The crypto project Pixelmon, once labeled as "the worst NFT project in history," is turning to the concept of fractional non-fungible tokens (NFTs), aiming for its grand comeback. First launched in February 2021, Pixelmon quickly became notorious for all the wrong reasons, as explained by the project's current CEO, Julio Xiloyannis.

The project, initiated by a 19-year-old developer with the promise of creating a Pokémon-style game where players could collect, trade, train, and battle with monsters named Pixelmon, became the butt of jokes in the crypto community after it raised $70 million in Ether and then unveiled 68 "questionable" NFT characters, including "Kevin" - a clumsy character that became the symbol of the project's failure.

Xiloyannis took over the project in May 2022 and realized that to revive it, a complete overhaul of all illustrations was necessary. The only NFT that remained unchanged was Kevin, symbolizing the resilience of cryptocurrency and the notion that nothing ever truly dies in the blockchain.

To breathe life back into Pixelmon, Xiloyannis introduces the concept of fractional ownership of NFT intellectual property, allowing NFT owners to receive royalties whenever their monster's image is used outside the game. This is akin to earning royalties from Pikachu merchandise if Nintendo had released Pikachu NFTs in the 90s. Unlike other blockchain games that use NFTs for limited access, Pixelmon will be entirely free, which Xiloyannis believes is key to widespread adoption of blockchain games.

However, there are risks associated with fractional ownership of intellectual property, including potential uncertainty about which character will become popular and how it will affect NFT owners. Xiloyannis also points out business risks associated with Pixelmon's decentralized governance model, where the community of owners makes licensing decisions through voting, which could lead to unexpected outcomes.