Web3 gaming growth, Shrapnel status, and Eternal Dragons shut-down
Blockchain gaming roundup, 12th April
Daffodils and tulips are not the only new addition colouring the seasonal landscape as of late. Plenty of web3 gaming news, particularly surrounding token launches, add a splash of spring as the market is moving ever further away from the crypto winter.
Sadly though, some studios are still hit hard in the aftermath of it. This week Trailblazer announced it’s sunsetting Solana-based PVP game Eternal Dragons. In conjunction with the news, the team also confirmed it will implement a buyback program for NFT holders. If nothing else, it’s good to see a mature studio showing responsibility and respect to its community, and ultimately the industry, and not exiting with a rug pull.
On a more upbeat note, we’re now into Q2 2024, and a recent industry report from the Big Blockchain Game List shows strong industry growth spanning across funding, gaming tokens and new games revealed. Perhaps the strongest takeaway from the report however, is the different outcomes among projects depending on their long-term strategies. “Projects that can combine playerbase and revenue with an overall vision and the delivery of new features, while wrangling the currents of crypto sentiment and the peculiarities of their own communities, will be the best placed for long term success”, as per the report.
Arguably one of the most prominent games in the industry is PC extraction shooter Shrapnel. This week Jon Jordan had the pleasure of talking to Neon Machine head of studio Don Norbury about how the game is shaping up, its current STX playtests, its broader UGC vision, the strengths of deploying on Avalanche, the prospect of going console, and much more. Dive in!
Lattice dropped more details about its forthcoming Redstone mainnet launch – now slated for 1st May. Based on the Optimism OP stack, Redstone is mainly home to fully onchain games and autonomous worlds, with multiple titles going live alongside the mainnet release.
Ubisoft also teased more details – including gameplay footage – of its tactical turn-based RPG Champions Tactics. Behold, it’s certainly one of the best looking web3 games in the making.
Additional news
Following our record-breaking event in San Francisco earlier in March, the GameExpo Summit powered by PG Connects is set to return to Dubai on May 1st to 2nd alongside the Dubai Esports and Games Festival at the Dubai World Trade Centre conference facility.
Would you like to attend the event? Don’t miss out on our current mid-term pricing offer. Book your tickets today!