There are many GameFi projects in the Metaverse under development. Of course, most projects will launch NFT sales and airdrops first. This is to accumulate funds and also gain the right traction for creating new and dynamic communities who want to play games whilst earning at the same time.
However, on the other side of the spectrum, we are now starting to encounter NFT Projects that morph into games. Initially, these started off as NFT avatar projects. But with growing and enthusiastic communities hungry for more – these projects are gamifying their creations.
Here are a few NFT projects with intriguing games in the works:
1. CyberKongz VX
Initially, CyberKongz grew popular by itself – starting as a collection of 1000 unique NFTs by artist myoo in March 2021.
The next step for the project was the creation of $BANANA where the CyberKongz community could either yield or burn these tokens depending on whether they wanted to earn $BANANA or modify their CyberKongz, as well as breed and incubate Baby CyberKongz.
It is now an established community-powered project and they see CyberKongz VX as the next logical evolution of the project i.e. preparation for their inevitable march into the Metaverse where players can partake in mini-adventures and parkour-based games.
With CyberKongz VX the project is bringing the jungle to life with a 3D Voxel collection of 15,000 models – utilized and playable in the upcoming CyberKongz Metaverse space in partnership with The Sandbox.
CyberKongz VX will be playable in The Sandbox and holders will be able to take part in the play-to-earn mechanics The Sandbox can offer.
2. MetaBirds
It is hard to tell which came first. Was it the Meta Birds or Nest Arcade their gaming hub?
Nest Arcade is a blockchain gaming arcade on the Solana blockchain. Players can bet and earn $NESTA tokens in what Nest Arcade calls ‘a casual Web3 gaming arcade’. Nest Arcade is not a single gaming project but a collection of multiple games that users can play using their NFTs.
MetaBirds, a collection of 1,600 birds, is flappy bird style play-to-earn game. The game’s objective is to fly your bird through space, avoiding obstacles, and collecting as many coins as possible. There is a demo you can play – but to access this, you must be a MetaBirds NFT holder and these NFTs are available in Magic Eden.
3. Bored Ape Yacht Club
Who doesn’t know about the Bored Ape Yacht Club? It is only one of the most successful NFT projects of all time. Yuga Labs has continually worked to offer us some of the best NFT projects out there. But now, with the recent teaser trailer on the BAYC’s Otherside, we can wait in anticipation for a gamified NFT project from the famously bored apes.
It seems like Yuga Labs is planning on adding a lot of new aspects to the Otherside NFT Game. The project will also include collections from Cool Cats, World of Women, and many more popular NFT releases creating an open world where respective collectors can own land and interact with each other.
There are still questions about what the game will look like and what will be involved but it’s safe to say it will be an intriguing and ambitious Metaverse endeavor.
According to their website, Otherside will combine the mechanics of massively multiplayer online roleplaying games (MMORPGS) with a Web3-enabled virtual world. This virtual world will be owned by players as are the NFTs which will become playable characters.
There is huge excitement and hype surrounding this project – with Yuga Labs already having a massive sale for Otherdeed (The NFT Land sale for Otherside). The ‘largest NFT mint in history’ had a significant impact on the Ethereum blockchain, causing GAS fees to soar and Etherscan to crash.
4. SkateX
SkateX stands out as extreme sports and action-packed games where people first need to own charming and visually stunning Skateboard NFTs.
According to SkateX, the game itself will be a skill-based skateboarding game set in an open-world Metaverse.
Whether playing alone or with a crew, you’ll be able to compete in challenges, learn new tricks, and compete in tournaments while at the same time building a fan-base to unlock sponsorships, prizes, and other rewards.
These NFTs will come in different designs and attributes. There will be customisations available, as well. But most importantly, people can join for free and then play to earn.
SkateX’s efforts in the Skateboard NFT designs are evident and if they can match the popularity of other famous skateboarding games – this is one to watch out for.
5. Rebel Bots – Xoil Wars
Rebel Bots is another collection of NFTs with a unique concept and backstory. Rebel Bots is working on the first game in its universe, Xoil Wars – a cross platform card battle game inspired by famous games such as Hearthstone.
At the centre of Xoil Wars are 10,000 Genesis NFT robots which were released as NFT avatars in August 2021. These Rebel Bots had banded together on their planet, Xoilium but have now established competing kingdoms at war with each other in the hunt for Xoil (Extra Terrestrial Oil).
According to Rebel Bots – Xoil Worlds, the game will be primarily skill-based with almost zero randomness and very little luck involved in the gameplay. The game aims to unite players around alien kingdoms, build an army of fighting robots, and compete for that valuable Xoil.
Keep Your Eyes Out For More
It is a growing trend for NFT projects to create and launch games they hope will grow their communities and satisfy the needs of holders who want more. After all, most industry leaders believe that ‘Gamification’ will play a prominent role in the Web 3.0 era. Hence, many are working on making things a little more interactive and entertaining for their holders.
Similarly, Game Finance (Gamefi), like Play-To-Earn, and many other incentives like Run To Run, Read To Earn, etc., will also play a pivotal role in the Metaverse.
So, keep your eyes out for some more exciting NFT gaming projects to come.
