Off The Grid may be the ‘booster’ for the new crypto gaming bull run: Web3 Gamer.

Is this cycle ‘Axie Infinity' off the grid… or something more substantial? The wild popularity of the early access version has sparked a lot of speculation in the crypto community.

Gunzilla Games' “Off the Grid” — a free-to-play, third-person, battle royale game — has launched an Early Access release on major gaming platforms, and it's already on Epic Games' list of free-to-play PC games. Before Fortnite and Rocket League.

Avalanche founder Emil Gunn said that in the first five days of its release, the game was growing by more than 1 million wallets per day and generated 53 million transactions.

After years of terrible gaming, the crypto community is hoping that finally having a popular and well-reviewed game that people can enjoy playing could spur the long-awaited development of the Web3 game.

“Off The Grid could finally be the boost we need for a big playoff run,” crypto analyst Miles Deutscher said in an Oct. 14 X post.

“It only takes one success story to start a big wave,” he adds.

The Avalanche-based blockchain game is set in a dystopian cyberpunk future and is attracting a lot of attention on game streaming, even though it's early days compared to battle-royale shooters like Call of Duty and Apex Legends, with massive Twitch access.

On October 11, 154,440 viewers tuned in to watch the new release play, and one million hours of viewing have already been accumulated.

Deutscher pointed out that it was the fifth most watched game on Twitch during the game's opening weekend, with the likes of Ninja, Shroud, and Dr. Contempt being played by “huge streamers”.

CNT says that the reason why the game beats the national team is because it is fun to play.

The respected tech publication Eyet, 12 reviews titled “Why You Should Play Off The Grid, New Battle Royale, Right Now,” described the game as “part of streaming culture, player shipping, all intelligent self-aware storytelling: Off The Grid is a fun time.” Interestingly, he didn't even mention the crypto elements, which include the upcoming token GUN, which can be copied and traded in-game as NFTs.

Anonymous Web3 commenter Loki the Bird asked if Off The Grid would be this cycle's “Axie Infinity”. EllioTrades to its 765,700 X Followers Off The Grid Rise “People are now realizing that gaming is a consumer application of crypto.

And Web3 analyst Matt Stefanina said the game “broke our expectations.”

“Your casual friends are playing a Web3 game without knowing it.”

Players can download it for free from the Epic Games Store on Xbox Series X consoles, PlayStation 5 and PC.

Farkana's Founding Investors See Web3 Game Passing ‘Hype Phase'

VCs are making a comeback in Web3 games, says Ilman Shazahav, founder of Farcana metaverse.

“Investors are moving into the blockchain game because they see it moving beyond the hype phase to a sustainable growth phase,” he told Web3 Gamer, adding that the transition will require better games and educated devs for a more mature user base. Early mistakes.

According to a Dapradar report, investments in blockchain gaming shot up to $50 million in August — a 117% jump from a month earlier. And according to Diffie Lama, the upward trend continued in September, with $63 million invested in the game.

Shazahav said that more players are participating not only for the money, but also because the games themselves are getting better.

“The move away from financial speculation led to a focus on robust gameplay mechanics, engaging stories, and community-based elements.”

We are seeing increased integration of staking and other DeFi features in blockchain games. These features allow players to earn rewards, generate passive income, and participate in management, adding many levels of engagement beyond gameplay.

Shazahev believes venture capitalists may flock to these types of games.

Web3 games are ruined by ‘finance bros'.

The success of Off the Grid shows that the days of financial executives pushing down decent gameplay for blockchain-based games are finally coming to an end.

Web3 Gamer discussed this welcome development with Gods Unchained commercial game designer Bryn Welch earlier in the week.

“The era of random projects with token plans and some financial bros on board is coming to an end, and now the field is really full of quality projects that people want to play with,” he tells Web3Gamer.

Welch believes that prioritizing game cues over game play will no longer cut it, and that “poor gameplay fundamentals” are unpopular with hunter players.

Welch says the industry is “very immature,” but he believes that's changing with the beta release of highly anticipated games like the AAA extraction shooter Shrapnel.

As an aside, Welsh revealed that he has some new games in development that he finds “very exciting” but wouldn't say which ones: “I can't give too many details on that.”

One upcoming release he's excited about is the AAA space-themed MMORPG Space Nation. Players take on the role of a spaceship captain and explore a large virtual world, meet different species and learn the “mysteries of ancient space debris”.

It had a soft launch on September 27 and will run for 12 weeks. The full release is expected sometime in 2025.

As for God Unchained, game studio Immutable has just dropped a new expansion called “Tower of Fear” where players can “destroy” their cards into their draw to collect more points.

According to Welsh, the new expansion tie-in is part of Gods Unchained's “continuing push with formats to provide our users with new avenues.”

The Voice will promote other reality TV shows on Web3, says The Sandbox exec

Television singing competition The Voice has connected with players more than any other format, said Sebastien Bourget, CEO of Ethereum-based Metaverse World The Sandbox.

“The most popular show by far was The Voice,” Bourget told Web3 Gamer, adding that this year's Sandbox featured a number of reality TV shows including Love Island, I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out! And after filing a claim including Gordon. Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen.

Combined with the sandbox of reality TV shows, it allows players to experience the journey of a reality contestant without the fear of embarrassing themselves on national TV.

He said Sandbox has been focusing on reality shows as a way to bring more mainstream viewers to Web3 gaming.

“It's about attracting mainstream and diverse audiences,” Bourget explains.

Fans will be able to join in on the game's 25th season when the voiceover debuts in May. Each week, contestants who correctly guessed which raised – and ultimately won – scored a special limited NFT.

Recently, the Sandbox Alpha launched Season 4, a 10-week event that will offer different gameplay experiences and opportunities for players to earn Sandbox.

Other news

– On October 16th, NFT-based mobile role-playing game Guild of Guardians is set to unveil its Frostmire expansion, “a realm filled with ancient secrets, forgotten strongholds, and a rich history waiting to be revealed.”

— Immersive multiplayer tactical game Shardbound has released the much-anticipated open beta version of the game on Steam and the Epic Games Store.

– Video game publisher Ubisoft's Captain Laserhawk Universe has partnered with NFT marketplace Magic Eden as the first project to launch on the platform.

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Ciaran Lyon

Ciaran Lyons is an Australian crypto journalist. He is also a freelance comedian and has been a radio and TV presenter on Triple J, SBS and The Project.