Axie Infinity's AXS Token Rallies 19% Amid Builders Program Launch

Axie Infinity Shards (AXS), the governance token powering the popular play-to-earn blockchain game Axie Infinity, has soared more than 19% in the past 24 hours to become the best performing asset among the top-100 cryptocurrencies.

Axie Infinity is a blockchain-based game in which players purchase non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of Pokémon-like monsters to pit them against each other in battles. Players can earn a second token, called Smooth Love Potion (SLP), during gameplay and trade them for money at an exchange.

As data from CoinMarketCap shows, AXS spiked to a daily high of $27.82 earlier on Tuesday before dropping to $23.95 at press time.

The last time AXS traded at these levels was on May 10, before the broader crypto market rout caused by the Terra implosion took the token down close to $17.

Axie Infinity's latest price action appears to be related to Sky Mavis, the development group behind Axie Infinity, revealing the first batch of projects that have been accepted into its Builders Program. The program will introduce user-generated content into the Axie ecosystem.

First announced in January this year, Axie Infinity's Builders Program serves as a laboratory for community-created games and experiences. It aims to reward developers who help strengthen the Axie Infinity community's ability to create gaming experiences and tools on top of the platform.

Axie Infinity Builders Program's perks

Among a host of incentives, the chosen teams will receive a minimum $10,000 grant in AXS tokens to fund their projects, exclusive access to tech integrations such as Ronin Single-Sign-On and Ronin wallet transactions, as well as guidance from Axie Infinity's engineering, game design, and product teams.

Additionally, the projects will be able to monetize their game using the crypto game's brand with a revenue-share model.

Some projects in the Builders Program include Inter the Dungeon, a push-your-luck dungeon crawl that will provide the standards for sharing style, prestige, and identity by showcasing how to exchange resources between games, Defenders of Lunacian Land (DOLL), a survival action game with simple gameplay and challenging roguelike elements, Across Lunacia, a platforming adventure for Axie NFTs, and Mech Infinity, a battle royale game involving Axies and their unique abilities.

What Is Axie Infinity? The Play-to-Earn NFT Game Taking Crypto by Storm

Non-fungible token (NFT) crypto collectibles like artwork and videos exploded in popularity in early 2021, but several blockchain-based video games had already been building in the space before most people took notice.  When NFTs hit the mainstream, the promising crypto game Axie Infinity by indie studio Sky Mavis took off. And when the wider NFT market cooled a bit after all of that hype… well, Axie Infinity got even bigger. Axie Infinity is inspired by Nintendo’s beloved Pokémon series. It se...

"The Builders Program is one of many initiatives that will unlock more enjoyment and utility for your Axies, in this case from community built experiences," Sky Mavis said in a statement.

The company added that it will also be forming partnerships with major game studios to develop experiences for the Axie Infinity and Ronin.

"We will be accepting many more teams over time (and maybe even quite soon) and everyone should continue to build," added Sky Mavis.