gamefi

How the crypto bull run can impact Web3 gaming beyond play-to-earn

Web3 gaming has remained unfazed by the bear season. But how does the expected bull run impact interest in blockchain-based games?

On-chain data tracker DappRadar recently reported that another $600 million was poured into Web3 gaming projects in Q3 2023, making the total investments surpass $2.3 billion in the year so far. 

Another report from the blockchain gaming community, Game7, indicates a stabilization in Web3 gaming despite the market correction.

The interest in Web3 gaming — a general term used to describe the ecosystem housing blockchain-based video games — is clear and remains unfazed by the so-called “crypto winter.”

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NFT.NYC: Play-to-Earn is not dead, but game publishers are looking for alternatives

The Cointelegraph team was on the ground in New York to bring exclusive insights from the NFT event.

The play-to-earn (P2E) business model may not be dead, but game publishers and developers are exploring alternatives to replace it, according to a panel at the NFT.NYC 2023. The Cointelegraph team was on the ground in New York to bring exclusive insights from the NFT event. 

According to the CEO of gaming platform OP Games, Chase Freo, companies that branded themselves as P2E are shifting their strategy amid the crypto prices downturn. “It’s a model that is not sustainable at all,” he noted, citing Axie Infinity’s shift in some of its flagship titles as an example.

From left: Chase Freo, Minoru Yanai, Paul Flanagan and Paul-David Oosthuizen at the NFT.NYC 2023. Source: Cointelegraph

Minoru Yanai from Minto, a Japanese manga and anime design company, said that game companies are now “looking at play and fun, and sometimes earn or swap,” adding that players can still earn tokens and rewards, but publishers and developers are more focused on being sustainable and flexible.

Also speaking at the panel, Paul Flanagan, head of business development at Estonian mobile game developer CM Games, claimed the core problem with P2E models is that it is a “zero-sum.“ “As we all know, most of them are Ponzi schemes, so if you are putting branding sponsorship as a source of money, that might work, but we still need to see that happening,” he said.

Related: Play-to-Earn vs. Move-to-Earn explained

Alternatives flourishing in the industry include marketplaces and partnerships that allow players to return tokens to the game ecosystem instead of playing and liquidating them, the panelists noted. “More companies right now are trying to make sure that the game has a really good core loop that enables these players to put back whatever they earn into the game. That’s very challenging […]. I don’t think play-to-earn is ever going to come back, but there will be variations of how it’s going to look like in the future,” stated Freo.

Speakers on the panel also highlighted that the Web3 gaming industry is seeing more tangible products on the market following years of development. In East Asia, a better regulatory environment allows Web3 gaming companies to raise more funds and seek alternative business models and solutions to improve players’ experience.

Magazine: Why join a blockchain gaming guild? Fun, profit and create better games

Gaming and Web3 outlook, what’s available on the market? Report

Blockchain gaming is moving fast, are you up-to-speed? Cointelegraph Research’s latest report reviews 20 games of today, and a few to be looking out for tomorrow.

Where gaming and finance meet in Web3 has been termed GameFi, and it has been growing by leaps and bounds over the past few years. There are even several data analytical resources to try and figure out what are the hottest blockchain and Web3 games currently available. Cointelegraph Research dove into this topic head on and developed a top 20 games report.

The report goes over some of the differences between Web2 and Web3 gaming and some of the evolution in GameFi. Discussing play-to-earn and play-to-own, as well as providing some “insider insights” from C-suite executives in the industry, this report gives an overview of the current status of GameFi and potentially where it is moving to next.

Download this report on the Cointelegraph Research Terminal.

In addition to an overview of 20 games, there is also a section on some of the most anticipated games set to be released shortly. This report is equally fit for a casual crypto investor who wants to keep informed on different trends in the industry all the way to anyone looking to find out what Web3 game they will try out next.

GameFi combines blockchain, protocols, devs, investors and users

Web3 gaming goes far beyond a studio creating an engaging story slapped together with some cool-looking graphics. As opposed to Web2 or “traditional gaming,” which uses a gaming engine like Unreal Engine for example, the incorporation of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) makes owning a piece of the game and giving players control over the platform a reality. The use and tokenization of different cryptographic protocols also enable a greater ability to invest in the ecosystem of a particular game, like Axie Infinity.

Source: Cointelegraph Research “Top 20 Blockchain Games Report”

The Cointelegraph Research team

Cointelegraph’s Research department comprises some of the best talents in the blockchain industry. Bringing together academic rigor and filtered through practical, hard-won experience, the researchers on the team are committed to bringing the most accurate, insightful content available on the market.

Michael Tabone is the deputy director of research at Cointelegraph. The research team consists of subject matter experts from across the fields of finance, economics and technology to bring to the market the premier source for industry reports and insightful analysis. The team utilizes APIs from a variety of sources in order to provide accurate, useful information and analyses.

With decades of combined experience in traditional finance, business, engineering, technology and research, the Cointelegraph Research team is perfectly positioned to put its combined talents to proper use with the “Top 20 Games Report 2023.”

The opinions expressed in the article are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security or investment product.

Sony eyes NFT transfers across multiple game platforms, reveals patent

Sony’s NFT framework aims to integrate NFTs into gameplay, with the technology representing skins and other popular in-game functionalities.

Sony Interactive Entertainment, the video game goliath running the PlayStation brand, filed a patent for a framework allowing users to transfer and utilize nonfungible tokens (NFTs) across multiple game platforms. 

Over several years, Sony’s interest in crypto has been evidenced by numerous partnerships and trademark registrations. Adding to this list, Sony filed a patent titled “NFT framework for transferring and using digital assets between game platforms.”

Snippet of Sony’s NFT framework patent filing. Source: patentscope.wipo.int

Sony’s NFT framework aims to integrate NFTs into gameplay, wherein the technology can represent skins and other popular in-game functionalities. Summarizing the patent, the abstract explained the intended features:

“Responsive to the determination, the NFT is provided to the first end-user entity so that the digital asset may be used, via the NFT, across plural different computer simulations and/or across plural different computer simulation platforms.”

Moreover, it added that the NFT’s ownership could be transferred to other end-user entities for their own use across different simulations and platforms. The below diagrams detail Sony’s intended use of NFTs in gameplay.

Drawing depicting the workflow of Sony’s NFT framework. Source: patentscope.wipo.int

Once implemented, PlayStation 5 users will be able to experience NFT use cases via mainstream gaming titles. As of December 2022, the total number of active users on the PlayStation Network worldwide was 112 million, which continues to grow year-on-year.

Related: Theta Labs to help Sony launch 3D NFTs compatible with Spatial Reality Display

To understand what goes behind creating successful games, Cointelegraph recently interviewed former Age of Empires producer Peter Bergstrom.

“There are no black-and-white answers in game design,” Bergstrom said while highlighting that GameFi is about adding a new dimension of compelling gameplay to Web2 games.

According to him, gamers don’t care about the technology behind a good game. As a result, crypto entrepreneurs must incorporate “blockchain, NFTs, play and earn, AI [artificial intelligence], G5, or whatever to make a better game, and gamers will buy.”

Magazine: Justin Sun vs. SEC, Do Kwon arrested, 180M player game taps Polygon: Asia Express

Animoca Brands cuts metaverse fund target to $800M: Report

The company announced in November 2022 that it was working on a new Animoca Capital fund with a target of $2 billion but then halved that target in January 2023.

Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands, a developer of blockchain gaming technology, has reportedly cut its target for its metaverse fund by a further 20% to $800 million, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The blockchain gaming technology company reportedly scaled back on its billion-dollar goal due to volatility in the crypto sector. The company had previously announced in November 2022 that it was working on a new Animoca Capital fund with a target of $2 billion but then halved that target to $1 billion in January 2023. 

In recent developments, people familiar with the matter shared that the company had once again reduced its target by another 20% to $800 million. Reuters shared that its sources preferred not to be named, as they had not been authorized to speak to the media.

Two sources reportedly disclosed to Reuters that Animoca’s market capitalization, which was previously valued at roughly $6 billion following a Temasek-led financing round in July 2022, has fallen to below $2 billion, with its shares trading at a considerably lower valuation in secondary markets.

The decreased fundraising target and declining valuation signal a change in sentiment on the crypto industry, as excitement around such technologies has dwindled following scandals ranging from the collapse of FTX to the bankruptcy of several crypto lenders. 

Related: GameFi needs a wider choice of products to take off, says Animoca Brands CEO

In 2022, Animoca Brand was named the most funded metaverse developer by Nasdaq, with Animoca having the most metaverse deals in 2022, closing 15 deals and receiving over $564 million in funding. 

Animoca, as a prominent player in the metaverse industry, holds a majority stake in The Sandbox, a leading metaverse platform. Apart from this investment, the company has actively participated in developing nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and GameFi. According to Yat Siu, one of Animoca’s co-founders, GameFi is expected to become one of the main gateways for the general public to access the metaverse.

CCP Games secures $40M funding for upcoming Web3 game

The financing was led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Makers Fund, Bitkraft, Kingsway Capital and Hashed, among others.

Independent game developer CCP Games, known for its multiplayer online game Eve Online, has announced that it has secured $40 million in financing from external partners to develop a new AAA title set in the Eve universe. 

The financing was spearheaded by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Makers Fund, Bitkraft, Kingsway Capital, Hashed, Nexon and other investors.

According to CCP Games, the upcoming project will rely on blockchain technology and smart contracts to develop core game systems, prioritizing persistence and composability, and enabling open third-party development to connect players and virtual worlds. CCP Games aims to create a new relationship between virtual worlds and players by developing a game with a deeper level of player autonomy and agency. The developer believes blockchain technology will aid in that objective

Founded in 1997, CCP Games is headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland and has additional studios in London and Shanghai.

Related: What are Web3 games, and how do they work?

Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z, is a leading venture capital firm that lost billions in the crypto industry in 2022. Despite suffering losses, a16z said it remained committed to investing in the crypto market and the Web3 vision of the internet. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal on Oct. 26, a16z general partner Chris Dixon said the crypto market downturn represented an opportunity to continue supporting crypto entrepreneurs and that the sector has a long-term horizon for growth.

On Jan 17, Carry1st, a mobile games publisher in Africa, raised $27 million in a funding round that saw participation from Andreessen Horowitz. The funding will be used to advance its publishing and digital content creation platform, as the backers believe that the African continent is ripe for Web3 adoption. 

DAO Maker founder builds game based on abandoned Logan Paul project in just 30 days

“Degen Zoo” has seen more than 115,000 wallets register to join the game, pledging over $700 million.

Degen Zoo, an NFT game inspired by YouTuber Logan Paul’s controversial Crypto Zoo concept, has seen more than 115,000 wallets register to join the game, with pledges of over $700 million. DAO Maker founder Christoph Zaknun took on the challenge of building his variant of the shelved zoo-themed game in just 30 days.

In August 2021, Logan Paul announced a project called Crypto Zoo, which involved buying nonfungible token eggs that would supposedly hatch into animals, allowing owners to earn passive income through zoo tokens. The project reportedly raised over $3 million in NFT sales and tens of millions in zoo tokens. However, the project failed to deliver as promised, leaving many participants feeling that they had been rug pulled by the influencer.

Inspired by Paul’s Crypto Zoo game, which critics have called a “scam,” Christoph Zaknun’s “Degen Zoo” game simulates the impact of capitalism on animal extinction, featuring a deflationary token and an NFT collection of 120 endangered species. Players are motivated to “kill” their NFT, driving the collection to extinction and raising awareness of the devastating effects of human greed on wildlife. Zaknun has pledged to donate all profits from Degen Zoo to charity.

Zaknun’s decision to broadcast daily updates of his progress has garnered interest from over 250,000 people, with more than 30,000 testnet transactions initiated by 3,000 players within days of the first testnet release.

Logan Paul reportedly released a video stating that Christoph Zaknun had no right to dictate the required development timeline, following criticisms that Paul had done nothing for a year after raising funds for his own Crypto Zoo project.

Two months ago, self-proclaimed “internet detective exposing scams” Coffeezilla published a series of exposés investigating and exposing Logan Paul’s NFT project that never was. 

In the YouTube videos, investors in the game claimed to have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. After Coffeezilla’s video was released, Logan Paul threatened to sue Coffeezilla for defamation after he accused Paul’s CryptoZoo nonfungible token  project of being a “scam.” However, shortly after, Paul deleted his response video aimed at Coffeezilla, apologized and promised to drop his threats of filing a defamation lawsuit over the videos, saying: 

“It was rash and misaligned with the trust issue at hand, so I called him today and apologized.”

Related: YouTuber baits MMA fighter to promote fake NFTs: Nifty Newsletter, Feb. 1–7

As Cointelegraph reported on Feb. 3, Logan Paul and CryptoZoo were hit with a lawsuit last month alleging the YouTube influencer’s “fraudulent venture” executed a “rug pull.”

The class-action lawsuit accuses Paul and Crypto Zoo executives of stealing millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency from purchasers through a fraudulent scheme. The lawsuit was filed on Feb. 2 in the Western District of Texas, with the plaintiff Don Holland alleging that Paul and Crypto Zoo executives promised exclusive access to crypto assets and other benefits but instead absconded with the funds.

Cointelegraph reached out to Logan Paul for comment but had not received one at time of publication. 

GameFi analytics help blockchain gamers sift through crypto games

How and where to get analytics on the emerging projects in the GameFi space.

From the massive fall of Bitcoin’s (BTC) price to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, 2022 was full of upheaval for the blockchain industry. But the blockchain community has always been resilient, finding new ways to develop in the most challenging times.

A striking example of optimism and growth is the development of the GameFi industry, which combines gaming, decentralized finance (DeFi), nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse.

In 2021, GameFi became a growth leader in the crypto space, with successful projects like Gala Games, Decentraland, The Sandbox and Axie Infinity.

The GameFi sector has continued to develop, attracting more and more investment. In 2022, the volume of venture investments in Web3 games and the metaverse amounted to $7.6 billion. Some analysts predict a valuation of $2.8 billion for the GameFi sector by 2028.

However, a sudden influx of investors in this growing sector has also resulted in many low-quality games suffering from poor in-game economics, as well as monotonous and underdeveloped gameplay.

How can a gamer looking for a good project find the right one? Cointelegraph has found several GameFi analytics resources to help potential gamers weigh the pros and cons of each platform.

DappRadar 

DappRadar is one of the most popular decentralized application (DApp) analytics services. Founded in 2018, it provides statistics on DeFi, GameFi and NFTs. The platform has data for over 2,000 NFT games.

Pros

One of the most popular features of DappRadar is located in the “rankings” tab, which allows users to rank several DApps related to GameFi, DeFi projects, gambling, exchanges, NFT collections, marketplaces, social networks and different blockchains. DApps are ranked according to criteria such as the number of unique active wallets (UAW), number of transactions, transaction volume and the total balance of funds in the smart contract.

Screenshot of ranking tab

The page of an individual project contains its rating, tags and links to social networks, as well as its description. In the middle of the page, standard indicators (UAW, number of transactions, volume, balance) are displayed in addition to a graph of changes for different periods. 

General statistics on DApps can be obtained in the “Industry Overview” tab after selecting the period, category and protocol. DappRadar also periodically publishes analytical notes, which are located in the “Reports” and “Blog” sections.

Recent: Could NFTs and crypto help Japan’s ‘Cool Japan’ strategy?

There are two additional options for NFTs. First is the NFT Explorer, in which users can sort not only the general list of collections, but also the NFTs of an individual collection and even a general gallery of NFTs from different collections. The page for an individual NFT shows its name, owner, minimum price, last sale price, blockchain, NFT metadata and trading history. A second option is the NFT Value Estimator, which displays the expected price of an NFT based on current and past price performance.

Screenshot of NFT explorer

For game developers, DappRadar has a “Developers” section where game founders can promote a new product through advertising campaigns and other marketing techniques.

Cons

The wealth of information provided for each project could prove difficult to navigate for newcomers who may only want basic information about a project.

Another disadvantage of the platform is that, for a long time, the selection of NFT games was limited to those on the Ethereum blockchain, while projects on other blockchains were not taken into account.

The situation improved this year when the site increased the number of monitored blockchains from three to 48. Considerable funds have also been allocated for the development of new technical solutions.

Dapp.com

Dapp.com is the world’s largest DApp distribution platform. Dapp.com lists over 8,000 DApps built on more than 20 blockchains like Ethereum, EOS, TRON, Steem, TomoChain, IOST, Stacks and others. The platform showcases DApps based on data analytics, community feedback and user comments. 

Pros

The platform has a built-in wallet called DappStoreWallet so that users can easily access and use DApps associated with various blockchains.

The ecosystem of the project is powered by Dapp Token (DAPPT). Token holders are able to participate in voting on the platform, launch projects on the platform through staking, and more.

The platform has a “Market Report” section where users can view quarterly reports in various areas, including games.

The advantages of the platform include a simple interface and navigation, where users can view game ratings according to various criteria — for example, by increasing or decreasing prices for tokens, by user reviews, or by level of risk.

Screenshot of game ratings

Users of the platform can not only see the ratings of NFT projects themselves, but also read general news about NFT projects. 

Cons

For an inexperienced user, it is almost impossible to find the quarterly analytical reports section. The link to the page with reports is at the very bottom of the page and represented by small text.

At the same time, the reports themselves clearly stalled for a couple of years, with the most recent appearing for Q2 of 2020. At the same time, the quality and depth of analytics is almost on par with that of DappRadar.

The project listings are not informative and contain only a brief description of the project in a couple of sentences without the current price of the token or the number of active users. Such information must be viewed in the overall rating of projects, which is inconvenient. The majority of the page for each project is occupied by user comments, which are very important, but it seems that Dapp.com is primarily aimed at creating a community and not at providing analytics.

CryptoSlam

CryptoSlam is an NFT market data aggregator. The platform can be used to analyze trading volumes in the NFT market, identify the most popular collections of digital assets, and track release dates for new tokens.

The CryptoSlam team has included various information about the projects on the pages of the collections and the individual NFTs themselves. The project description has a section on online sales statistics, which the system updates as owners change. The platform can also be used to collect data on NFTs of interest.

Pros

The main feature of the platform is its real-time data showing movement in the NFT industry. Featured data includes the volume of sales of NFT tokens, the number of token holders, on which blockchain an NFT resides, and the number of holders.

It is convenient that users can sort NFT projects in several tables on one web page by various parameters like sales volume within a particular game, or by the price of tokens.

Table of NFT projects by sales

One unique feature of the platform is its live sales section, where one can see which user sold an NFT token and at what price, including from which address and to which address. This parameter is constantly updated automatically.

This platform is a very convenient service for the continuous tracking of the work of an NFT project, within which real transactions can be traced.

Another plus of the platform is that it is developing. In January 2023, the Forkast.News company and CryptoSlam teamed up to create the Forkast Labs project. The product could offer users a new media analytics platform for the digital economy. According to the team, the decision to create Forkast Labs was made due to the lack of a standard methodology for determining the true value of digital assets, which is mainly measured by current prices for cryptocurrencies. The timing of the launch of the project is still unknown.

Cons

One con is that the platform doesn’t have any analytical reports. The service only allows for the monitoring of NFT projects, albeit in real time, but does not evaluate activities for a particular period. Perhaps this defect will be corrected after the launch of the Forkast Labs project.

Another downside is the inability to separate NFT projects by indstury — gaming, gambling or finance, for example. If the user wants to see only NFT gaming projects and allocate them to a separate slot or table, then they will not be able to do this since the service does not have such a function.

Just like Dapp.com, this platform contains a lack of detailed information about projects, such as creators, at what stage of development the project is, news about collaborations, etc.

Conclusion

The main reason for using NFT analytics tools is to help limit the amount of fraud in the major marketplaces. Investing in NFTs can be time consuming, somewhat risky and nearly impossible unless users spend hours on social media platforms and NFT trading platforms looking through the myriad NFTs available.

As can be seen from the description of the most popular analytics platforms, there is no perfect one that contains all relevant information in one place, but such projects are critical for crypto enthusiasts.

Recent: Is the SEC’s action against BUSD more about Binance than stablecoins?

Sebastien Borget, president of the Blockchain Game Alliance, told Cointelegraph that he believes that analytics platforms should pay more attention not only to numbers, but to players and users:

“NFT games analytics platforms should expand beyond just the on-chain transaction data to reflect what’s happening in a game or how popular it actually it, and work on broadening to all the activities games have to offer to players — to show that games are first and foremost fun entertainment products where people spend time, and transactions are not the only gameplay in them.”

How to teach cryptocurrency to your children

While teaching cryptocurrency to your children, make it relatable, use examples, start simple, emphasize security, and encourage curiosity.

Teaching cryptocurrency to children can be a great way to introduce them to the world of finance and technology. Here are some interactive ways one can utilize to teach cryptocurrency to children:

Start with the basics and use analogies

Start by defining and describing the nature of money. Inform your kids about the various types of money and the function of banks. It is also important to teach them the origin of money and how it got involved, from paper money to digital money.

Related: What is cryptocurrency? A beginner’s guide to digital currency

Furthermore, analogies can be a powerful tool to help children understand complex concepts. For example, one could explain cryptocurrency as “digital money” or “internet money” and compare it to physical money.

Play games and use real-life examples

Children can learn about cryptocurrencies in amusing ways through games. In addition to several board games that cover the fundamentals of cryptocurrencies, there are many online games that simulate purchasing and selling cryptocurrencies.

Alternatively, use real-life examples to help children understand how cryptocurrency works. For instance, begin by playing a number-guessing game by picking a secret number between 1 and 100 and asking your child to try to guess what it is. For each guess they make, give them a clue to help them get closer. Now, ask your child to pretend that each Bitcoin (BTC) is like a special number that’s worth a lot of money.

Related: A beginner’s guide to the GameFi ecosystem 

Then, tell your kid that everyone around the globe tries to figure out the Bitcoin number, and whoever finds it, gets to keep it. But they have to keep guessing until they get it right, exactly like in the simple number-guessing game. 

However, Bitcoin presents a challenge because the number that needs to be guessed is always changing. Sometimes, it’s really simple to guess, and other times, it’s very challenging. It’s like the number is always moving up and down, kind of like the stock market.

Continuing to guess the number between 1 and 100, explain to your children that if they correctly predict the number, you’ll award them with 1 BTC as a gift. And if 1 BTC’s worth increases the next day, they will have more money, or vice versa.

Blockchain is a digital lego

Tell your children to think of blockchain as a type of digital building block that’s used to keep track of things. Instead of building towers or houses in a Lego game, internet money uses blockchain to keep track of transactions.

Show them how to buy cryptocurrency

Find a cryptocurrency trading simulation game and go through its tutorials to show your child how to buy cryptocurrency. Explain to them the importance of opening an account on a cryptocurrency exchange, just like websites. In addition, inform them that in order to buy and sell cryptocurrency with real money, one must fund their exchange account using fiat money.

Then, use the fake in-game money to buy some Bitcoin and confirm the transaction, just like in real life. After buying BTC, encourage them to watch the market trends to see if the value goes up or down. Make your children aware that if the value of Bitcoin goes down, they may lose money or vice versa.

On the contrary, create a board game where kids have to use cryptocurrency to buy and sell different items. This will help them understand the concept of buying and selling, as well as the risks and rewards of investing in cryptocurrency.

A digital wallet as a special type of piggy bank

Your children may ask you about storing cryptocurrencies. You can explain to them that a cryptocurrency is stored in a digital wallet rather than a physical one, like a special kind of piggy bank, and that the digital wallet can be accessed from anywhere in the world and used to make online purchases. 

Watch educational videos

There are many educational videos available online that explain cryptocurrency in a way that is easy for children to understand. You can watch these videos with your child and use them as a starting point for discussion.

Moreover, videos can help children visualize complex concepts like cryptocurrency and blockchain, making it easier for them to understand the topic.

SPS discusses challenges of building GameFi amid crypto winter

Despite tough times for the industry, the blockchain MOBA game reached 200,000 downloads after just two months.

Amid a drastic decline in coin prices, shifting player behavior and hard-to-maintain tokenomics, it’s been a difficult year for many GameFi developers. While more established franchises, such as Axie Infinity, have held ground, other lesser-known projects, such as Elexir, have mostly pulled the plug, with a lack of viable game designs being unable to compensate for the “Fi” element in GameFi.

That said, one project that, despite running into all challenges, experienced by its peers, appears to have gained traction anyway. In early February, blockchain multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game Superpower Squad (SPS) surpassed 200,000 downloads on the App Store and Google Play. The game previously launched in December 2022 and surpassed the 100,000-download milestone in mid-January. 

Superpower Squad game poster. Source: SPS

SPS features up to 20 players competing in-app in a five-minute combat experience. Players can earn nonfungible token (NFT) heroes and create digital wallets directly in-game to receive and transfer rewards, with no prior crypto experience necessary. The game took nearly three years to perfect before developers said it met their quality for playability. According to SPS’ chief game architect, who wished to be identified as Pony, the team faced quite a few challenges during that time:

“Compared to other industry projects, game development is a much more regenerative track that especially consumes time, effort and money. Superpower Squad has nearly finished all its functional development, with $3 million spent in just capital costs. But being in this crypto winter, the entire industry finds itself having difficulty meeting its financing needs and becomes more reserved with its choices.”

Pony explained that despite finalizing investment deals with “several top institutions,” the founding rounds became on hold after “two black swan events” hit the cryptocurrency industry last year. In addition, the game developer said that financing became difficult, as a subset of bad actors had tarnished the reputation of the entire industry.

“After Axie Infinity became popular, the market started to crowd in for GameFi products. We have seen junk GameFi projects come out in large numbers, and most of them had little to zero game experience, with some even having only a white paper. After the GameFi boom, some of these projects died out or changed their names because it was too difficult to develop a good GameFi project, and people didn’t realize that it would take a huge investment of time and money. Some GameFi users lost a lot of money with the fall right after the first wave of GameFi.”

As told by Pony, SPS came to the market right around the time sentiment was at its nadir. “We faced major bias from organizations, and a lot of them refused to introduce our project to users,” they said. “Therefore, we are grateful to the partners who stood by us, such as KuCoin, OKX and BNB Chain, and their support throughout this whole time.”

Superpower Squad gameplay. Source: SPS

Since launch, SPS has already created its own marketplace for in-game NFTs and listed its namesake token, SQUAD, on KuCoin. For the next steps, Pony said the development team would complete the rental function for its marketplace. “This way, users who have a large amount of NFTs can rent them out to earn revenue, and users who do not have enough money to purchase them can earn through renting.” Currently, the game has about 42,000 on-chain transactions per day and a daily active user count of 4,400, with over 44,000 in-game wallets created.