‍Project O is a new trading card game (TCG) from Koin Games, developed quietly over the past two years by a small, focused team that’s since grown to 34 people strong. At the helm is CEO Timothy Jooste, a South African-born entrepreneur with a $3+ billion background in tech sales. He’s joined by Kevin Lambert, a veteran game developer with nearly three decades of experience, including co-founding Microsoft’s Casual Games division.

Rather than chase web3’s token trends, the team set out to build a competitive strategy game that could stand alongside the best of traditional titles, using blockchain only where it genuinely improves the player experience.

Set to launch later this year on mobile and PC, Project O reimagines public domain characters like Winnie-the-Pooh and Robin Hood in fast-paced, collectible card battles. Matches last seven to nine minutes and are designed to be both strategic and fun to watch.

In this Q&A, we speak with Jooste, Lambert, and Alex Horvath, Koin’s head of marketing and web3 strategy, to unpack how the team scrapped their first game, rebuilt from scratch, and ended up designing what they hope will become the first true digital trading card economy.

‍Note: This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

OpenSea: Before Project O became a polished card game with a growing player base, it started as a scrappy experiment built by a handful of believers. What did those early days actually look like—and how did a veteran game developer and a web3-curious tech salesman find common ground?

Timothy Jooste: I’d spent almost two decades building large-scale sales organizations. I started in direct sales at Verizon, became the top producer in the nation, and eventually built a 600-person team at Vivint that generated over $3 billion in revenue. But I’d always loved games. Around 2021, when people started launching NFT projects and games, Kevin reached out asking if I was building a game team. We launched the NFT shortly after and it sold out in a few minutes. At the time, I didn’t have a single person from a game studio on the payroll—just a creative director, a couple of artists, a blockchain engineer, and a frontend/backend developer. That was it. I was doing the marketing, pitching in the Discord myself. My brother and some friends helped mod.

Kevin Lambert: I’ve been making games for nearly 30 years and found my purpose early, that place where passion, skill, market need, and income align. At Microsoft, I co-founded the Casual Games Studio and worked on titles like Solitaire and Minesweeper, which reached billions and earned nine figures. I could’ve stayed, but in 2017 I got obsessed with what blockchain could unlock for games, beyond speculation and instead creating new kinds of experiences. The problem? No one in traditional games wanted to touch blockchain. And studios like the one I envisioned didn’t exist yet.

OpenSea: I came into web3 through personal finance writing, and as a writer, I immediately saw blockchain’s potential for use cases like IP protection, crowdsourcing, and transparency. But I was surprised by how polarizing the concept was—because to me, the value of blockchain was so clear.

Kevin Lambert:  Gamers rejected blockchain early on because tech and finance came first—devs showed off the tech, then finance folks pushed monetization and play-to-earn. Gamers, who’ve played for decades with no expectation of profit, saw it as a sellout. There was also a lot of grift. I wanted to build great experiences, but in 2021, every founder I met was pitching NFTs without a product-first mindset. They felt like finance bros hedging bets. Then I met Tim. His pitch was refreshingly honest: “We don’t have it yet. We’ll build it together—with the community.” It wasn’t hype. It was real. That’s when I knew we could make something great.

OpenSea: Thanks for that context. And Alex, how did you join the fold? 

Alex Horvath: I’m not a founder, more of a support role. I’ve been in web3 for years and came from building two successful startups outside of gaming. I met Tim in Neo Tokyo. We stayed friends for about three years. When I played the first prototype in December 2023, I saw the magic and joined officially. My role is marketing, web3 strategy, and business development.

OpenSea:  What a great lifecycle—from fan to player to team member. Now, for someone new to Koin Games, what is Project O, and how does it differ from trading card games that came before?

Kevin Lambert: We set out to build a game that could stand alongside the best in traditional gaming—with ownership layered in where it adds value. Our goal wasn’t to make the best web3 game, but to create a top-tier TCG that just happens to use blockchain.

We first tried an autobattler: mobile-friendly, simple to learn, challenging to master. But after a year, we knew it wasn’t clicking—especially for spectators. It played well, but wasn’t fun to watch.

So we pivoted to a trading card game. TCGs are a natural fit for ownership and easier to follow visually. We added simultaneous turns, bold visuals, and viewer-focused features to create something fast, strategic, and fun to watch—a true digital TCG built for both players and fans.

OpenSea: That tracks—I’ve reported on web3 for years now, and TCGs always felt like the most obvious format to connect collectors with gameplay. But I’m curious—why did you start with autobattlers? And is blockchain inherently better for some game formats than others?

Timothy Jooste: Autobattlers made sense for us at the time. Mid-core mobile games were trending, and we saw a gap: players in their 30s still want competitive, thoughtful experiences—just not ones that demand twitch reflexes. Plus, emerging markets are increasingly mobile-first. After we scrapped the autobattler, we went through a "creative desert" for four months, exploring everything from RAID clones to four-square games. But we kept coming back to our core goal: a strategic, mobile-first, competitive game with collectible depth. Eventually we say TCGs as the best possible match for blockchain. Physical cards have always been tradable. We just brought that magic online.

Kevin Lambert: We believed from day one: if blockchain isn’t adding something unique, it doesn’t belong. Tim calls this principle "blockchain only where it’s necessary." Yes, ownership lets you resell items. But that’s not the most exciting part. Ownership can enable experiences you can’t have in traditional games.

OpenSea: Like what? Any fun ideas from the community?

Kevin Lambert: The most exciting ideas came from creating virtual collector experiences that only make sense when you truly own something digitally. Like wagering a card in battle—a feature suggested by our early community. Or recording match highlights directly onto a card, which turns it into a living memory. Years later, you can revisit those plays in full HD. It’s like a physical collectible with a backstory, except in digital, you don’t just tell the story—you can show it.

OpenSea: That is wild and so fun to think about. And the shift to mobile-first makes sense. Has anyone nailed a truly native mobile TCG yet?

Timothy Jooste: Not really. Marvel Snap is the closest, but it went too casual for hardcore TCG fans. Magic players, for instance, don’t feel fully at home there.

We saw a gap. No one’s built a true mobile-native TCG with competitive depth. That’s our opportunity. Our plan has always been: build a world-class web2 game first, then let web2 players discover the value of ownership organically.

OpenSea: Smart. So when web2 players do encounter the blockchain features, how do you avoid the backlash?

Kevin Lambert: We’re taking a two-pronged approach. First, the blockchain parts are invisible and frictionless. For example, when you "grade" a digital card (like you would in physical TCGs), it’s placed on-chain automatically. Most players won’t even realize it’s web3. Second, we validate the skepticism. We agree: there was too much grift, too many "trust us bro" projects. We’re here to show a better way.

Alex Horvath: And beyond that, we're building a truly collectible, creator-driven ecosystem. Players will eventually be able to pitch, test, and co-create cards using a Reddit-style upvoting system. If the community loves it, it might make it into the game.

Timothy Jooste: That user-generated content will roll out after the core launch. Our roadmap follows the Fortnite model: stabilize, scale, then open up creative tools for players to use. The first phase will include a card creator sandbox with AI opponents—great for building and testing decks.

Kevin Lambert: Commander mode in Magic, for instance, was community-created. We want to embrace that kind of creativity from day one. Why not equip players with the same tools we use?

OpenSea: Let’s talk about your rollout. When did you officially launch in web3?

Timothy Jooste: Our first NFT collection—the Dev Squad—launched in 2021. It was less about gameplay and more about building a community. We’ve been heads-down ever since. The main asset tied to the game is called a Blueprint. It combines Magic-style card collecting, Pudgy Penguin-style IP ownership, and economic functionality. Blueprints are 1-of-100 limited editions that offer partial IP rights, gameplay rewards, and revenue share on certain actions.

OpenSea: When can players get their hands on them?

Timothy Jooste: We’re in private presale now, only to accredited investors and non-U.S. participants. These will become the ultimate chase items players can win or unlock in-game over the next five years.

OpenSea: And the game itself? When will it launch?

Timothy Jooste: Soft launch begins in December in select regions. Global rollout likely in mid-2026. We’re in closed testing now with our community.

Kevin Lambert: It’s a typical games-as-a-service rollout—alpha, beta, soft launch, then full launch. We're building with our players the whole way.

OpenSea: One last thing: your IP. Is Red Riding Hood really in the game? How does copyright work with a piece of artwork from the public domain?

Timothy Jooste: Oh yes. We built our own universe, the World of Origins, using public domain myths and legends. We reinvent these characters from scratch. For instance, Winnie-the-Pooh. He’s still jolly and nap-loving, but he’s also the cage-fighting champ of our world.

Alex Horvath: Our IP blends Western and global mythologies—including legends from China, Japan, the Middle East, and beyond.

OpenSea: Are you exploring any collaborations with existing IP, or is Project O designed to live entirely within its own universe?

Timothy Jooste: We’re building our own original IP, but we’re huge fans of brands like Pudgy Penguins—Luca and that team have done amazing work. Still, our focus is web2 gamers, so our first partnerships will likely be with traditional IP holders. We’re already in early talks with a few, especially in anime. Many anime franchises don’t have their own card games yet, and since our lore draws from global myths, they fit naturally into our world. Outside the West, where Snap dominates, there’s still no clear leader in mobile-native competitive TCGs. That’s a major opportunity—especially if we build strong partnerships in the APAC region.

OpenSea: You mentioned earlier that you’ve been testing the game with your community. What’s been the response so far?

Kevin Lambert: At Game Developers Conference, we ran a live tournament using our pre-alpha demo build—it was actually the first time anyone outside the team got to play the game. We built a couple of starter decks, let players dive in, and streamed the whole thing on OpenSea with live casters explaining the gameplay as it unfolded.

It was intense in the best way. You could really feel people getting pulled in by the strategy and pacing, even in that early version. It gave us confidence that we’re on the right track, and it’s helped us refine some of the mechanics as we prep for launch.

OpenSea: I love it. If I want to start training and becoming competitive now, how do I get involved?

Timothy Jooste: Join the Discord. That’s the best way to plug in.

Kevin Lambert: And visit our X page for updates. But the Discord’s where the real action is.

OpenSea: Last question. In 10 years, Koin Games will be the studio that...

Timothy Jooste: ...proved web3 could enhance games web2 players actually love. We’ll be known for reintroducing true collectibility to digital TCGs. Or as someone once said: we put the “T” back in TCG.

OpenSea: I love it. Thanks so much. Can’t wait to see what you build.

Timothy Jooste: Thank you for your time, Megan. See ya.