VanEck announces investment in (Off The Grid) developer
According to (Cointelegraph), asset management firm VanEck announced yesterday (10/31) that its private cryptocurrency fund has invested in blockchain game (Off The Grid) developer Gunzilla Games, marking VanEck's second investment in the blockchain gaming sector.
Data from venture capital firm Konvoy shows that in the third quarter of 2024, game startups attracted a total of $517 million in investment.
In March 2024, VanEck invested in another NFT card game (Parallel), with a total funding amount of $35 million, and Solana Ventures along with Coinbase's Base ecosystem fund also participated in the investment.
Why Does VanEck Favor Blockchain Games?
VanEck's Matt Maximo is optimistic about the combination of blockchain and gaming, viewing cryptocurrency as a tool to enhance gaming experiences and improve monetization strategies.
He pointed out that the sales market for in-game items is huge, for example, the P2P game trading market on Steam has generated over $32 billion in transaction volume.
Maximo believes that blockchain technology can meet players' demands for transparency and control over in-game items.
In (Off The Grid), players can earn cryptocurrency $GUN to unlock in-game items, which are stored in a crypto wallet. Players can also purchase in-game items using $GUN in the game's marketplace.
(Off The Grid) Game Features and Potential Analysis
The game theme is mainstream battle royale.
According to (The Block)'s introduction, (Off The Grid) recently launched its early access version, a free battle royale shooter game with a cyberpunk style, set in a dystopian world where corporations and enhanced humans are at odds.
The only playable mode of the game is called "Extraction Royale," where players not only have to eliminate enemies but also collect loot. These loot items may include various items such as decorative appearances, weapons, or skill upgrades, all stored as NFTs on the blockchain.
Blockchain elements do not overshadow the main gameplay.
(Off The Grid)'s core gameplay runs on a traditional game engine, while blockchain technology is only used for the game's NFT marketplace. Gunzilla Games employs Avalanche blockchain's subnet technology to launch the GUNZ L1 subnet, primarily for managing cryptocurrency and NFT functions.
Interestingly, players can choose whether to participate in NFT or blockchain-related features, this optionality allows the game to avoid excessive commercialization and speculation, which may be one reason for the game's initial success.
On-chain data showed excellent early performance
According to (The Block)'s analysis, after (Off The Grid) launched its early access version on October 8, the daily transaction volume of GUNZ L1 increased from an average of 1.4 million to over 3.1 million, peaking at 4.5 million on October 15.
Additionally, the number of active addresses for GUNZ L1 surged from an average of 112,000 daily to 506,000, setting a record of 846,000 on October 10.
Initial live performance was good, but has now plummeted.
(The Block) noted that (Off The Grid) attracted an average of 11,000 viewers on the first day of its early access launch, and surged by 275% on the third day, reaching nearly 30,000 average viewers.
However, by October 13, the number of viewers dropped sharply by 67%, continuing to decrease by about 10% each day thereafter. As of October 23, the average number of viewers on the Twitch platform was only 565.
Image Source: The Block (Off The Grid) Twitch Live Stream Average Viewer Count Chart
(Off The Grid) faces common challenges in the gaming industry
Unlike some games that emphasize "play-to-earn," (Off The Grid) prioritizes gameplay over financialization, achieving relatively successful initial performance.
However, due to the rapid decline in live viewer numbers, it indicates a challenge between initial popularity and long-term player retention, which is common in the Web2 gaming industry. Many online or mobile games have high initial popularity, but whether they can retain players depends on the operational capabilities of the game developers.
Besides retention, another challenge for (Off The Grid) is whether it can ensure that the NFT elements supplement the gaming experience without overshadowing it. Excessive emphasis on speculative trading may lead to a risk of player polarization, as general players are generally not keen on "speculative games."
(The Block) believes that if these aspects can be managed carefully, (Off The Grid) is expected to become a successful example of integrating blockchain technology into mainstream gaming.
