What Are Creepz NFTs by Overlord?

TL;DR

• Genesis Creepz NFTs are the PFPs at the center of the Overlord ecosystem, which is gaming-focused but has several verticals. Creepz NFTs can be staked to earn in-system tokens and rewards, and provide membership of the Overlord ecosystem.
• With NFTs as a starting point, Overlord has branched out to establish multiple partnerships, and is working on games with Revolving Games, animation with the Stoopid Buddy production company, and fashion with West Brand Lab.
• Overlord is competing in the emergent NFT/Web3 brand-building space with the likes of Yuga Labs, Doodles, and Azuki.

With a few exceptions (Azuki, since you ask), the NFT space has recently been seeing floor prices dip across the board, including on big names such as Bored Ape Yacht Club. At times like these, it makes sense to look at projects that are developing for the long-term, and Creepz NFTs, by Overlord, are one such pick.

By the way, when assessing the state of NFTs, remember that in a period with ETH making gains, and then a sudden surge in FOMO craziness around certain memecoins (PEPE and WOJAK have led the way), it makes sense to see some funds rotate out of NFTs. Still, it’s a good idea to look ahead now for projects that funds might rotate back into again in the future.

How Did Creepz NFTs Begin?

Creepz began as a drop of 11,111 Genesis PFPs, launched in January 2022, and now positioned at the center of an expanding universe being created by an organization called Overlord.

The PFPs show colorfully weird alien lizard characters, and are kind of charming in a lo-fi, indie cartoon style (if you like that kind of thing). The project nods to classic sci-fi and B-movie influences, and has a distinctive, comedic character of its own.

Along with the Genesis Creepz PFPs, there are four other NFT collections within the ecosystem, namely: Reptile Armoury, Shapeshifters, Mega Shapeshifters, and the Loomi Vaults collection.

Creepz has grown a large and loyal community, with over 16,000 people in its Discord, and over 48,000 followers on Twitter. In terms of prices, the floor price was close to 2.5 ETH at the beginning of this year, but has slipped down to a little under 1.2 ETH, at the time of writing.

Creepz (incorporating the Genesis collection and the other collections mentioned) has various staking and reward mechanisms that make up a complex, gamified system in which holders can earn an in-world token (which can also be withdrawn as an ERC-20 token) called LOOMI, along with other rewards.

Owning a Creep also gets you into the Creepz Membership Club, and means you’re part of the wider ecosystem being created by Overlord, and it’s here that things start to get really ambitious.

What is Overlord?

Referring to itself as “a story-driven gaming ecosystem”, Overlord’s plans actually take in multiple verticals and partnerships, including gaming, fashion, media and products, and it’s all thematically based–in the Overlord universe–around a deep space environment called The Lemurian Galaxy.

The ecosystem is a little chaotic, and is branching out in so many directions at the same time that it’s difficult to immediately identify where the main focus is, but gaming is key. The plan is for a “multi-game ecosystem of games and experiences”, and there was a big announcement last month that Overlord would be working with Web3 games developer Revolving Games on a product featuring Creepz characters. Revolving Games is backed by the likes of Pantera Capital, Polygon, Dapper Labs, Gala Games, Animoca Brands, and Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser.

When it comes to Overlord’s other areas of development, there are further notable partnerships in place, with Stoopid Buddy (Seth Green’s production company) involved in animation production, and West Brand Lab collaborating on the fashion element of the project.

To assist in building out a brand, Overlord is working with talent agency WME, and is signed with management agency Three Six Zero.

Pros and Cons of Creepz NFTs

A problem with getting involved with a project like Creepz this long after it launched, and after it has expanded a lot from its origins, is that the world you enter has become sprawling and a little difficult to get a handle on.

This applies in particular to the system of staking and rewards, which is complicated and includes a variety of NFTs, occupying different tiers and playing different roles, and you might find that reading through the explanation of how it all works on the Creepz website feels more like a comprehension test than the entrance to a gaming experience.

On the more positive side, the Overlord tie-up with Revolving Games appears to be taking exactly the opposite approach, as it is, according to Overlord co-founder Dom Smith, “laser-focused on mainstream adoption”. Smith also stated that blockchain technology “should facilitate the play experience invisibly”.

Although it may seem that Overlord is stretching in too many directions at the same time, the positive view is that the project is clearly very active, and is fully committed to executing its many plans. In fact, the company is currently hiring for several positions, and is taking a real shot at building out a multi-faceted brand.

In these senses–a central PFP collection, unique characters and a distinctive world, the construction of a brand, forays into multiple verticals–Overlord is most clearly competing with Yuga Labs, Doodles, Azuki, and perhaps the slightly less well-known Degen Toonz.

Yuga Labs are the frontrunners there, but if you believe there’s room for more than one expansive Web3 brand to emerge from the NFT space, then Creepz and Overlord may be worth keeping in mind.