Ari Meilich

Co-founderFounder & CEO of Big Time Studios; Co-Founder of Decentraland

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About Ari Meilich

Ari Meilich (also known as Ariel Meilich) is the Founder and CEO of Big Time Studios and a Co-Founder of Decentraland, the decentralized virtual world platform on Ethereum. He co-founded Decentraland with Esteban Ordano, serving as its founding CEO before transitioning to an advisory role around 2020 as the project moved toward community governance via the Decentraland DAO.

After stepping back from day-to-day Decentraland operations, Meilich founded Big Time Studios in 2020, developing Big Time, a multiplayer action RPG with blockchain-based in-game assets and economy. Big Time Studios also created Open Loot, a marketplace and digital asset platform. These projects sit at the intersection of mainstream gaming and Web3 technology.

As of August 2026, Meilich continues to lead Big Time Studios as CEO, overseeing game development, the in-game economy, and the Open Loot marketplace. His Decentraland involvement is historical and advisory in nature — he does not hold a formal executive role in the Decentraland Foundation or DAO.

Projects Founded

Decentraland
Big Time Studios
Open Loot

Career Timeline

2015

Co-founded Decentraland with Esteban Ordano. The project began as an experiment in decentralized virtual world ownership on Ethereum.

2017

Decentraland conducted its ICO, raising approximately $26M. Meilich served as founding CEO, driving product and business strategy.

2020

Stepped back from day-to-day Decentraland leadership, transitioning to an advisory role as governance moved to the Decentraland DAO. Founded Big Time Studios the same year.

2021–2022

Big Time Studios developed and soft-launched the Big Time multiplayer RPG, raising funding from major crypto and gaming investors.

2023

Big Time game opened to public access; Open Loot marketplace launched as a standalone Web3 game economy platform.

2025–2026

Big Time Studios continued expanding the game, economy, and Open Loot platform infrastructure. Meilich remains Founder & CEO of Big Time Studios.

Key Contributions

Decentraland Co-Founding

Co-founded Decentraland with Esteban Ordano — one of the first Ethereum-based virtual worlds with user-owned land and governance via a DAO.

Big Time Studios

Founded Big Time Studios to develop a mainstream-quality multiplayer RPG with blockchain-native item ownership, bridging traditional and Web3 gaming.

Open Loot Platform

Co-created Open Loot, a Web3 game economy marketplace enabling custodial and non-custodial asset management for players across supported games.

Web3 Game Economy Design

Pioneered game economy models where in-game items exist as blockchain assets players genuinely own, independently of the game developer's continued operation.

Decentraland DAO Transition

Oversaw Decentraland's transition from a founder-led company to a community-governed DAO, establishing an early template for Web3 project decentralization.