Original title: (A comprehensive review of Seraph: the leader of the Web3 gaming generational revolution)
Original author: TechFlow
What stereotypes do you have about “Web3 games” or “GameFi”?
Farming, mining, withdrawing and selling, not fun, RugPull or Ponzi scheme?
As technology advances and user needs evolve, blockchain games are undergoing a critical generational shift. At this turning point, Seraph, as an outstanding representative of the new generation of blockchain games, is redefining our understanding and expectations of Web3 games.
How to define different “generations”?
The first generation of blockchain games represented by Axie was undoubtedly groundbreaking, promoting the popularization of the "Play-to-Earn" model; however, these early projects also faced obvious limitations, such as insufficient gameplay, difficult to maintain economic models, complex experience thresholds, and limited performance...
In the face of these challenges, a new generation of blockchain games represented by Seraph came into being.
They not only have to solve the problems of their predecessors, but also drive the entire industry forward. Moreover, despite the market hot spots and spotlights that we often ignore, they actually maintain a pretty good operating rhythm and product delivery.
Among them, Seraph has its own unique solution:
Immersive gaming experience: Seraph provides rich, mature and polished treasure hunting game content and early, mid and late game mechanics to ensure that players can maintain long-term interest.
Innovative economic model: Gold farming is just the icing on the cake of the core content of the game, rather than a radical transformation of the game mechanism; on-chain assets such as NFTs are naturally scarce based on labor (farms are unique to treasure hunting games).
User-friendly: ActPass, a login and asset management companion software, greatly lowers the entry threshold for Web3 games, making it easy for ordinary players to experience the fun of blockchain games.
Everything is tradable: All game assets on and off the chain can be freely traded between players, allowing different types of players to pursue their own interests, realizing and promoting "play and trade to earn".
If you don’t know Seraph, the following article may help you (Chain games need outliers, longevity is the key to a future: Seraph gave me the legitimacy to continue playing Web3 games).
But in the following content, we will be more direct and comprehensively review the development history of Seraph, and explore its achievements in game design, technological innovation, and community building. By analyzing Seraph's successful experience, we can not only get a glimpse into the future of the second-generation blockchain games, but also gain insight into the development trend of the entire Web3 game industry.
The story of Seraph is not only the growth history of a game project, but also a microcosm of the maturity of the entire blockchain game industry.
Seraph Development Timeline
Seraph is an ARPG game based on blockchain technology. Through innovative game mechanisms and economic models, it brings players an immersive Web3 Diablo-like gaming experience.
However, a high-quality Web3 game, from concept to maturity, needs to go through different stages such as product verification, economic optimization, community building and commercialization to ensure the sustainability and market competitiveness of the product. Let’s review Seraph’s growth trajectory:
Off-chain stage: polishing game quality and finding audiences
The on-chain part of Web3 games often attracts attention due to the wealth effect, but for a game like Seraph, at least two questions must be answered before the on-chain economy is injected into the game: - Is this game playable? - Who will play this game?
In order to find these two basic answers, Seraph used two rounds of testing to polish the game quality and find the audience.
Verify the core gameplay of the product: Alpha testing phase (April 11-April 17, 2023)
At the beginning of 2023, the blockchain game market began to show signs of recovery after the downturn in 2022. Users' demand for high-quality blockchain games has gradually increased, but the market's requirements for projects have also become more stringent. In this context, Seraph chose a conservative and robust entry point - a closed testing strategy.
Strategic layout
Obviously, the on-chain assets were not introduced at this stage. The project will focus on three core goals in the early stage: first, verify the fun and playability of the core gameplay of the game; second, test the stability of the basic technical architecture; and finally, collect feedback from early users on the game mechanism. This step-by-step approach allows the game to be fully prepared before it is officially launched on the market.
Data results
During the Alpha test, the game attracted a total of 14,528 registered players, with a 71.9% next-day retention rate and an average online time of 5.6 hours, far exceeding the industry average, which strongly verified the appeal of the core gameplay.
· Polishing sustainability: Beta testing phase (July 4-17, 2023)
In response to the issues raised by players in the previous stage of game testing, Seraph started a new round of optimization three months later.
Strategic layout
After completing the core gameplay verification, the entire game system was further polished, and at the same time, we began to consider building the game's post-game play and content in order to retain players through continuity.
It is particularly pointed out that during this stage, the game also launched NFTs with early testing qualifications, but the entire game content is still mainly off-chain. NFTs are more like admission tickets with additional benefits, a means of fan economic management, and a moderate marketing tool. The gold-making function is still not open.
Data results
The Beta test showed encouraging growth. The number of registered players increased to 15,378, a 5.8% increase from the Alpha stage.
On-chain stage: Finding compatibility with Web3
Since the core gameplay of Seraph is "Farming/Loot Grinding", converting off-chain treasures into on-chain assets is a must.
So the question becomes, how to make gold farming more reasonable?
Seraph was still very cautious and used 3 different rounds of testing to build this system.
The beginning of gold farming: Chaos Legacy test (2023.11.22-12.22)
This stage is the beginning of introducing on-chain assets into the game and finding compatibility.
Strategic layout
The project started selling Genesis Unique NFTs in November, and these NFTs also correspond to various equipment items in the game that have the ability to make gold.
At the same time, making these equipment and props work under certain rules is also a long-term issue for gold-making games. Seraph has also built an on-chain economic system and market around the consumption, output, use and trading of NFTs, and is actively testing them during this stage.
Starting from this test, players can participate in gold farming, and the source of income for the game has also begun to change to various fees for NFT transactions.
Data results
The Chaos Legacy test data is very encouraging. After the opening of gold farming, the attraction has been significantly strengthened, and the next-day retention rate has hit a record high of 89.5%. The most groundbreaking thing is that the income of 150 ETH was achieved for the first time.
Commercialization Exploration: Preseason (April 19, 2024-June 7, 2024)
At the beginning of 2024, the crypto market has fully recovered and new users are pouring in. Seraph seizes the opportunity and embarks on a journey of full commercialization. This stage marks a critical turning point for the project to shift from product-oriented to market-oriented.
Strategic layout
The core strategy of the preseason phase is to achieve commercial breakthroughs. The game has begun to sell props in the mall, becoming one of the important channels for increasing legal currency revenue.
At the same time, the game has begun to build a complete revenue system, including NFT sales, token economy and value-added services.
Data results
This phase achieved significant commercial success. The number of participating players increased explosively to 61,209; a total revenue of 3 million US dollars and 360 ETH was achieved, verifying the feasibility of the business model.
Fully commercialized and going global: Season 0 (August 22-September 25, 2024)
After the gameplay and gold-making model were verified, Seraph officially launched Season 0, successfully seizing the market opportunity with its unique gaming experience and complete economic system.
Strategic layout
Season0's core strategy is to achieve scale growth and sustainable development. It focuses on three aspects: first, keep the game fresh and competitive through continuous product iteration and content updates; second, optimize the token economic model to ensure long-term sustainability; and finally, strengthen the global layout and expand the international market. It is particularly worth mentioning that the "Play-and-Earn" mechanism, which is different from the unsustainable previous blockchain games, has been introduced to balance the fun of the game and economic benefits.
Data results
The number of daily active users (DAU) exceeded 15,000, and the maximum number of concurrent online players exceeded 7,500. At the same time, it achieved a fiat currency income of US$1.8 million and a crypto asset income of 120 ETH.
As the crypto market continues to heat up and the market demand for differentiated games gradually reaches its peak, Seraph has successfully seized the market opportunity with its unique gaming experience and perfect economic system.
Strategic layout
Season0's core strategy is to achieve scale growth and sustainable development. It focuses on three aspects: first, keep the game fresh and competitive through continuous product iteration and content updates; second, optimize the token economic model to ensure long-term sustainability; and finally, strengthen the global layout and expand the international market. It is particularly worth mentioning that the "Play-and-Earn" mechanism, which is different from the unsustainable previous blockchain games, has been introduced to balance the fun of the game and economic benefits.
Data results
Season 0's performance is exciting. Daily active users (DAU) exceeded 100,000. Retention rate continued to remain high, reaching 17% on the 30th day. In terms of economy, the game achieved $1.8 million in fiat currency revenue, of which the crypto part contributed 120 ETH, and the number of paying players reached more than 6,700. These data not only prove the success of the business model, but also show the long-term potential of the project.
Global Market: Based on Season0 player data
From the above data, we can see that Seraph has done a good job in product polishing and project operation. So, which group of players will these measures eventually attract? Will it continue the inertia of previous Web3 games and be more favored by Southeast Asian users where gold farming guilds are prevalent, or will it be able to capture players from more regions?
Based on the latest user data from Season 0, perhaps we can get the answer.
In terms of user composition, the largest number of users come from Greater China and Europe, which account for almost 20% each; followed by players whose shares are ranked in descending order from other Asian regions, South America, North America, Turkey, Russia and other regions.
1. Clearly, Asian players dominate
Greater China (20.25%) and other Asian regions (16.71%) together account for 36.96%, constituting the largest user base of Seraph. This shows that Seraph has a strong appeal in the Asian market, which may be due to the good fit between the game content or marketing strategy and the preferences of Asian players.
2. Strong European market
Europe ranked first in the single region with a share of 21.85%, showing the successful penetration of Seraph in developed Western markets. This may reflect the effectiveness of the game's international design and localization strategy.
3. The potential of the American market emerges
South America (14.62%) and North America (11.12%) together account for 25.74%, constituting another important market segment.
South America has a higher market share than North America, which is an interesting observation and may reflect the strong growth of gaming in emerging markets.
4. Emerging Market Performance
· Türkiye (4.43%) and Russia (3.42%) are listed separately, indicating that these markets are of particular strategic importance to Seraph.
· These two markets together account for 7.85%, which is close to the size of the North American market, demonstrating the importance of emerging markets.
What insights can we learn from Seraph's increasingly global player base?
Localization strategy: Considering the diversity of the user base, Seraph should continue to strengthen localization efforts in various regions, including language support, cultural adaptation, and localized marketing.
Regional content: Consider developing specific game content or events for key markets (such as Greater China, Europe, and South America) to further increase user stickiness.
· Emerging Market Development: Emphasis on the growth potential of emerging markets such as Türkiye and Russia may require the development of targeted market expansion strategies.
Looking ahead, a global Web3 game should monitor user growth trends in various regions and adjust resource allocation and market strategies in a timely manner. Seraph needs to pay more attention to regional characteristics while maintaining global consistency to maximize the potential of each market.
What's next?
Now that the overall crypto market is recovering, bull market expectations are boosted, and the number of incremental users is gradually increasing, the gaming track will still take on a considerable portion of new and old traffic, and this is also a window of opportunity for new products.
Judging from the aforementioned Seraph initiatives, after several rounds of testing, the game has built basic gameplay, core functions, NFTs, and on-chain infrastructure; and has been recognized by some users.
Looking to the future, what other initiatives does Seraph have that are worth paying attention to?
a) Rush Event & Season0: Customer acquisition exploration has been launched
In the past Q3, the game has launched a contribution point system to reward players for their time and performance in the game; at the same time, the game's Enyu airdrop plan has also been launched. After completing the task, you will get "Starry Enyu" and cast it into NFT. These NFTs can be used for trading or exchanged for token airdrop rewards in the future.
The team will also release important announcements and establish a more complete on-chain data statistics system.
b) Genesis Season: Q4 is officially released, with a larger scale and more gameplay
This year, Q4 will be the time for Seraph to be officially available to more players. After multiple rounds of testing, the game will officially launch the "Genesis Season", which will attract players to further adjust their builds in the game with more PvP gameplay. At the same time, GvG (guild battle) gameplay will be launched to mobilize the enthusiasm of players on a larger scale.
In addition to gameplay, Seraph is also keenly aware of the importance of IP. At this stage, it will also expand more IP derivatives based on its own dark fantasy IP, including but not limited to cultural creation, animation or NFT.
c) Platform strategy: not only a game, but also a co-constructed ecosystem
Seraph plans to build a strong platform ecosystem. The core strategy includes co-building game content development with the community. The Co-Building system launched in 2025 will open three types of permissions: map design, mission creation, and equipment appearance design. Community creators can obtain income from their works and establish a complete community fund. The team's goal is to achieve a milestone of 2 million independent active wallets this year.
d) Future: Continuous Update Momentum
Although the crypto market is changing very fast, it is difficult to have a 3-5 year long-term plan like traditional enterprises. But for relatively clear-cut projects such as games, Seraph still has a way to go.
Plans include launching seasonal updates, adding dungeon gameplay, introducing a mini-game system, building a social system, and vigorously developing user-generated content. The team's ultimate goal is to reach an astonishing 5 million independent active wallets.
e) Market layout: Focus on Southeast Asia and expand influence through exhibitions
At the Binance Blockchain Week which just concluded, Seraph attracted a large number of attendees to experience the game and enjoy the immersive interactive experience. The performances of the Cosers were also more in line with the preferences of young players.
Building on this success, Seraph will expand its presence at a number of events across Southeast Asia, including Thailand Blockchain Week, which has already taken place, the YGG Play Summit currently underway in the Philippines, and Taiwan Blockchain Week, which is set to take place next month.
Obviously, these areas are also where Web3 game guilds are active. The combination of games, exhibitions, guilds, and players may become a regular way for Seraph to acquire customers and grow.
Conclusion
There is an old Chinese saying: Well begun is half done.
Seraph took more than three years, went through four testing phases and one official season, and demonstrated the growth trajectory that a Web3 game project should have.
From the initial verification of the core gameplay, to the polishing of the economic model, to the deepening of the social system, each step has been taken solidly and steadily. Especially in terms of global layout, the diversified user composition of the project has further confirmed its success in product design and operation strategy.
In the field of Web3 games, too many projects have failed on the road of "from 0 to 1". The real challenge is often how to achieve the leap from "from 1 to 100". Seraph has chosen a gradual path, while maintaining innovation, it has never neglected the essence of the product and user experience. This may be why it can gain a foothold in the fiercely competitive market and continue to gain recognition from players around the world.
In the still-evolving field of Web3 games, the projects that can truly stand the test of time are always those that focus on both short-term growth and long-term development.
Let’s wait and see; and are you ready to take the adventure together?
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