DeFi Kingdoms: Current State of Affairs, Microsoft's Master Monopoly Plan & Korea Goes All In on Blockchain Gaming
DeFi Kingdoms: Current State of Affairs
SURGE IN PLAYER ACTIVITY SINCE CRYSTALVALE RELEASE
At time of writing, there have been over 47+ million total transactions on the DFK blockchain, which handles gameplay transaction in the Crystalvale expansion and hosts the Crystalvale DEX.
The DFK chain was built using Avalanche’s subnet technology, allowing for “customisable blockchain networks” that prioritise the user experience whilst also not sacrificing security or decentralisation. This tech allows for builders to scale their gaming applications and cater to higher transaction volumes.
Find out more about Avalanche Subnets here + Crystalvale here.
Note: March 30, 2022 was the Crystalvale expansion launch.
Whilst the number of active wallet addresses in blue (player accounts) decreased by 76.99% from the end of March until now, blockchain transaction counts in orange have been hitting all time highs these past two weeks, averaging at approximately 1.15 million a day.
The Crystalvale playerbase hasn’t grown as significantly over the last 4 months as it did during its first two weeks, however it has been increasingly active.
The decrease in users and transactions on the Harmony Chain that has been happening since April 22 hints at a player migration from Serendale, the first game map that was released, to Crystalvale, where newer, attractive game mechanics have been introduced with plenty more still to come.
Check out DFK Subnet data here + Harmony chain data here.
UPCOMING REVAMP TO THE 1ST GAME MAP – SERENDALE 2.0
According to a DFK team AMA (see summary here) on August 11, 2022, there will be a Serendale 2.0 which will be hosted on another blockchain than Harmony. This remains to be decided and officially announced.
PvP MOBILE COMPANION APP IN THE WORKS
Wisdom Labs, a new development division by Wisdom Gaming, will be developing the PvP game mode for DeFi Kingdoms as a mobile companion app.
Wisdom Gaming “specialises in esports production and marketing, content creation, tournament organisation, design, and strategic brand activation.” Their scope of work for DFK will include crafting the creative vision, building the system architecture and launching the game.
Microsoft’s Master Monopoly Plan (?)
A few weeks ago, we mentioned how Microsoft is leading the innovation of cloud gaming with Xbox Cloud. Well, they have also set out to dominate the subscribe-to-play model, having already captured 60-70% of the global subscription services market with Xbox Game Pass.
As of January 2022, Game Pass had 25 million subscribers making the most of their $9.99 monthly payment to access hundreds of games, including some of the best independent games ever created. Since the subscription service’s launch in 2017, Microsoft revealed they have paid developers and publishers “hundreds of millions of dollars” in license fees.
A few days ago, Microsoft announced they would reward every single Game Pass Ultimate subscriber with a real-life dog. Now that surely is a way to kill the competition.
Let’s quickly rewind to February 2022, back to when Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard, and with it the IP of the most iconic franchises gaming has seen: Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Candy Crush, Diablo… the list goes on. Voicing the concerns of many, Adam Conover argued how detrimental it would for the industry if Microsoft successfully built a monopoly “Amazon-style”:
Many rebuttals to his claims were made (including this video).
Here is a summary of them:
Giving into fear-mongering that Microsoft will outcompete all other game publishers is downplaying what the competition (Sony, Nintendo) has achieved.
Sony is already competing with their own subscription service Playstation Now.
The amount of money required to start an indie game development studio is low, we frequently see indie games become hits and launching massive franchises. We’ve also been seeing more gaming studios formed than ever.
Game Pass isn’t all bad since it has given considerable exposure to indie games, whilst also paying developers and publishers.
Arguably, the Game Pass service Microsoft offers is helping to push the industry forward as a new kind of release model that makes games more financially accessible.
Also let’s not look past the Embracer Group, who has acquired 15 companies in 2022 alone. In most recent news, they are set to purchase Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit IP rights and more, for an aggregated upfront purchase of $576 million.
OTHER NEWS
Korea Goes All In On Blockchain Gaming
Korean gaming companies are launching their own blockchains, and are in a great position to do so.
Having pioneered the online PC gaming scene, and many having run MMORPGs themselves for over a decade, these companies have experienced all sorts of real-life scaling issues and security attacks. Both of which are key issues when it comes to developing blockchain-enabled games.
In Kyu Lee’s words:
“They may be new to the blockchain space, but they may be even more experienced than any existing blockchain when it comes to live operations. They’ll want to be able to control the root of problems.”
Moreover, games with digital asset trading and indirect fiat exchanges have already been existing in Korea for 20+ years.
Make sure to check out the rest of his thread on why Korean gaming companies have a strong competitive advantage and why they’d rather build their own ecosystems.
A Strong Use Case for Blockchain Tech: Esports
Provides a solution based on trust that address the problems fraud brings to the esports ecosystem.
Brings transparency, allow for new organisations to show proof of funds and design smart contracts which automatically distribute prize pools as competitions end.
Makes it easier, safer and more efficient for small organisations to crowdfund themselves – with crypto utility tokens generated by the games themselves or contributions of large gamer communities, anyone can make an event.
Most esports tournaments attract players from all over the world. Blockchain makes it easier to pay players and organisations internationally, especially for those nations outside of the modern financial system loop since they can get paid without needing a bank account.
Credits to Exeedme.