Rebel Bots: Xoil Wars Season 2 — the second season of the open beta for the Rebel Bots strategic Web3 game, launched on August 14, 2023. Xoil Wars combines turn-based card battles, Fighting Bots progression, a ranking system, and blockchain assets within the Polygon ecosystem. During the second season, the developers focused on improving game client stability, fixing technical issues, and enhancing PvP synchronization while preserving the progress and resources earned by participants during the first season. Players who achieved high leaderboard positions could receive a share of the 25,000 RBLS prize pool along with additional loot crate rewards.
Contents:
- Rebel Bots: Xoil Wars Season 2 — Season Features
- Fighting Bots and the Card-Based Combat System
- Polygon, NFTs, and the Rebel Bots Blockchain Economy
- RBLS, XOIL, and Xoil Wars In-Game Resources
- Rebel Bots Development After Xoil War Season 2
1. Rebel Bots: Xoil Wars Season 2 — Season Features
Xoil Wars is a strategy game centered on conflicts between robots on the planet Xoilium. The project was developed as the first major game in the Rebel Bots universe, with support for PC and mobile devices. Its core gameplay revolves around PvP battles, where the outcome depends on the composition of the Fighting Bots team, the cards used, unit characteristics, and the player's decisions during combat.
The Xoil Wars open beta began in spring 2023. Around 3,000 participants registered for the first season, and by June the developers reported more than 4,000 registrations for the beta program. The first season allowed the team to collect data on performance, matchmaking, balance, and player behavior before further expanding the game.
Season 2 officially launched on August 14, 2023, following delays related to resolving technical issues. Rather than radically redesigning the concept, the main objective of this stage was to improve stability. The team specifically highlighted fixes for lag and synchronization issues that affected PvP matches. Participants retained the Fighting Bots and resources they had obtained during the first season.
The season also continued the competitive model. Players climbed the rankings, while the prize pool totaled 25,000 RBLS. Additional loot crates related to Fighting Bots progression were also distributed. As a result, Season 2 served two purposes at the same time: it functioned as a competitive gaming event while remaining part of the open testing process ahead of future Xoil Wars versions.
2. Fighting Bots and the Card-Based Combat System
The core mechanics of Xoil Wars are built around turn-based card battles. Players assemble a squad of Fighting Bots and use Battle Cards to perform attacks and apply various effects. The developers designed the system to be relatively easy to understand while still requiring strategic decisions, combining elements of collectible card games with automated combat mechanics.
Fighting Bots serve as the primary combat units. Their configurations and selected cards determine the tactical options available to players. Bot-O-Matic allows users to experiment with builds and test new combinations, while Barracks is used to manage the team's lineup. The open beta also included MMR, trophies, leagues, and an overall player ranking system.
Key elements of Xoil Wars gameplay:
- Fighting Bots — robots used to assemble a player's combat squad.
- Battle Cards — cards representing attacks, abilities, and other actions during battles.
- Kingdom Cards — additional cards connected to the Kingdom system.
- Buffs and Debuffs — positive and negative effects that modify combat characteristics.
- Bot-O-Matic — a tool for creating and testing different Fighting Bots configurations.
- Barracks — an interface for managing the combat lineup.
- MMR and Leaderboards — a ranking system that determines players' positions during the season.
Within the broader Xoil Wars concept, the developers planned not only PvP but also Adventure and PvE mechanics. However, these features were introduced gradually. In a roadmap published later, the team specifically listed PvE Mode and Daily Challenges among the features whose introduction would depend on the stability of the in-game economy. For this reason, the functionality available in a particular beta version should not be confused with the complete feature set described in earlier whitepapers.
3. Polygon, NFTs, and the Rebel Bots Blockchain Economy
The original Web3 infrastructure of Xoil Wars was built on Polygon. The choice of network made it possible to use NFTs and gaming tokens with relatively low transaction fees. During closed testing in 2022, the game operated on the Polygon testnet, while in 2023 the team prepared Xoil Wars for a transition to a Polygon mainnet version.
Blockchain assets in the early model included Rebel Bots, Fighting Bots, virtual land, and other items. NFTs made it possible to verify ownership of specific assets outside the game's conventional server database and potentially transfer them between users. The project also developed a marketplace, rental mechanics, and tools for managing guilds.
| Element | Function | Role in Xoil Wars |
|---|---|---|
| Fighting Bots | Combat robots | Building teams for battles |
| Battle Cards | Gameplay actions | Attacks, abilities, and tactics |
| Land | Virtual territory | Part of the Kingdom economy |
| RBLS | Utility and governance token | Rewards and ecosystem functions |
| XOIL | In-game resource | Part of the Xoil Wars internal economy |
| Polygon | Blockchain infrastructure | Tokens and original NFT assets |
Blockchain does not determine the outcome of the battles themselves. The combat system remains part of the game's internal logic, while Web3 technology is primarily applied to digital asset ownership, the economy, and rewards. This approach allowed the developers to separate fast-paced gameplay from operations that actually require ownership rights to be recorded onchain.
4. RBLS, XOIL, and Xoil Wars In-Game Resources
RBLS became the primary cryptoasset of the original ecosystem and was issued on Polygon. Its maximum supply was set at 300 million tokens. RBLS was positioned as the utility and governance asset of the Rebel Bots ecosystem and was used for rewards, competitions, and various operations associated with the development of the game.
RBLS was also used for the Season 2 prize pool. Participants competed for a share of 25,000 RBLS, with the reward model tied to rankings and performance rather than simply participating in the game. The Rebel Bots whitepaper had previously described several types of leaderboards, including global player rankings and competitions between Kingdoms.
XOIL was another component of the economy — an in-game resource closely connected to the world of Xoilium. Early documentation described it as an important part of the play-and-earn economy. However, in June 2023, the developers explicitly stated that the launch of XOIL was being postponed to reduce the risks of speculation and manipulation until a fully functional in-game economy was ready.
It is also important to distinguish the historical RBLS token from Rebel Bots Studio's later strategy. In October 2024, the studio launched RBAX on Arbitrum with a maximum supply of 1 billion tokens and began positioning it as an asset for several of its games. At the same time, the NFT infrastructure of the studio's newer products started using Immutable zkEVM. RBLS and Polygon therefore primarily belong to the original Xoil Wars architecture, while the broader Rebel Bots ecosystem subsequently adopted a different blockchain model.
5. Rebel Bots Development After Xoil War Season 2
The history of Season 2 demonstrates that Xoil Wars went through an extended testing cycle. Following the initial beta versions, the developers repeatedly adjusted timelines, addressed matchmaking and synchronization issues, and revised the order in which economic features would be introduced. In October 2023, the team published a new roadmap stating that the Polygon mainnet beta was expected to include PvP, rewards, more than 300 Battle Cards, buffs, debuffs, and global leaderboards.
The project received significant backing during its early development. In March 2022, Rebel Bots announced a $2 million private token sale involving Animoca Brands, Ubisoft, Overwolf, and other investors. Polygon Studios was also listed among the project's partners. The funding and partnerships helped establish the project's infrastructure, although subsequent Xoil Wars delays demonstrate that backing from established investors does not itself guarantee that an initial roadmap will be completed according to schedule.
By 2024–2026, Rebel Bots Studio's strategy had expanded beyond Xoil Wars alone. The studio shifted toward RBAX as a shared token for its games and developed additional products, including Epic War. On Rebel Bots' more recent resources, Epic War has taken a more prominent position, while Xoil Wars remains an important part of the studio's earlier history. Season 2 is therefore more accurately viewed as a historical stage of the 2023 open beta rather than as a new season launched in 2026.
Rebel Bots: Xoil Wars Season 2 demonstrated a model characteristic of early GameFi projects: traditional competitive gameplay combined with NFTs, tokenized rewards, and a digital ownership economy. The season's main role was to test PvP, rankings, Fighting Bots, and the technical infrastructure with real users. The subsequent evolution of Rebel Bots also reflects a broader trend in Web3 gaming — a shift away from tightly linking a single game to one play-to-earn token and toward building a broader gaming ecosystem.
