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

Is Off The Grid the ‘Axie Infinity’ of this cycle… or something even more significant? The wild popularity of the early access version has sparked considerable speculation in the crypto community.

Gunzilla Games’ “Off The Grid” — a free-to-play, third-person, battle royale game — just launched an early access release on major gaming consoles, and it’s already topped Epic Games’ free-to-play PC games list ahead of Fortnite and Rocket League.

Avalanche founder Emil Gun Sirer notes over the first five days of release, the game has been growing at more than 1 million wallets per day and has already notched up 53 million transactions.

After years of terrible game releases, the crypto community is speculating that finally having a popular and well reviewed game that people enjoy playing may trigger the long anticipated major Web3 gaming boom.

“Off The Grid may finally be the catalyst we needed for a much bigger gaming run,” crypto analyst Miles Deutscher said in an Oct. 14 X post.

“All it takes is one success story to kick off a larger wave,” he adds.

The Avalanche-based blockchain game, set in a dystopian cyberpunk future, and compared to the likes of battle-royale shooter games Call of Duty and Apex Legends, is already grabbing a lot of attention on game streaming giant Twitch, despite still being in early access.

On Oct. 11, 154,440 viewers tuned in to watch streamers play the new release and one million hours of viewing has already been amassed.

Deutscher pointed out that it was the fifth-most viewed game on Twitch over the opening weekend of the game, along with being played by “huge streamers” such as Ninja, Shroud and Dr. Disrespect.

The reason the game is striking a chord, is because it’s actually fun to play, according to CNET.

The respected tech publication’s Ict, 12 review was titled “Why You Should Be Playing Off The Grid, a New Battle Royale, Right Now” in which reviewer summed the game up as “Part schlocky satire of streaming culture, part sendup of the gamers, all shrewd self-aware storytelling: Off The Grid is a fun time.” Interestingly, he didn’t even mention the crypto elements, which include a forthcoming token called GUN and in game items can be minted and traded as NFTs.

Pseudonymous Web3 commentator Loki The Bird asked if Off The Grid will become “the Axie Infinity” of this cycle. EllioTrades told his 765,700 X followers that the rise of Off The Grid has “people are just now realizing that Gaming is THE consumer app of crypto.”

And Web3 commentator Matt Stefanina says the game has “broken the barrier we’ve been waiting for.”

“Your normie friends are playing a Web3 game without realizing.”

Gamers can download Off The Grid for free on the Epic Games Store for Xbox Series X consoles, PlayStation 5, and PC.

Investors see Web3 gaming moving past ‘hype phase,’ says Farcana founder

VCs are getting bullish on Web3 gaming again, says Farcana metaverse founder Ilman Shazhaev. 

“Investors are pivoting back into blockchain gaming because they see it moving past the hype phase and into a stage of sustainable growth,” he tells Web3 Gamer, attributing the shift to a more mature user base demanding better games and devs who’ve learned from early mistakes. 

A DappRadar report shows that investments in blockchain gaming shot up in August, reaching $50 million — a 117% jump from the month before. And according to DeFi Llama the upward trend continued in September with $63 million invested in gaming.

Shazhaev says more players are also getting involved not just for the money, but because the games themselves are getting better.

“The move away from purely financial speculation has led to an emphasis on solid gameplay mechanics, engaging storylines, and community-driven elements.”

“We are seeing an increased integration of staking and other DeFi features within blockchain games. These features allow players to earn rewards, generate passive income, and participate in governance, adding more layers of engagement beyond just gameplay.”

Shazhaev believes venture capitalists are likely to flock to these sorts of games.

Web3 games ruined by ‘finance bros’ coming to an end

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

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

“The time of random projects with nothing but a token plan and some finance bros on the board is coming to a close, and now the field is being saturated with quality projects people actually want to play,” he tells Web3 gamer.

Welch believes that prioritizing game tokens above gameplay no longer cuts it and that “weak gameplay fundamentals” are unappealing to savvier gamers.

Welch says the industry is “immature,” but believes that’s changing with the release of betas of highly anticipated games such as AAA extraction shooter game Shrapnel.

As an aside, Welsh reveals he’s been playing some new games in development that he finds “genuinely exciting” but he’s not saying 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 the role of a spaceship captain and explore a large virtual world, interact with different species, and uncover the “mysteries of ancient space ruins.”

It soft-launched on Sept. 27 and will run for 12 weeks. The full release is expected sometime in 2025.

As for God Unchained, gaming studio Immutable has just dropped a new expansion called the “Tower of Dread” in which gamers can now “destroy” their cards to the Dread to rack up more points.

Welsh says the new expansion ties in with Gods Unchained’s “ongoing push with Formats to provide new ways for our users to play.”

The Voice trumps other reality TV shows in Web3, says The Sandbox exec

TV singing competition The Voice has connected with gamers more than any other format, says Sebastien Borget, the CEO of Ethereum-based metaverse world The Sandbox.

“The most popular show so far has been The Voice,” Borget told Web3 Gamer after several reality TV shows staked a claim in The Sandbox this year, including Love Island, I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, and Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen.

The reality TV shows integrated with The Sandbox let gamers experience the journey of a reality contestant without the fear of embarrassing themselves on national TV.

He says The Sandbox has been focusing on reality shows as a way to bring more mainstream audiences to Web3 gaming.

“It is about attracting both mainstream and diverse audiences,” Borget explains.

When The Voice integration kicked off in May, fans could join in Season 25 inside the game. Gamers who correctly guessed which contestants advanced each week — and who eventually won — scored an exclusive limited-edition NFT.

More recently, The Sandbox just kicked off Alpha Season 4, which is a 10-week event featuring various gameplay experiences and opportunities for gamers to earn SAND.

Other News

— On Oct. 16, NFT-based mobile role-playing game Guild of Guardians is set to unveil its Frostmire expansion which it says is a “realm filled with ancient secrets, forgotten places of power, and a rich history waiting to be uncovered.”

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

— Video game publisher Ubisoft’s Captain Laserhawk Universe has teamed up with NFT marketplace Magic Eden, claiming to be the first-ever project to mint on the platform.

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