No doubt we’ll look back at 2023 as one of the most significant years – and not only in a good way – in the development of blockchain gaming. But while builders kept building, some major brands entered the space and others pivoted away, what were the key stories capturing everyone’s attention?
Let our recap of the top 10 most read stories reveal all.
10. Blockchain gaming offers huge upside despite slow adoption says Com2uS’ Kyu Lee
Deep-dives into the minds of great builders is a recurring theme on this list. In his podcast series, Jon Jordan spoke to Com2uS US’ president Kyu Lee about why the Korean publisher has been so quick into blockchain games, lessons he’s learnt from the eight web3 games released so far, and why he thinks blockchain offers huge upside to games despite its slow adoption.
9. How Horizon is making blockchain games accessible for everyone
In March, Dave Bradley met up with Skyweaver developer Horizon’s Michael Sanders and Eddie Fear at GDC for a great in-depth chat about the company’s roadmap and mission to make blockchain games accessible for everyone using web3 tech solution Sequence.
8. Laguna Games brings four new titles to iOS and Android
Old news – revamped vision. While this news story is from August 2022, Laguna Games kept delivering headlines throughout 2023 too. Most significant has been the release of mobile games Bumpercorns, Mob Run and Rainbow Rumble and the current revamp of its flagship title Crypto Unicorns, going from farm simulator to all out build-and-battle.
7. How NFL Rivals is driving synergetic IAP monetization through its NFT sales
While many agree that 2023’s web3 game of the year is NFL Rivals from Mythical Games, in terms of app stores’ blockchain adoption the game has certainly played a pivotal role. Following its successful mobile release and in-app marketplace, Jenny Jordan spoke to Mythical CEO John Linden about what makes NFL Rivals’ web3 adoption work, and how the game is driving synergetic IAP monetization through its NFT sales.
6. Why Playmint is building fully onchain autonomous world Downstream
Telling of the rising numbers of fully onchain games in 2023, a column from Playmint CEO David Amor on the subject scores #6 on the list. Although still considered much of an experiment, these games and their developers are pioneering the sector and have turned the focus further away from GameFi and P2E and back to the real use case of blockchain in gaming.
5. Why Nexon thinks blockchain will make MapleStory “even more fun”
Following CCP Games’ announcement in March it’s venturing into web3 with features in EVE Online, another leading game developer, Nexon, broke the news its well-known MapleStory IP was set to adopt blockchain features and deploy on Polygon. Curious about the new project, we contacted MapleStory Universe’s production director Sunyoung Hwang for a conversation about how blockchain can enhance the game and its vision.
4. Ubisoft announces first web3 Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles
Towards the end of June, as the English meadows were covered in clover and bees, Ubisoft quietly dropped the news during Japanese blockchain Oasys’ Special Event it was working on web3 game Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles. Although no press releases or loud trumpets accompanied the announcement, as you can tell, it still got the industry buzzing.
Launch is expected sometime in 2024.
3. Shrapnel directors sue shareholder in battle over corporate control
More recently what’s caught your attention was the news of six of Shrapnel-developer Neon Machine’s co-founding directors, including erstwhile CEO Mark Long, filing a lawsuit against controlling shareholder Cort Javarone. With the imminent early access launch befor the end of the year, the team has assured its community that Shrapnel remains on track.
2. Sky Mavis’ Jeff Zirlin – “Ronin is starting to blossom”
And just as Sky Mavis co-founder Jeff Zirlin said it, it materialised. Sky Mavis has been blossoming galore during H2 2023 for lots of reasons. First it onboarded a handful of third-party developers to Ronin, which was followed by new features, a mobile-version and a revamped reward structure in Axie Infinity.
And more recently and maybe most significantly, Pixels migrated from Polygon to launch on Ronin, which saw the blockchain’s DAUWs exceed 150,000, shortly before ACT Games and Foonie Magus announced plans to follow suit.
1. Why the original Neopets creators are building Dragginz MMORPG on ICP
A testimony to the power of its community perhaps, the article most of you read this year was neither about some impressive triple-A shooter or scandalous rug pull project. Instead, it’s an interview with one of the former Neopets creators, Donna Powell, about fully onchain RPG Dragginz.
Also timed well with the growing interest in fully onchain games, Powell shares the main reason the team is building on blockchain, why it’s chosen ICP over Ethereum and what we can expect from this open world adventure, which was actually the initial idea for the team’s 1990’s hit Neopets.
Comments are closed.