The MMO genre has changed in many ways throughout the past two decades Whether it was a paradigm shift from subscription to free-to-play games, or tab combat to action combat, the genre has constantly evolved. Now, it looks like the rise of blockchain is slowly permeating within the MMO genre with new games popping up seemingly out of nowhere. There are many ways to utilize blockchain in a game, but here are 5 games that are implementing blockchain-based features that are worth keeping your eye on.
Ember Sword
Sometimes, when a new blockchain game hits the market, a lot of crypto-jargon takes center stage, confusing regular players and, sometimes, even turning them off. Ember Sword is not that kind of game. The team at Bright Star Studios has planned this Free-to-Play MMORPG with one underlying principle, “gameplay first”. Ember Sword’s public launch is expected sometime in 2022, and game testing is currently ongoing. Ember Sword boasts challenging end-game PvE, hardcore PvP, a living economy, unique progression and an AI Gamemaster that builds new experiences for players every time they login.
Ember Sword’s blockchain integration will run the cosmetic and land ownership portions of the game, giving players full ownership rights to the land they purchase, with the ability to sell these items on greymarkets without going against any terms of service rules. Ember Sword has found some substantial success with an influx of funding ahead of their first land rush that sold out in a matter of hours.
Blankos Block Party
Everyone loves a good party, and in Blankos Block Party, you can create your own unique experience. Blankos Block Party boasts a growing number of game modes, and the ability to create your own levels, complete with objectives that you set. Players will also have access to thousands of player-created levels, and a developer-created overworld, complete with quests and objectives with their own rewards. BBP transitioned into a soft-launch early access after a successful several months of beta.
Blankos Block Party leverages blockchain by tokenizing in-game assets, and allows players to buy Blankos and accessories with USD or crypto currency. Some Blankos will only be available at limited quantities, as the nature of blockchain virtual goods allows for scarcity and transactional transparency. This way, players will have true ownership over the unique digital vinyl-figures called Blankos that they collect, and the special items that they buy or obtain in-game. The team at Mythical has also put together a Mythical Marketplace that is currently in closed-alpha status, but will eventually allow players to buy and sell Blankos Block Party NFT’s. Luckily, even if you choose not to participate in building levels, or buying and selling your tokenized assets, you’ll still be able to play the game, and all of its fun party-style games, like racing and team deathmatches, for free.
Infinite Fleet
There are a few space MMO’s in the works, but only one channels some old school Robotech vibes while embracing an EVE Online-like economy, and then amps it up to over 9000. Infinite Fleet is a new, in development, sci-fi strategy MMO where players will build and customize their own fleet, and take on the aliens known as the Atrox. Unique ship designs and mechs are just a part of the game, as combat, mining and progression are all part of the larger game loop that will further allow players to interact and cooperate with other players on a massive scale.
Infinite Fleet doesn’t utilize blockchain in the core game, but their virtual currency INF is a crypto-asset that can be utilized both in and out of the game to purchase virtual items. Virtual items will also be transacted via blockchain as NFT’s to keep a record of transactional history. Players will be able to earn INF tokens through in-game events and missions. They can then choose to hold INF in their own crypto wallets, and enact transactions with other players outside of the game. Infinite Fleet runs INF off of the Liquid Network, a sidechain of the Bitcoin blockchain, and any crypto-wallet that supports Bitcoin and the Liquid Network will be supported.
War Riders
If you were a fan of Auto Assault, then War Riders might just be the game for you. War Riders prides itself as being the first MMO where you can earn crypto currency, and blow up cars. In War Riders you have some very simplistic goals, despite facing some rather menacing opposition. You need to mine Benzene, fend off rival wastelanders, and eventually, build out their garage of cars and accessorize them.
War Riders utilizes an Ethereum-based item system, so items can be traded on the open market on sites like OpenSea. Benzene (BNZ) is War Riders’ native cryptocurrency, and players will need to obtain these BNZ tokens at different locations throughout the wasteland, and redeem in a garage to purchase guns, ammo, or build and upgrade garages. In order to play War Riders, players will need to first purchase a vehicle, but all vehicles are tradeable in (and out of) the marketplace. Whether you want to rent out your garage that comes with your vehicle to new players for protection, or take to the wasteland and destroy any that aim to take your BNZ, the choice is yours.
Farsite Online
Farsite Online is an MMORTS game that takes the premise of a player-driven economy to the next level. While many of the games on this list freely allow players to take items found in the game, or purchased, and sell them on an open market, Farsite pushes that one step further, as every game item is an NFT created by a player that can be traded on the open market. With 9 different classes to choose from, mining, crafting and base building, Farsite Online will have quite a bit to do for those that love to obtain resources, even if it costs them their lives.
Farsite Online uses a three-layer approach of distributed ledger technologies. The Ethereum network provides secure ownership of in-game items, FAR Tokens and more, while the second layer built on the MATIC sidechain hosts virtual wallets and provides instant transactions at no cost to players. Virtual wallets are created for all new players, but the ability to house your items that you own on another virtual wallet will allow for additional security. A robust roadmap for further development of Farsite is available on the official site, so you can follow along with all of the new features headed to the game throughout 2021 and beyond.
