Game Machine Labs Receives Grant from ICON Foundation DAO

We’re thrilled to announce that Game Machine Labs has been awarded a grant from the ICON Foundation DAO to build one of the first dynamic digital collectibles on the ICON blockchain.

Building the Future of Digital Collectibles

GangstaBet NFTs represent a new vision for digital collectibles where your NFT isn’t just a static image, but a living character that evolves over time. Inspired by classic gangster films, we’re creating a collection of 5,555 unique characters split between gangsters and detectives.

A Powerful New Concept

What makes GangstaBet NFTs groundbreaking is how it combines the work of the creator and the owner to produce something only blockchain technology can enable. The artist provides the foundation through unique art, traits, characteristics, and the token generation mechanism. But the owner shapes the character’s journey, creating a unique collaboration between both parties.

This dynamic relationship transforms digital collectibles from passive assets into active, evolving stories. Every GangstaBet can be given a completely unique name on the blockchain, ensuring no two characters ever share the same identity. Owners can then upgrade their character’s skills by burning the utility tokens their NFT generates, progressing through levels and increasing both the character’s capabilities and rarity. This evolution is permanent and verifiable, creating a living history of each character’s development that exists entirely on chain.

This takes digital collectibles to the next level by making them participatory. Instead of simply owning a static piece of art, you’re actively shaping its story and value through your decisions. The NFT becomes a canvas for ongoing creativity, where the final form is determined by the owner’s vision and strategic choices over time.

The Tokenomics

$GBET is a utility token generated directly from the NFTs themselves and distributed daily to all NFT holders. This is a truly fair launch where tokens are only created through NFT ownership. The team will not allocate any tokens to themselves, ensuring the entire supply belongs to the community. The supply halves every three years until production stops completely after nine years, making these characters permanently etched on the blockchain. Owners can burn $GBET tokens to upgrade their character’s skills, change names, and climb the ranks from Casino Workers to Mob Bosses, or Junior Detectives to Chief Constables.

Why ICON?

With low transaction fees, fast block times, and an engaged community, ICON provides the perfect foundation for this project. We’re excited to contribute to the growing NFT ecosystem on ICON and help bring more visibility to this innovative blockchain.

Community Support

The response from the ICON community has been incredible. As ICON Founder Min Kim said:

“Strength of dApps = Strength of ecosystem 💪💪 Congrats @_GangstaBet for all your hard work. Looking forward to how gangstas evolve 💫”

Leading ICON validators have also shown strong support:

Lydia Labs: “This looks like another great use case of NFTs and a game that our team is looking forward to playing”

ICON London: “A well thought out and interesting concept that I think will be a success”

Rhizome: “NFTs are a novel use case of blockchain, and the proposal is technically sound”