Crypto games becoming better at being games
? Crypto gaming is a recent phenomenon with a big potential.
However, it has become almost trendy to compare its (still modest) user base and its (equally modest) user experience to those of well-established legacy games.
Of course, in this comparison crypto games are abysmal. Does it mean they will always stay this way?
New beginnings are often bumpy, and the first generation of crypto games made a clear emphasis on the play-to-earn part, sometimes putting the fun part at the second place.
This is about to change. Newer games, including those in development, are more focused on the UX and fun part (Nyan Heroes and Aurory on Solana, Illuvium on Ethereum…), and already established crypto games, like Axie Infinity, are getting themselves a makeover.
? In an effort to enhance user experience, Axie has recently started a soft release for its “Origin” story, with a better graphics and more entertaining gameplay (over 600k accounts have registered for the beta!). Origin also marks the transition from play-to-earn to play-and-earn, meaning that users have a choice whether they play a crypto game or a simple online game. This will also help Axie attract users who are not yet willing to open a wallet or buy an Axie NFT.
? Animoca Brands, a crypto gaming development company, which portfolio contains, among others, Axie Infinity, does not show any signs of resignation neither. On the contrary, it has just finished another $75 million fundraising round, which brings it to a stunning $5.9 billion valuation. That’s a lot of money to make crypto games more fun.
A recent DappRadar report showed that in this market downturn crypto games’ use has decreased only by 5%, comparing to the larger crypto industry’s 26% decrease. This means that despite cryptoasset prices plummeting, most crypto games’ players continue to play, and this is a good news.
Reorienting the main objective from earning to having fun is key to crypto games development, and it looks like the industry is on the right track.
