Animoca Brands acquires blockchain game streaming platform
Hong Kong Web3 gaming giant Animoca Brands (The Sandbox, Revv, Phantom Galaxies) has acquired blockchain-driven streaming platform Azarus for an undisclosed amount.
Azarus, whose slogan is “Streaming is not TV,” allows users to live-stream their gameplay while using tokens for incentives and rewards. Animoca Brands said it hopes to use Azarus’ technology to change gaming culture, allowing streamers to create new revenue streams, engage audiences and reward fans, while allowing audiences to support the creators they love.
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This is actually how Twitch won the competition in the first place. By focusing on the interaction between streamers and viewers, and designing tiered incentives for users to become part of the community, Azarus also has the potential to grow to the point where blockchain games can cater to a much larger audience.
Through partnerships with well-known brands and streamers, Azarus has distributed over $2 million in rewards to a diverse audience of over 20 million unique players.
Animoca Brands executive chairman Yat Siu likened Azarus to the early days of The Sandbox, in which Animoca also invested, while Azarus CEO Alexander Casassovici said the deal “amplifies our vision.”
We don’t just enhance streaming; we enhance streaming. We are pioneering a movement where every viewer becomes an active participant and every live broadcast an immersive experience. “
🎮 Big news🎮
Azarus recently joined @animocabrands Family 🙌, we’re celebrating by launching Supercharged Streams!
Earn 3x Azarus rewards on these streams and redeem them in our store (30% off)! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/DEgCuxI5B0
— Azarus.io (@azarusio) November 1, 2023
Animoca has a promising library of Web3 games, which means it already has what it needs to develop game streaming experiences. Now, combined with Azarus’ technology, Web3 gamers can unite around their favorite games and build a more vibrant community. This acquisition could also pave the way for Web3 gaming to become a popular profession – attracting the next wave of gaming talent to participate in the future of blockchain gaming.
GAM3 Awards Returns with Familiar Jury
A new night for Web3 games – the GAM3 Awards are back for the second year with three new categories: Best Fighting Game, Best Sports Game and Best On-Chain Game.
Thanks to the participation of many well-known sponsors including Amazon, Google, Magic Eden and the Blockchain Gaming Alliance, a total of $2 million worth of prizes are up for grabs.
Last year’s first edition featured more than 100 nominees in 16 categories, more than 250,000 votes, and more than 30,000 users live-streaming the event.
Big Time, a free-to-play multiplayer action RPG with a pre-season launch, won Game of the Year, while Shrapnel, a competitive evacuation shooter preparing for open beta, won the Most Popular Looking forward to the Game Awards.
The event’s judging panel is made up of the biggest names in gaming, including Web3 Gaming Ventures, franchises, infrastructure partners, content creators and yours truly. The jury’s decision will influence 90% of the final result, with community voting accounting for the remaining 10%.
The finals are scheduled for December 14 and will be broadcast live.
Teaching financial knowledge through Web3 games
The cryptocurrency and blockchain world gathered in Istanbul this week for Binance’s flagship event, Binance Blockchain Week. Of course, blockchain gaming is an important part of the two-day summit. Between the internet and delicious Turkish food, I found the opportunity to join a panel where CryptoPotato Editor-in-Chief George Georgiev asked some pertinent questions about Web3 gaming from industry experts: Animoca’s Siu, Gomble co-founder Chris Chang, Jeremy Horn, Chief Operating Officer of Xterio.
Who cares about this $10,000 jpeg! “
Xterio’s Horn’s words underscore the point that when developers focus on financial gain, they scare away real gamers. He also compared the attitudes of Eastern and Western players towards Web3 games, saying that Eastern players are more tolerant of paid games because they are more familiar with free games.
“In gaming, we’re always teaching people new systems,” Siu added. “When you think back to every new game you played, you learned a new skill from it.”
He said his kids could talk about Pokémon characters, Call of Duty abilities and Apex Legends characters all day long. Players are always learning something while playing a game.
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This is real. In Elden Ring, you learn attack patterns after rage quitting ten times and being killed five times. Players can learn the names of players from your favorite football club by playing FIFA. Some even get their military knowledge from games like Battlefield and Call of Duty.
So when he says that we can teach financial literacy and educate the players of these games through tokenized Web3 games, I believe he has a point. What Web3 needs is mainstream adoption, and in order for that to happen, people need to know it’s not a scam or a get-rich scheme. This can only be achieved through education. Xiao pointed out:
We’ve finally reached the point where all the work of Web3 developers will finally pay off. “
I really want to see these promises delivered. People are hungry for great games, especially games in the Web3 space. High-quality games are the only way for Web3 games to become popular. When they come out—and only if they’re really good—people will turn around and say, “Oh, look, there’s a game in Web3 that I want to play!”
Hot Topic: Project Xeno
Developed by Japan’s CROOZ Blockchain Laboratory, Project Xeno is a tactical turn-based player versus player (PvP) game where players can use NFT characters to fight each other. It has a earn-as-you-play model that rewards players with crypto assets for their in-game achievements.
Aliens are NFT characters used in combat that can be upgraded through upgrades, weapons (also NFT), and charms (also NFT). Each alien has two passive skills and one special skill. Special skills can be used by spending special meters and leveling up using in-game currency.
Players can place their three aliens anywhere in the 3×3 space. Characters are divided into six professions, and each profession can equip four skill cards. We can see some results from the team building up and making some efforts on strategic elements, but some improvements are still needed.
The English translation is poorly done, and there are many examples, such as the “Skill Enhancement” tab in the store. Progress can feel very slow and require quite a bit of grinding if you’re not willing to spend the money. I say no to that, but if you want to check out the game, Project Xeno is free to play and can be downloaded on Android and iOS.
The gameplay is quite simple. It makes me wonder if Project Xeno would be more fun if it were an auto-battle game or an idle game, since it feels like I don’t even need to be around to play the game at times. The graphics are interesting, but don’t expect too much from that aspect.
More content from the Web3 Game Space:
– Layer 1 blockchain and smart contract platform Sui team Join Space and Time to provide tools based on zero-knowledge proofs for Web3 game developers.
– Immutable declare Its zero-knowledge scaling solution zkEVM is about to launch four Web3 games: GensoKishi Online, Cursed Stone, Sailwars and carnival.
–Illuvium will epic store November 28th.
– Decentralized cloud provider Aethir get Support from NVIDIA.
– Grammy-nominated DJ and world-renowned music producer Steve Aoki cooperate Collaborate with STEPN to create a digital sneaker collection.
– Ronin-based mobile RTS game “Wild Forest” start Open beta on November 9th.
– Solana Labs emission A beta version of GameShift, a Web3 service for game developers.
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Elkhan Kahraman
Erhan lives in Istanbul and started his career as a games journalist. He now works as a freelance writer and content creator focusing on cutting-edge technology and video games. He enjoys playing Elden Ring, Street Fighter 6, and Persona 5.
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