The Tezos blockchain network has a well earned reputation for its buzzing, community-led innovation, helping to ignite solid growth, and nowhere is this more obvious than in the hugely popular blockchain niches of arts, culture, and games.
Tezos might not yet be on the same level as Ethereum in terms of user adoption, but its recent progress in arts, culture, and gaming has seen it establish itself as one of its foremost rivals, and few would bet against it sustaining long-term success. So let’s take a closer look at how these niche industries are dramatically growing Tezos’ prominence in the blockchain world.
NFTs on Tezos — A Hotbed of Artistic Expression
The art community on Tezos grew like wildfire with the rise of Hic et Nunc, its first-ever NFT marketplace, in 2021. On that platform, sadly now defunct, the passionate Tezos community helped draw attention to numerous hit NFT collections, with many of them earning global recognition at a time when non-fungible tokens were all the rage.
These early successes prompted Tezos to double-down on creativity with the launch of the Tezos Art Portal, which represents the starting point for anyone looking to explore its vibrant arts and culture scene. It offers a window into the ingenuity of one of blockchain’s most vibrant arts communities, together with a collection of tools and educational resources for artists looking for a stage on which they can shine.
With the launch of its Art Portal, Tezos’ art ecosystem has grown to encompass hundreds of talented artists, numerous NFT marketplaces and a diverse array of wallets and minting platforms. Meanwhile, Tezos itself has made arts and culture one of its top priorities. One of its most recent moves was the creation of a dedicated Arts Vertical team, made up of subject matter experts focused on supporting artists as they take their first tentative steps from Web2 to Web3.
Artists are drawn to Tezos due to its simplicity and its dedication to helping them succeed. With Tezos-based projects like AkaSwap, Objkt, and Teia, artists are welcomed to an online space where they can flesh out their ideas and collaborate to bring their creative visions to life. Those platforms are committed to helping to make things happen, with innovations that transform how artists can work together on projects and share royalties in a transparent way. It eliminates intermediaries, building greater trust between participants while ensuring full recognition for the most inspiring creative minds.
It’s still early doors in 2025, but much has happened on the Tezos art scene already. The year kicked off with the #OpenTez event on Objkt, where digital art collectors had the opportunity to snap up a dizzying array of creative assets across every possible genre. We also saw the return of the $Share4Tez event, which leveraged Objkt’s incentivized referral program to stir up another social media sharing frenzy. The top referrers were rewarded for their efforts with exclusive NFTs from the artist John Karel.
Tezos-based art made further headlines at the NFT Paris event in February, with the “Insilio: Inner Sanctuary” collection curated by @sutanz being one of the top attractions, followed by the popular “Paintboxed” live minting session.
There’s a lot to look forward to in the coming months, too. In June, the Tezoz-based Web3 community World of Women is set to host an immersive event at Lisbon’s Palacio do Grilo, showcasing some of the collective’s latest artistic expressions.
The 18th century palance is an ideal venue, long famed for its patronage of the arts and a rebellious history. Its grand corridors and ornate chambers will provide a stark backdrop for the WoW community’s avant-garde digital art installations, which represent a dramatic contrast to its baroque splendor.
The Brazilian DJ sensation Venga Venga and DJ P.H.I.L.O.U will lead the musical journey, while legendary WoW NFT holder NOANNE and Lisbon-based artist Anya will further enhance the auditory experience for visitors.
With so much momentum in the Tezos art scene, it’s little wonder that some of the most talented artists who first made their name on the network have gone on to achieve much wider recognition for their creative talents.
Last September, for instance, the artists Rodell Warner, Anna Malina, and Ceren Su Çelik, creators of some of the most popular collections on Tezos, were given the opportunity to exhibit their work at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City following a public vote. They were selected from a shortlist of 10 well-known Tezos artists to display their works at the Herbert S. Schlosser Media Wall at MoMI, in Astoria, New York City.
Driving Manchester United’s Web3 Revolution
Although the team is struggling this season, Manchester United FC remains one of the sporting world’s biggest cultural phenomena, with millions of loyal fans globally, and its partnership with Tezos has become their gateway to the world of Web3.
Tezos became Man United’s official Web3 and blockchain partner in 2022, and their ongoing collaboration has proven to be an incredible success, introducing thousands of football fans to the benefits of blockchain technology.
Building on the release of the club’s first digital collectibles and the launch of Tezos-branded training kits, Man United kicked off the 2024/25 season with new initiatives, including Player Trading Cards and the Fantasy United blockchain game.
The Player Trading Cards are an NFT collection that features all of the current first-team squad in Classic, Rare, and Ultra-Rare editions. Each of the cards was hand-drawn by a handful of select Tezos artists, and they’re dynamically updated with real-time stats as the season progresses.
GameFi on Tezos — Giving Value to Online Gaming
Fewer opportunities for blockchain are likely to be more lucrative than gaming, which generated global revenues of more than $280 billion last year, according to Statista. Video games have already eclipsed film and music as the most profitable segment in the entertainment industry, and blockchain can dramatically enhance the user experience.
By integrating video games with blockchain, it becomes possible for gamers to own assets such as their characters, weapons, prize money, and other in-game items, paving the way for them to get something back for the hours upon hours of time they invest in their favorite games.
It’s a tantalizing concept for gamers, and that explains why Tezos has been pushing hard to establish itself as a force within the blockchain gaming sector, launching the Tezos Gaming Portal to showcase its growing library of highly competitive and varied gaming titles.
For developers, the Tezos Gaming Portal serves as a primary resource for those looking to make the shift to blockchain, with a guide on how to build using the Tezos SDK, tutorials for specific gaming genres, and instructions on how to get to grips with the Unity-like Gaming Framework for Tezos.
For players, Tezos Gaming Portal highlights the most popular games on Tezos, including the hit multiplayer strategy game BattleTabs, the fast-paced “battle royale”-style PvP combat game Pikes Arena, and Dogami, a virtual companion game where users have to raise their digital furry friends and teach them some impressive tricks.
Stables Sets The Pace
By far and away the most successful Tezos-based game to date is Stables, a horse racing simulator where players take on the role of stable manager, tasked with training digital, NFT-based twins of real-world racehorses and competing in regular events.
Stables began life as a diversification initiative of the French horse racing betting company Pari Mutuel Urbain, but it saw such rapid growth that it was soon spun off as an independent game. Within two days, it had sold out its first collection of 6,666 NFTs linked to real-world horses, giving birth to a lively community of racehorse fans, where thousands of virtual races take place each week.
Having become one of the most popular blockchain games in Europe, Stables is now targeting North America through its recently announced partnership with the horse racing statistics provider Equibase.
The collaboration gives Stables the opportunity to mint thousands of new real-world U.S. racehorses, dramatically expanding its collection of NFTs ahead of the launch of new virtual racing events on North American tracks. It means U.S. horse racing fans will be able to experience their favorite pastime like never before, becoming an active participant in the races instead of just an enthusiastic observer.
The U.S. launch comes alongside the most significant upgrade for Stables so far, introducing its native token SPT and a decentralized governance model, plus a revamped league system that promises to add more strategic depth to the gameplay. Meanwhile, the new North American race tracks will feature their own unique terrains, distances, and weather conditions, enhancing the realism of each race.
With its update, Stables is on the verge of rapid expansion, providing further impetus for the Tezos gaming ecosystem and increasing its prominence as one of the most suitable blockchains for video game developers.
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