The crypto and NFT gaming space is busier than ever lately, what with prominent games starting to release, token airdrops piling up, and a seemingly constant array of other things happening at all times. It’s a lot to take in!
Luckily, Decrypt’s GG is all over it. And if you need a quick way to get caught up on the latest moves around crypto video games, we’re debuting This Week in Crypto Games.
Our weekend roundup serves up the biggest news from the past week, along with a few other tidbits you might have missed. We also showcase a few of our original stories from the week.
Biggest news
Notcoin token dated: Viral Telegram-based game Notcoin will launch its NOT token on The Open Network (TON) on or around April 20—also the current estimated date of the Bitcoin halving, so it’s going to be an extra-busy day for the crypto world.
And what will happen with Notcoin after the token drops? Yes, the coin-tapping game is indeed coming back, but there will be some big changes to mining coins and how the game’s ecosystem will work. We’ve got those details here at Decrypt’s GG, straight from the team.
Saga breaks Binance record: Speaking of gaming tokens—the SAGA token of layer-1 blockchain network Saga will launch on Tuesday, April 9, and Binance is currently holding a Launchpool campaign to offer up 45 million tokens (half the initial supply) to users who stake either BNB or FDUSD tokens.
And there’s been ample demand: As of this writing, over $13.3 billion worth of the tokens is being collectively staked by more than 450,000 total Binance users, setting a new record for a Binance Launchpool campaign.
Bitcoin gaming handheld: The BitBoy One (no relation to the crypto influencer) is a Bitcoin-centric handheld gaming device that looks like a classic Game Boy, albeit with a vivid translucent orange shell. But this upcoming device, estimated to cost $500 when it launches later this year, runs play-to-earn games, emulates classic games, works as a Bitcoin hardware wallet, and can apparently mine crypto airdrops from decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs).
Coachella scavenger hunt: The Coachella music festival is launching an on-site game that lets attendees collect Avalanche NFT-based stamps via an app with an integrated OpenSea Wallet. It ultimately lets them earn prizes, rewards, and special access in the process. This follows a recent release of Coachella NFTs on Avalanche via OpenSea.
ICYMI
- Solana-based hero shooter Nyan Heroes is wrapping up its pre-alpha demo on Tuesday. On Friday, the game’s team announced that more than 100,000 people have played so far, and that it’s offering NFT rewards and additional MEOW points (which go towards the NYAN token airdrop) to the top players on the leaderboard.
- Social Network, a Bitcoin layer-2 staking network, announced a location-based game that rewards users with NFTs for going out and “touching grass.”
- The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a report last week about crypto gaming and in-game “banking” across Web2 games, saying that such financial elements can lead to “exploited workers.”
- Ethereum user-generated content game Hytopia, previously known as NFT Worlds, is set to launch a closed beta test this month after raising $8 million by selling nodes that support its Hychain network.
- Pixel Vault is bringing its crypto game Battle Plan and the Reboot gaming protocol to Xai, a layer-3 Ethereum gaming network built with Arbitrum tech.
- Today, a social simulation game built with generative AI and NFTs, raised a $5 million seed round announced last week led by Sfermion and Big Brain Holdings.
- Square Enix’s Symbiogenesis game on Ethereum revealed more details about its collaboration with Avalanche-based shooter Shrapnel. Content from Shrapnel will be featured in a “treasure hunt” where players can earn NFTs, beginning on Tuesday.
- Trala Lab, subsidiary of mobile game publisher Joycity, will build on Ethereum scaling network zkSync.
GG spotlight
Here are a few of our original stories from this past week that we think are well worth a weekend read: