WAX Studios, a Web3 company focused on and affiliated with the NFT-centric WAX blockchain, is continuing its push into play-to-earn (P2E) gaming.
The studio has hired Richard Garfield, mathematician and creator of the tabletop card game “Magic: The Gathering,” to develop a PVP (player vs. player) game mode for Wax Studios’ first NFT game, “Blockchain Brawlers.”
“I am aiming for a game that is entertaining and immersive with real strategic choices and opportunity for risk taking—yet easy enough to learn that it opens up Blockchain Brawlers to a broad player audience,” Garfield said in a statement.
NFTs are unique blockchain tokens that signify ownership over an asset. In the case of “Blockchain Brawlers,” each NFT is tied to an in-game character (called a Brawler) with different traits and rarities.
Players then pit their wrestling NFTs against each other to earn BRWL tokens. Rarer NFTs mean greater rewards.
The game’s original PVE (player vs. environment) mode was launched at the end of March. In its first two weeks of beta, it saw over $430 million in volume traded.
At the time of writing, one entry-level NFT Brawler costs at least 2,400 WAX, which is about $600. But in the current game mode, players will also have to purchase a virtual wrestling ring in order to play, and those start at around 590 WAX, or about $150.
Wax Studios Chief Gaming Officer Michael Rubinelli thinks P2E gaming needs an overhaul, and sees Garfield as just the right person for the job.
“Web3 gaming is in urgent need of redefinition. Right now, it’s more about farming than having fun,” Rubinelli said, adding that Garfield has a “beautiful, mathematical, and strategy-driven mind.”
Garfield’s work on Blockchain Brawlers could help the game’s growth and establish a long-term user base. “Brawlers” is currently among the top 40 most popular blockchain games, according to data from DappRadar.