Onetime Darling of 2021 GameFi Market Returns with Overworld in Beta for 30,000 Players
In a sign that the GameFi market hasn’t fully collapsed yet, Illuvium, the Web3 games studio, released its second game, Overworld, in beta on Wednesday.
The beta launch is available to 30,000 of the more than 2 million players who have signed up for the Illuvium waitlist, including those who have access to the second private beta for Illuvium’s title Arena.
playing style
Illuvium was a darling of the 2021 GameFi bull market, promising to deliver the industry’s first AAA-quality title at a time when most Web3 games were combining yield-farming mechanics with Tamagotchi-style gameplay.
With GameFi hit hard by the 2022 bear market, Illuvium’s progress in building its suite of interoperable games is a much-needed boon to the sector.
What is a metaverse?
Rising investment and popularity fuel the development of a 40-year-old vision
Overworld gameplay focuses on exploring the Illuvium universe and capturing in-game NFTs. Arena is an auto-battler game that allows players to use the in-game items and monsters they have captured in Overworld.
“Overworld is the culmination of all our hard work and dedication to creating the best possible visual experience,” said Grant Warwick, co-founder and art director of Illuium. “Every member of the art team worked tirelessly on even the smallest of details.”
Kieran Warick, Illuvium’s co-founder, told The Defiant that Zero, Illuvium’s third game, may be released in alpha before Christmas. Arena entered its second private beta phase on September 28th.
100 million players
The Illuvium team hopes to release nine interoperable games set in the Illuvium universe over the next two decades. Illuvium’s existing titles will be launched on Ethereum over the ImmutableX Layer 2 network.
Players can use the same NFT-based in-game items and assets in each title. Illuvium ranks as the fastest gaming studio to reach a $10 billion valuation.
“Our mission is to create the first true AAA experience in Web3 history,” said Aaron Warwick, co-founder and game director of Illuvium. “Over the next few years, we will bring 100 million gamers closer to the benefits of owning their hard-earned digital assets.”
Illuvium also raised $72 million in June by selling 19,969 of the game’s 100,000 virtual lots to players. The properties were then sold for 4,018 ETH worth $7.2M, with the rest of the funds being raised in the form of sILV2 – rewards accrued by staking Illuvium’s governance token, ILV. All sILV2 tokens raised through the auction were burned.
ApeCoin
Like other GameFi assets, ILV took a hit in 2022. The asset last changed hands for $47.5, which is 97.5% down from its all-time high set in December 2021, according to CoinGecko.
ILV is the 12th largest GameFi asset with a market cap of $89 million. GameFi assets are worth $7.4 billion compared to $15.4 billion on Jan. 27. However, ApeCoin, launched in March, accounts for nearly $1.5 billion of current GameFi capitalization. Internet Computer also represents $1.1 billion and was not categorized as a GameFi asset in January.
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