It was thought to be down, shot in the heart, siphoned off by a hacker who stole nearly 624 million dollars in ether and USD. Axie Infinity, the king of play-to-earn, damaged by a historic attack and dethroned by a new generation of NFT games, such as Step’N, has been able to heal its wounds and continue to build. Supported by crypto giants such as Binance, backed by its loyal community, Sky Mavis, the parent company of the Axie Infinity ecosystem, has been able to build new foundations. It is benefiting from the first results.
Axie Infinity, the little beast on the rise…
In the land of Axie Infinity, Lunacia, events are returning to order. Indeed, during the winter, the giant of play-to-earn has experienced an empty passage: disinterest of players for the game, falling prices of Axies and cryptocurrencies of its ecosystem (AXS, SLP and RON). And the highlight: a hacked network that was partially unusable for several months. In addition, the crypto winter has finished icing the curves of the game’s tokens, which are not rising again, weighed down by the fall of the Ether.
Now, the Ronin network is working again. The giant was able to raise an additional $150 million in funds to reimburse users harmed by the hack. In response to these rather positive events, sales of NFT Axie Infinity increased by 198%, last week. Jeff “Jihoz” Zirlin, Axie Infinity’s co-founder, highlights the positive results of this early summer.
“22,000 Axies sold in the last 24 hours. We were at 7,000 a few weeks ago. Origin is growing fast with the new Alpha season. 4,600 downloads yesterday. Bridge is up. Land (90% staked). Nature is healing.”
The king of Play to Earn is picking up steam
So the numbers speak for themselves. The NFT game is coming alive, as evidenced by its wriggling news.
First of all, the gameplay (game mode) has been completely improved. Gone is the monotonous and repetitive gameplay with bad aging. Gone are the meager Smooth Love Potion (SLP) rewards that were too bitter for players. The new version of the game, Origin, is one of the answers to soften this major economic problem.
Secondly, on the economic side of the game. 90% of land owners have taken advantage of the new DeFi offer in order to stake (lock) their NFTs on Katana, Ronin’s decentralized exchange. Land owners using this service will then be able to benefit from an income in AXS.
Finally, on the community side, its support is still unwavering. After proposing a contest for developers to create other Axie Infinity games in Lunacia, they will meet at AxieCon in Barcelona. Developers, players, fans, co-founders: all will be present to celebrate and develop Axie Infinity together.
Axie Infinity seems to catch its breath. The good mood, motto of its community, is pleasant, even precious, in this bear market period. The results brought at the beginning of July are, as for them, of good omen. However, this notable increase does not come close to the records of yesteryear. Indeed, Origin’s still young development cannot determine the long-term results of the king of play-to-earn.