“To infinity and beyond!” -Buzz Lightyear
The Foundation
Axie Infinity is perhaps one of the most influential and prominent Blockchain games that exists today. Similar to Decentraland, Axie Infinity is a digital universe with its own community and user-owned and operated economy; the pillars on which this network was built. Unique in gameplay and functionality, it was designed as an ‘open-ended pet universe’ where users use their ‘Axies’ to play and earn.
Coming to the stage in late 2017, officially as a playable game in 2018, Axie Infinity holds the reputation as the #1 Ethereum based game. The size of this community (claimed to be the largest AND strongest), both in monetary support and the gaming volume, speaks loudly in support of said ranking. Hoping to fully achieve the vision to make Axie Infinity into this decentralized universe, developers are continuously looking for ways to enhance gameplay for the users, whether in upgrading software, or opening up new opportunities in gameplay.
The Vision
When the core team set out on this mission in 2017, they envisioned a world that was owned and operated by its users. A vast player owned economy and ecosystem where players can use their axies to trade, build, battle, breed and live in this universe. Fun, opportunistic and full of community- the game has embodied what they set out to do, yet not fully.
They wish to be more than a gaming community, but a whole social and economic environment. Here’s a list of end-game goals from the communitie’s whitepaper, of which, they’ve checked off a bunch:
The endgame is to create a single application which players can use to interact with the entire Axie Infinity universe:
- Social network
- Marketplace
- Progression of Axies (Leveling, achievements)
- Breeding Game
- PvP with ladder and tournaments
- PvE / Adventure mode
- Land Gameplay
- Players expand their kingdom, harvest resources, attack Chimeras and other players.
- Lunacia SDK – Allowing developers and creators to make games using existing Axie Infinity assets and hosting them on land.
The Game and AXS
So what exactly can I do in Axie Infinity? Well, you name it! The game started out with a breeding game, where you can infinitely mix and max characteristics of axies to build your own. Having come through various implementations of gameplay, the game has gone further so players can battle, collect, raise, and build kingdoms for their digital pets. Most any item, or space in the universe can be bought, sold or traded.
One can truly own, buy, sell and trade resources to advance throughout the game. Truly? Yes. With AXS (Axie Infinity Shards) The (at the time of writing) 27th largest Mkt. Cap. of all tradeable cryptos. AXS is the native currency used for all transfers of money made on the network. Players seek to earn while they play, having many ways to do so- mostly in the form of the NFT marketplace, though offering other ways to earn, such as staking or taking part in governance voting.
Every user gets a unique experience, as there are various strategies used to advance within this universe and earn more AXS. As we’ve mentioned: NFT trading (your Axies, land, etc.), battling, and even quests or storylines. With the open-ended set up of the game, the possibilities range with respect to the game’s name: Axies to infinity and beyond!
Milestones
How far have they come? Well, let’s take a look at their achievements and milestones- available on their linked whitepaper:
December 2017: Concept and Idea – Development begins
February 2018: Origin Axie Presale begins – 900 ETH raised
March 2018: In-House Axie-NFT Marketplace released
May 2018: Breeding game released
October 2018: Idle battle game released
January 2019: Land Sale begins – 3200 ETH raised
May 2019: In-House Land/item-NFT marketplace on ETH Layer 2 (Loom Network) released
December 2019: Unified Land and Axie marketplace
December 2019: Community alpha (card battle game) released
May 2020: Mavis Hub released
May 2020: All land in Quarter 1 sold out – 4600+ ETH raised.
June 2020: Axie Infinity participates in Ubisoft Entrepreneurs Lab
July 2020: Ronin Sidechain in test net
August 2020: Land gameplay internal alpha
With only a few more steps to go in development, Axie Infinity is setting themselves up for success on this journey into infinity!
Onward and Forward- Here to Stay.
Axie continues to grow and move forward. Already the #1 Ethereum based game and largest NFT gaming community. It appears that there is a set-in-stone place for the Axie Infinity world in the foundation and continuation of the metaverse.As their gameplay only gets more opportunistic, we will only see the game grow. Currently only on PC, the developers hope to soon see a mobile version launch- integrated with the full functionality that Axie infinity offers. Eventually, they seek to allow new games to be built within the universe, stretching infinity even further. With Infinity and community values at the core of this network, it looks like they’re going to win big in the long run. Opportunity is in your hands, how far can you take it? The limits don’t exist in this unique game.
