Author: 0xjs@Jinse Finance
At a time when industry insiders have criticized Web3 games for having "fi" but no "game", a Web3 game called Off The Grid has quietly become popular.
Off The Grid was released in early access on October 8, 2024, and is accessible to players on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC through the Epic Games Store.
Shortly after its launch, Off The Grid attracted over 7 million players. Since its release, Off the Grid has consistently topped the list of the most popular free PC games on the Epic Games Store, demonstrating its widespread popularity.
Off The Grid is significant for the Web3 gaming industry. This game not only represents a 3A-level game, but it also signifies a shift in the Web3 gaming paradigm.
In recent years, Web3 games have not been very successful, as they have primarily focused on token-based rewards to attract players. The players' sole purpose was to obtain these rewards. After the initial hype, the player count has dropped sharply.
Unlike previous Web3 game developers, the slogan of the Off The Grid development company, Gunzilla Games, is "Play for fun, Play to Own". They prioritize high-quality gaming experiences over token-based incentive mechanisms. At the same time, they integrate Web3 into the game through "Play to Own", addressing the shortcomings of traditional games. The blockchain is a complement to the game, not the primary driving force.
Off The Grid Game: Cyberpunk Battle Royale + Player-Driven
Off The Grid, developed by Gunzilla Games, is based on the Avalanche blockchain and combines the battle royale genre with blockchain technology.
The game is set in the fictional Teardrop Island, transporting players into a cyberpunk dystopian world where survival requires not only combat skills but also strategic decision-making.
Teardrop Island
In addition to its visual appeal and rich storyline, Off The Grid integrates innovative gameplay with a social ecosystem. Off The Grid combines player-versus-player (PvP) and player-versus-environment (PvE) elements. Players can participate in 150-player PvP battles while engaging in narrative-driven PvE missions that influence the game world. The game allows players to impact the storyline through their actions, adding a role-playing element to the intense combat. Weapon customization and mechanical limb enhancements further deepen the gameplay.
Off the Grid mints in-game assets such as weapons and skins as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Avalanche GUNZ subnet, ensuring player ownership of these assets. This allows them to participate in a secondary market, making these items valuable not only within the game but also tradable.
Furthermore, the Web3 components of Off The Grid are optional, allowing traditional players to focus on the battle royale experience, while Web3 players can benefit from the transferable in-game Web3 assets and the overall Web3 gaming economy.
Behind Off The Grid: Gunzilla Games and GUNZ
The developer behind Off The Grid is Gunzilla Games. Gunzilla Games was founded in 2020 and is an independent AAA game development studio dedicated to creating the next generation of battle royale games. The company is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, with additional offices in Los Angeles, USA, Kyiv, Ukraine, and London, UK. In March 2024, Gunzilla Games raised $30 million in funding from CoinFund and the Blizzard Fund, an Avalanche subsidiary.
Gunzilla Games' strong team is a significant factor in the popularity of Off The Grid.
Gunzilla Games was co-founded by CEO Vlad Korolov and CSO Alexander Zoll, both serial entrepreneurs who have previously founded the game voice platform SONUS and the game social and matchmaking platform Plink.
Another co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Gunzilla is Neill Blomkamp, a renowned director, screenwriter, producer, and visual effects artist. His classic science fiction film "District 9" was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects.
Other members of the Gunzilla team come from leading studios and publishers in the industry, such as Ubisoft, Electronic Arts (EA), Blizzard Entertainment, and THQ, including:
Richard K. Morgan, the author of the Altered Carbon series, which was later adapted into the award-winning Netflix series;
Timur Davidenko, who served as the Technical Director of CryEngine and contributed to the development of Far Cry, Warfront, and Crysis.
GUNZ is the blockchain platform that supports Gunzilla Games' battle royale game, Off The Grid. Gunzilla Games announced the launch of the GUNZ subnet on April 5, 2023. GUNZ is an innovative and sustainable blockchain digital economy platform built on an Avalanche subnet. The GUNZ subnet is customized to provide a seamless gaming experience, and GUN is the official token of the GUNZ platform, which can be used for trading and purchasing items on the marketplace. All in-game items, including weapons, character customization, hideout decorations, and upgrades, can be traded on the GUNZ marketplace.
Why is Off the Grid so popular?
In summary, the key factors behind the success of Off The Grid are:
1. Focus on gaming fun, not just earning: While many Web3 games have focused on token economics and incentive models, the primary success factor of Off the Grid is its focus on the gaming experience itself, while integrating crypto elements.
2. Decentralization and ownership: In addition to the fun factor, the core of the Web3 experience in Off The Grid is the Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). In-game items such as weapons, augmentation enhancements, and skins are all NFTs. This means there is no central entity controlling the game or the assets, allowing players to truly own their digital items and collectibles through the GUNZ platform. These assets are stored on the blockchain, enabling players to freely buy, sell, or trade them outside of the game. This player-controlled game economy adds an additional layer of value to the time invested in the game, as items can be traded or sold for cryptocurrency.
3. Optional on-chain features: Unlike previous Web3 games, Off the Grid makes the Web3 components optional. Off the Grid players can fully enjoy the gaming experience without the need to own crypto assets, allowing traditional game users to play the game without any issues.
4. Smooth gaming experience: Despite the use of blockchain, Off The Grid still provides a quality gaming experience without compromising on performance or speed. Thanks to the Avalanche network, in-game transactions are fast and efficient, ensuring an uninterrupted player experience. At the same time, the game is a social activity, and Off The Grid is a cross-platform game, offering cross-play on PlayStation and Xbox.
5. Strong community engagement: The Off The Grid community is very active, with many KOLs participating in game livestreams. Off The Grid is the first Web3 game to establish partnerships with well-known streamers like Ninja and TimtheTatman.
Ultimately, it is a return to the essence of gaming, "being fun", and the blockchain technology addressing the "ownership" shortcomings of traditional games.
Conclusion
The crypto industry generally sees Web3 games as one of the primary use cases for crypto.
However, in recent years, many Web3 games have failed because they have focused too much on "tokenization" incentives, losing the core essence of gaming, "being fun".
Off the Grid has not only succeeded as a Web3 game but can also be considered a huge success even compared to traditional games.
This once again proves that Web3 games are still a promising industry.
Will Web3 games make it?
