249: Building Web3’s First Gaming Franchise: Frank Cheng on Apeiron, DoodiPals & Beyond

Frank Cheng, founder of Apeiron and DoodiPals, joins Sam to unpack four years of building in Web3 gaming. From raising three funding rounds to building an entire gaming franchise, Frank shares practical lessons on tokenomics, community building, and how to retain real players. Learn why most Web3 games fail and how to fix them, what role AI will play, and why "fun" is the best utility of all. Key Timestamps [00:00:00] Introduction: Sam introduces Frank Cheng from Apeiron and DoodiPals. [00:01:00] Frank’s Background: From private equity to gaming founder. [00:03:00] Fundraising Journey: Raising 3 rounds and migrating to Ronin. [00:05:00] Web3 vs. eSports: Monetization struggles and similarities. [00:09:00] Tokenomics: Apeiron’s dual-token model and real utility. [00:11:00] Mobile Strategy: Expansion across SEA and Latin America. [00:13:00] Retention: DAU strategies, off-season drops, and incentives. [00:15:00] Community: How Frank built lasting connections on Discord. [00:18:00] Duty Pals: The IP and content strategy behind the Apeiron universe. [00:20:00] Future Trends: Web3 onboarding friction and AI’s potential. [00:23:00] Generative AI: Challenges, copyright, and training game agents. [00:28:00] Roadmap 2025: Memes with fundamentals, new token layers. [00:30:00] Inspirations: What Axie Infinity and Big Time get right. [00:32:00] Evolving Tokenomics: Why vesting by usage beats time-based unlocks. [00:35:00] Founder Reflections: What Frank would do differently. [00:38:00] Final Ask: Looking for investors, talent, and community partners. Connect https://apeironnft.com/ https://x.com/ApeironNFT https://www.doodipals.com/ https://x.com/DoodiPals https://x.com/FrankTCheng https://www.linkedin.com/in/franktcheng/ Disclaimer Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. Finally, it would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend. Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/