hyper casual focused titles for Man City, Arsenal, PSG and others.

CTO & Cofounder : Nazariy “Naz” Vavryk

Between math and code, Naz worked as a quantitative developer in hedge funds in London where he managed the projects of several large-scale clients all across the globe. Looking for a chance of tapestry he turned his back to the web2 world and dived into web3 more than half a decade ago.

Together with Nick, Naz co-founded of reNFT Labs, which build products for NFT infrastructure including the largest p2p rental protocol amassing 500k+ rentals onchain. The backbone of which will play a role in the RKL ecosystem going forward.

General Manager of Game : Vitor Leões

Former Publishing Manager at AQUIRIS (Epic Games Brasil). Experienced Product Manager and Producer with +10 games shipped (soccer, racing, shooter, adventure, RPG…) published on Steam, EGS, Playstation (4 and 5), Xbox (360, One, One X), Nintendo Switch, Apple Arcade, App Store, Google Play Store and The Sandbox.

Product Manager of Horizon Chase racing game franchise with +70 million players.

Art Director : Vlad Kompaniiets

Vlad Kompaniiets is an experienced Art Director with over eleven years in the gaming industry. Throughout his career, he has worked with renowned companies such as Gameloft, Ubisoft, Playrix, GSC, Voodoo Games, and currently, RKL. He is also the founder and owner of Evolve Games Studio.

Vlad's expertise lies in creating visually stunning and technically sound game assets, managing diverse teams, and leading projects from concept to completion. Among his achievements is the significant contribution to the development of RKL, where he oversees the artistic direction and maintains the highest standards across all projects.

At Voodoo Games, he made a substantial impact as a Lead Game Artist, fostering creativity and excellence in game design. Vlad's passion for digital art and game development drives him to continually innovate and push the boundaries of what is possible.

Investment Thesis

Rumble Kong League has shown strong early traction, with over 60,000 total users and more than 11,000 daily active users during its soft launch.

This performance is both notable and promising, in a competitive ecosystem like the one on Ronin, where established titles like Axie Infinity and Pixels can be viewed as benchmarks, trading at much larger market valuations.

Its sustainable P2E model—built on lessons from earlier Web3 economic frameworks—and strategic alignment with the Ronin Blockchain position it well to capture additional market share as mobile blockchain gaming continues to expand.

Overall, RKL’s robust retention and engagement metrics, combined with strong B2B strategic partnerships, and early traction on both Google and Apple Stores make us feel very positive about the potential of RKL to find strong PMF and draw more adoption to the evolving Web3 gaming space.

Risk Evaluation

Security Risk

  • Example: Chain hacks, Smart Contract risk
  • Mitigation:Ronin reinforced its validation framework and key management processes, raising the threshold for validator approvals and conducting more frequent security audits. No major breaches have been reported since these measures were implemented.

Economic Risk

  • Example: Unsustainable Tokenomics
  • Mitigation:RKL’s multi-currency system (SC, HC, FG, and TF) and structured sinks (item purchases, rentals, upgrades) help balance supply and demand. By tying premium items to progression gates and diverse currencies, the economy maintains stable, long-term incentives rather than relying solely on a single token.

Volatility Risk

  • Example: Violent Price fluctuations
  • Mitigation: RKL is actively engaging with market makers to ensure adequate on-chain liquidity and mitigate drastic price movements. Following the MMs’ recommendations, they will also deploy on-chain liquidity to prevent severe price fluctuations.RKL is working with MMs…etc

Features of Rumble Kong League

About Rumble Kong League

FAME Network brings global sports culture to live on-chain. Athlos City is the open world hub for the multisport universe, with new adventures, AI Agent experiences and UGC game content that connects FAME Network IPs.

RKL is a 3v3 basketball mobile game blending explosive basketball action with fashion and basketball culture.

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  • The details provided in this document are summarized from materials provided in due diligence from FAME/RKL team to Impossible Finance