Examining the news, the trends and the importance of being idle (or not) in the GameFi sector
Over the past year, GameFi has increased in popularity following the breakout of high-profile blockchain-based game Axie Infinity — causing gamers around the world to ask whether or not they can get paid to play games. With the opportunity that blockchain gaming brings, and the potential to earn while participating in the hobby, the crypto-gaming sector is poised to deliver a killer app that will dominate future market share.
The purpose of this article is to look at what users are playing right now, as well as the gameplay mechanics behind some of the top GameFi games on the market. The GameFi ecosystem is evolving at a rapid rate as games seek to innovate on their predecessors not only through gameplay but through how a player earns via in-game economies.
The disparity between user counts and volume
Monthly users for blockchain games are steadily rising, with the base currently at roughly 1 million users per month. In comparison, gamers worldwide, as of 2021, exceeded 3.2 billion.
Monthly volume, in recent months, has flattened out to around $25–$40 million per month. Again, for comparison, this is less than the daily volume for DOGE.
As a sector in the wider context of crypto, GameFi is taking up but a tiny percentage — and the obvious conclusion is that this area has massive growth potential.
This month, Splinterlands — a deck-building card game — reigns in terms of active users. It has been sitting atop the user list for quite some time.
Axie Infinity has dropped a large percentage of its users over the past 30 days, while Crazy Defense Heroes has almost doubled its users in the same time period.
In terms of volume, DeFi Kingdoms and Axie Infinity are both dominating with over $400 million in monthly volume. Pegaxy follows in the third spot, but the disparity in volume is stark.
StarSharks has made huge moves this month, with volume peaking at $2.1 million on March 6 — and the number of active users is also seeing steady growth.
It is clear that there is a disparity between users and volume. This is, in part, due to how each game’s economy works.
For example, in Splinterlands, the cost is basically $0 — provided you have an internet connection — to start playing and enjoying the game. Only past a certain level do players accrue the in-game currency, DEC. Most of the game’s features are open right from the start.
This is in contrast to DeFi Kingdoms, where — as the name suggests — decentralized finance forms the core of the game, in which players earn the in-game currency, JEWEL, by providing liquidity through a decentralized exchange or through staking.
The process of performing of these DeFi tasks — familiar to those already comfortable with DeFi mechanisms — may be rendered more enjoyable to some, as the process has been gamified.
These differences in gameplay characteristics clearly attract a different player base — and, as a lot of the DeFi-based mechanics revolve around the in-game currency, volume is driven up. Couple this with nonfungible-token “hero cards,” which can be used to earn more JEWEL for spending on attribute upgrades to farm even more in-game tokens, and you get a positive feedback loop increasing volumes.
Another interesting metric to consider is social volume.
We can see Axie Infinity dominating the social sphere, where people who are enjoying a game are more likely to regularly talk about it on social media. This is why Axie Infinity is consistently ranked highly in terms of volume and user uptake.
The rise of being idle
Because DeFi enjoyers are accustomed to passive income yield-farming and staking strategies, the idle game — usually a mix of DeFi and NFT mechanics — has become very prominent. DeFi Kingdoms brought this genre to the forefront and still holds the top spot. Naturally, other game projects have become inspired by this.
There is an idle game on almost every blockchain, as it is very easy for the DeFi and wider crypto crowds to come over to these games that are built on mechanics they are already familiar with. Currently, most games in the top 20 have some idle element to them.
Latest GameFi news
Axie Infinity makes game more mainstream-friendly
Axie Infinity is undergoing an overhaul to its game. Originally, users needed to purchase or rent three “Axies” in order to battle and earn SLP tokens. This created something of a barrier-to-entry and, now, the game is looking to involve more players by making starter Axies free. These starter Axies are not NFTs and players will not be able to earn SLP with them, but this gives new players a feel for the game so that they can decide if they want to make purchases of digital assets.
In the developers’ own words, they wanted to make the game “more approachable for a mainstream audience.”
DeFi Kingdoms expands with Crystalvale
Another leading game, DeFi Kingdoms, has also been upgraded after the Crystalvale expansion launched on March 30. With the backing of Avalanche, Crystalvale will launch on its own app-specific blockchain, or subnet. This is intended to scale the DeFi Kingdoms ecosystem by having only DFK token transactions posted to its blockchain. The JEWEL token will take on a new life by being used for gas fees. Players can also earn a new currency, CRYSTAL, by staking JEWEL and completing in-game activities.
Lava Labs raises $10 million for AFAR
A Far Away Realm, a promising blockchain game by Lava Labs (not to be confused with Larva Labs) has raised $10 million in seed funding to propel the game’s development. AFAR aims to be a game similar to Fall Guys, where 25 players battle in four-minute rounds in a multitude of minigames for a top spot on the leaderboard. A land sale will be conducted in Q2 2022.
Stepn launches governance token
Move-to-earn pioneer game Stepn has launched its governance token, GMT. Previously, users were able to earn the utility token GST for walking or running — with this launch, coming updates will allow players to also earn GMT. This new token will have its own unique utility, as will be outlined in the project’s white paper.
Yuga Labs unveils Otherside
After its acquisition of CryptoPunks and Meebits intellectual property rights from Larva Labs on March 11, Yuga Labs teased what seems to be a metaverse called Otherside, powered by its recently launched token ApeCoin.
C2X raises $25 million in funding round
In a press release, C2X announced it had raised an additional $25 million in a private token sale led by prominent investors FTX Ventures, Jump Crypto and Animoca Brands. The company, now valued at $500 million, aims to be a hub for games built on the Terra ecosystem — with 10 gaming titles set to be released over the course of 2022.
Aavegotchi launching Gotchiverse
Polygon blockchain game Aavegotchi, which is inspired from late-1990s handheld game Tamagotchi, is launching its own version of a metaverse: Gotchiverse. The alpha for this was released on March 31, when players were able to earn Alchemia tokens to craft an NFT, the Alchemical Alter.
The Gotchiverse aims to be somewhere players can explore, battle and socialize — all with their Aavegotchi NFT.
Ascenders combat demo launches
Another game looking to take advantage of the upcoming hype for Avalanche blockchain gaming is Ascenders. This game is more of what you would expect, graphically and gameplay-wise, of a traditional AAA game. It is set to be an action role-playing game. Players can get their swords dirty by participating in the combat demo, where the top 100 in the leaderboard will be rewarded.
GameStop NFT Marketplace launching on Loopring
Loopring has announced that the GameStop NFT Marketplace will be launching on its Layer-2 solution for Ethereum. However, this has caused some confusion as to the role of Immutable. LRC spiked 45% in value on the day of the announcement.
HSBC enters the metaverse
Banking giant HSBC has made a move into the metaverse space by acquiring LAND in The Sandbox. It is not yet fully known what its plans are — but, in the press release, there looks to be an image of a stadium, as well as the article suggesting that HSBC wants there to be opportunities for people from sports communities to come and enjoy The Sandbox.
What to watch out for in GameFi in April
Ragnarok Meta
Ragnarok is a browser-based RPG that currently has only a demo of the game available. It will have its first NFT sale in April — giving users the chance to purchase a genesis character. These characters will have breeding utility in April as the in-game marketplace is launched.
BattleFly
The Arbitrum-based game BattleFly launched its NFT collection this month, with users able to stake their NFTs on the website to reveal its traits. In April, players will enter the “Hyperdrome” — where these battleflies will do battle.
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Source: https://www.okx.com/academy/en/april-showers-defi-farmers-with-abundance-of-p2e-titles-gamefi-gazette/