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All The Latest On Blockchain Gaming


Following 2022's bear market, GameFi enthusiasts are hoping the industry is due for a rebound despite the current crypto winter. And with bigger gaming studios looking to get into the blockchain action, the reserved optimism might be justified.  

This article provides a roundup of the latest news in the growing world of blockchain gaming.   

"Duels of Eternity" raises USD$2.5 million, announces EIO on BKEX 

The presale for "Calvaria: Duels of Eternity" surpassed USD$2.5 million. Its RIA token is ready for its initial exchange offering (IEO) on the premier centralized exchange BKEX. As reported by Cointelegraph, the presale sold out 80% of the tokens, meaning fewer than 30 million RIA tokens remain available. The game is looking to attract traditional gamers into blockchain gaming by offering a free-to-play (F2P) version available on mobile app stores and PC.  

Calvaria's flagship game, "Duels of Eternity," is a battle card strategy game where players use NFT cards and assets to stack their decks. They face other players in best-of-three matches, with the winner earning RIA tokens. The NFT cards and assets are fully owned and tradeable. Players can also spend RIA and combine cards to upgrade them.  

Calvaria is proving it's invested in its GameFi projects, with "Duels of Eternity" promising seasonal releases of new assets and game modes to keep fanning interest. Cointelegraph also reports that Calvaria is looking to develop an in-house esports team and organize tournaments with big prizes. These grand plans could have an impact on Ethereum gas fees. Add the fact that its performance often fluctuates—definitely, some days and hours are better than others.   

Square Enix sets sights on blockchain 

The company behind the massive gaming franchise "Final Fantasy" enters the new year stating its intentions to focus on blockchain entertainment. In his New Year's letter, Square Enix President Yosuke Matsuda wrote that the company has "devoted aggressive investment and business development efforts" to the pursuit.  

In September 2022, Square Enix forged a partnership with Oasys Gaming Blockchain. And in May of the same year, the company sold several of its studios to fund investments into a blockchain, AI, and cloud-based technologies. In the letter, Matsuda wrote the group has "multiple blockchain games based on original IPs under development" and that preparations are underway for unveiling more titles in 2023.  

While it seems inevitable that the titanic game developer will soon become a prominent figure in blockchain gaming, its efforts have yet to produce concrete deliverables.  

Gaming tokens continue to fall 

Last year was a nightmare for the crypto market, with a multitude of unrelated factors hitting currencies and other Altcoins hard. In blockchain gaming, few suffered more than Decentraland (MANA), The Sandbox (SAND), and Axie Infinity (AXS).  

Decentraland has plunged around 90% from its USD$3.40 value at the start of 2022 to about USD$0.32 entering 2023. Similarly, The Sandbox's token has devalued from USD$5.70 to about USD$0.43. Meanwhile, Axie, which once boasted a USD$158 value in July 2021, has plummeted to around USD$6.50. The only thing going for Axie is its gaming popularity, with the first Axie Infinity Esports Championships held late last year.  

But while the blockchain gaming industry continues to reel from the effects of the conflict in Ukraine, volatile financial markets, and crypto market scams, there are signs the field could experience a rebound. Prominent Web2 gaming companies continue to express interest in Web3, potentially bringing some of their users to the blockchain list. Additionally, Web3 gaming projects have begun using Unreal Engine 5, which should see the advancement of graphics and gameplay.    

Logan Paul embroiled in crypto gaming controversy 

YouTube sleuth Coffeezilla, Stephen Findeison, first spilled the beans on the dirty deeds behind "CryptoZoo." According to Findeison, players who bought the tokens and eggs never got access to their purchases because the game never worked. In "CryptoZoo," players sign in and purchase CryptoZoo tokens, which they can use to buy eggs. Breeding the animals hatched from eggs is the object of the game. The rarer the animal, the more valuable it is.  

As reported by Esports.net, records show USD$2.3 million was spent on purchasing "CryptoZoo" eggs. While it was claimed that ten artists created the egg images, it was later uncovered that they were merely ripped off from Google Images. Additionally, several people involved with the project claimed they were never paid. In fact, there are reports the main developer took the game's code and demanded USD$1 million from Logan and his team.  


Findeison also blew the whistle in an attempt to pump and dump the game's P2E token before it came out. Coffeezilla somehow managed to obtain screenshots from a group chat with Paul, his manager, and two others. Paul has since denied the allegations, tweeting, "When appropriate, all bad actors will be exposed, explained & held fully accountable."  

Final words 

As GameFi continues to evolve, venture capitalists and game developers will pursue plenty of projects in search of the perfect recipe for sustainable interest and success. If you're a fan of decentralized finance, there are still a lot of bad actors you need to be wary of in the industry's nascent stages. As such, you should look closely at ratings and reviews and perform due diligence on the people and companies behind the GameFi projects.


Economic analysis   Technology   Blockchain