Over the past year and particularly the past few days, “the metaverse” has become a more alluring destination. Nebulous and far off as it sounds to transcend physics and flourish in a fully inhabitable virtual world, blockchain and oracles are already making it happen. NFT game Axie Infinity illustrates how the metaverse offers more than just a digital escape; it’s a means to level-up in the real world, too.
Axie isn’t one of your standard “play-to-earn” games run by opaque third-party marketplaces and the whim of developers. The most popular game on the Ethereum blockchain, Axie’s Pokémon/Tamagotchi-esque realm of dueling digital pets is a decentralized player-owned economy, where users are so well compensated for their contributions to the game’s ecosystem that some are playing as a main source of income.
For many living in the Philippines, working in Axie’s metaverse means no longer having to work overseas – a life-saving shift during a global pandemic. During the Covid era, Axie’s daily active users (DAUs) have increased astronomically – from around 500 during the summer of 2020 to almost half a million during the summer of 2021.
Axie is founded on Chainlink’s industry-standard decentralized Price Feeds while Chainlink VRF facilitates the introduction of provably random elements into the game. Verifiable randomness ensures digital scarcity in gaming ecosystems, where everything including virtual real estate holds unique value.
Jeff Zirlin, Co-Founder and Growth Lead at Sky Mavis, Axie Infinity’s developer, told Chainlink Today he believes that games with player-owned economies will eventually become our digital homes. But even for games as popular as Axie, there’s no such thing as an overnight success story. “Compound growth and keeping your community engaged over years is the surest way to hit escape velocity,” he said.
Sky Mavis Co-Founder and COO Aleksander Leonard Larsen told Chainlink Today that “the importance of grit and believing in something long-term” will be the heart of his panel discussion at this week’s highly anticipated SmartCon #1.
Echoing Zirlin’s belief that “community is key in the crypto space,” Larsen said, “Our players are constantly surprising us with their dedication to Axie Infinity and it has been great to see some of the stories they share. I love hearing about Axie Infinity putting food on the table for players around the world.”
“I love hearing about Axie Infinity putting food on the table for players around the world.” – Aleksander Leonard Larsen, Sky Mavis COO
Larsen said the launch of Ronin – Axie’s Ethereum sidechain for blockchain games – “unlocked a significant amount of pent-up demand and showed the crypto community exactly how strong our community is.” Chainlink Price Feeds are essential to secure accurate pricing for buying and selling Axies as the community expands. “It helps ensure the integrity of Axie Infinity, “ Larsen said.
He expects this will manifest even more widespread adoption, bringing the metaverse that much closer to ubiquity.
“In 2022 we will take on the world and go mainstream.”
To learn more about Axie Infinity, visit their website, Discord and Twitter.
To learn more about SmartCon #1 and stay up-to-date on the latest announcements, visit the Smart Contract Summit website, follow Chainlink Labs and Chainlink Today on Twitter and check back for Chainlink Today’s in-depth coverage leading up to and during the event.