1. Researcher Comment

September started off with the news of Metapixel shutting down, then became more depressing with the Creator League debacle, but it seemed to be neutralized with news from big gaming companies like Krafton and Konami. On the other hand, the Fully Onchain Game industry still saw the release of new developer tools and infrastructure, and fun FOCGs like Pirate Nation, Primodium, and Sky Strife stayed strong with steady updates and playtests.

2. Major Updates

2.1 Minters releases MUD x Godot template

Source: Minters

Minters has released a framework that makes it easier to connect MUD, one of the Fully Onchain Game frameworks, with Godot, one of the existing game frameworks. While there are existing frameworks for connecting with Unity and Phaser, Godot is also popular among many indie game developers, so this framework will encourage more developers to try Fully Onchain Game.

2.2 Sky Strife to be Playtested for 2 Weeks

Sky Strife, currently the most popular Fully Onchain Game, has announced a two-week playtest instead of a one-off for the first time. To celebrate, several gaming communities have organized Sky Strife tournaments, including WASD, Composable Labs, and ggQuest x AW Research x PaladinsDAO, with three Sky Strife tournaments taking place this week alone.

2.3 Konami unveils Project Zircon, a blockchain-based TRPG game

Konami's Project Zircon is a TRPG that takes UGC to the extreme, where all game elements are created through user actions, except for the initial four continents and four countries. In addition to this, Konami is currently working on a marketplace called Resella, which will trade NFTs, but with an emphasis on convenience, so users don't need to know blockchain to use it.

3. Fundraising

*This information is taken from DefiLlama's raises page.

3.1 Cartridge (Source)

Cartridge is a project that provides the necessary infrastructure for a Fully Onchain Game, or Autonomous World. Cartridge provides the following infrastructure

• Controller: Player account management tool

• Dojo: On-chain game development framework

• Slot: management tools from local development to multiplayer playtesting to large-scale deployment.

• World Explorer: a common interface for players & developers to manage their on-chain state

3.2 Gam3s.gg (Source)

Rebranded from Polkastarter Gaming, Gam3s.gg has an active community of over 80,000 gamers and offers a wide range of features including game quests, social login, Steam progress tracking, leaderboards, streamer search, and games available to play directly on the platform. Regularly supplemented with new and exciting updates, GAM3S.GG aims to continue to pioneer and set new standards in Web 3.0 gaming.

3.3 Age of Dino (Source)

GamePhilos is currently working on a strategy game called Age of Dino, which is expected to launch on both mobile and PC platforms. Age of Dino is a Free to Play game with web3 elements including NFT ownership and an in-game economy. Age of Dino will also feature real-time battles, a trading system, a clan-based strategy system, and more, and will be released on the Xterio platform.

3.4 Mocaverse (Source)

Mocaverse creates Web3-native tools that allow users to create their own digital identity, build a reputation, and redeem their loyalty points in the Mocaverse ecosystem. Mocaverse will launch Moca ID, a collection of non-transferable NFTs that will allow users to create their own on-chain identity and participate in the Moacverse ecosystem.

3.5 Proof of Play (Source)

Proof of Play is currently working on Pirate Nation, an on-chain pirate RPG where users will build a ship, recruit new members, and compete against enemies. Since its beta launch in December 2022, Pirate Nation has received weekly updates, adding card-based combat, boss raids, and other content. In March of this year, the game moved from Polygon to Arbitrum Nova to reduce gas costs for users, and despite being a fully on-chain game, the team is still working to ensure that users can enjoy a seamless experience.

4. More Reads

4.1 Projects Updates

• Metapixel, closes operations

• Zynga reveals NFT minting schedule for mini-game platform Sugartown

• Creator League postpones launch

• Midnight Heist launches public playtest

• Neowiz enters strategic partnership with Ava Labs

• Minters Releases MUD x Godot Template

• Unity announces new pricing policy, then changes it again

• Primodium Releases Further Updates Including Fully Onchain Elements

• 0xhank releases npm package to integrate ERC Hohan tokens into MUDs

• Loot Realms Reveals Top 10 Projects Qualifying for Genesis Grant

• Krafton unveils Overdare, an NFT-based metaverse game project

• Pirate Nation undergoes update, Including F2P feature

• Ancient8 Unveils Ancient8 Chain, Its Own Layer 2

• Iskra officially launches Clashmon

• Sky Strife announces two-week playtest

• Tonk unveils Dappicom, an NES emulator written in Noir & Rust

• Parallel, Patch 0.21.2

• GAME DOSI, Frame Arms Girl: Dream Stadium Guild Wars End

• Paradise Tycoon makes IOS debut

• Off The Grid Reveals Creator Gameplay

• Pixels Announces Migration to Ronin Network

• Small Brain Games Releases Starter Kit to Create Fully Onchain Mobile Applcation

• Konami unveils Project Zircon, a blockchain-based TRPG game

4.2 Suggested Reads

• 0xKepler, Designing Death in Game Economies

The article explores the concept of designing impermanence in game economies, highlighting the potential benefits and challenges of economic resets, and provides examples of games implementing these mechanisms, suggesting that such resets can offer sustainability, fairness, and room for experimentation.

• WASD, DeSports: How Onchain Games Can Democratize Team Ownership

The article discusses the potential of onchain games to revolutionize sports team ownership and league structures through decentralized models, introducing concepts like "DeSports" and exploring alternatives such as DAOs and the "Power Player" model for team funding and governance.

• Syora, Discovering PixeLAW: The Fully Onchain Planet

The article delves into the concept of PixeLAW, a decentralized virtual space aiming to revolutionize the onchain gaming experience by offering a platform where users can create, govern, and interact in a fully onchain environment, emphasizing its unique features like metagame composability, interoperability between games, and the potential for a decentralized metaverse.

• Matt Dion, On Business Models (Part 2)

The article explores the parallels between open source software and onchain gaming, emphasizing the challenges of innovation replication and the importance of community-driven network effects in the decentralized gaming landscape.

• Modeo, A Guide to Authentic Virtual Society

The article emphasizes the need for onchain games to replicate authentic social dynamics, advocating for enforceable social contracts in gaming to mirror real-world interactions and relationships.

Thanks to Kate for designing the graphics for this article.