Don't get me wrong: I want it to be good, but I don't think that's possible. Reason: lag. In a skill-based real time combat game, any kind of delayed responses while trying to control your character are incredibly annoying. But that's even more so when money is at stake!
You could gaming is globalized enough so you can just play with other people in your area. But that's not true. Centralized servers means data has to go through the company's servers first. Which means players near their area get a hude advantage against players from other countries.
Even if local servers were offered, gaming might be globalized but blockchain gaming isn't popular yet. Sure, everyone you know also enjoys crypto games. But you're thinking of people who already like crypto stuff. Not gamers in general.
The gameplay and graphics themselves are great, as you can see on the official trailer above. Let's hope somehow it doesn't go to waste. I'm sure you know how people are not inclined to learn about the technical geeky nerd stuff.
9Lives Arena runs on ETH. Pay gas for everything you do. A % of every transaction goes to the devs. The only way I can see this remotely having any success is if they implement an extremely accessible cashout interface.