Following a successful launch of their first blockchain-based game, Fuel Games has introduced a new eSports platform that will give players full control over the in-game economy.
Fuel Games, the Sydney-based company founded by brothers James and Robbie Ferguson, has launched a pre-sale for Gods Unchained, the world’s first eSport game based on Ethereum blockchain. The new platform will give users full rights over their in-game items enabling them to sell these items on secondary markets.
“Gamers spend tens of billions of dollars and countless hours each year acquiring in-game items. But game studios barely offer their users a licensing agreement for these items, let alone actual ownership – they’re a central bank with no oversight,” said Fuel Games CEO, James Ferguson, in a press-release.
Gods Unchained is an online multiplayer card game that is similar to such popular CCG’s as “Hearthstone” and “The Elder Scrolls: Legends.”
The company’s previous blockchain game, Etherbots, sold over $1 million of in-game items just few weeks after its launch in February. Some products even won in-game trading for prices up to $18,000. It also overcame Cryptokitties, one of the most popular collectible games powered by the blockchain to date, in daily transaction volume.
According to the developers, they understood the drawbacks of centralized gaming economies and saw the potential of decentralization. By providing full control over the gaming economy, the company wants to return value back to gamers and reward them for their efforts.
“Offering players true ownership of in-game items, and the ability to trade those items freely on secondary markets, means gamers can finally be rewarded for their efforts and spending,” said Robbie Ferguson, the platform’s COO. “As the games industry switches to asset-driven revenue models, players have a more urgent need than ever for guarantees about the value and tradability of those assets.”
“Decentralised games will allow people to familiarise themselves with blockchain technology in a fun and user-friendly environment. I won’t be surprised if gaming ends up being blockchain’s first killer application outside the financial space. Gamers have always been early-adopters, and this time will be no different,” Ferguson noted.
It’s evident that blockchain has huge potential for the gaming industry, offering benefits for both consumers and game publishers. Given the growing popularity of asset-driven revenue models in games, the technology will likely become a fundamental part of in-game digital economies.
With its new games, Fuel Games is likely to drive further adoption of the technology. The company is currently developing a blockchain infrastructure platform Apollo that can be integrated by game developers.
Fuel Games has managed to raise more than $2.4 million in seed round funding from Nirvana Capital, Continue Capital, Sora Ventures and Coinbase. These funds, the company says, are used for the development of Apollo and its gaming platforms.
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