New GameFi projects, focusing on quality over play-to-earn, now cost millions and take years to develop.
In contrast to the previous wave of GameFi projects, which prioritize play-to-earn features over the gaming experience, the subsequent generation of blockchain-inspired games undergo years of production and cost at least seven to eight figures before they are released.
According to Yezi, the chief operating officer of Seraph, a Korean gaming studio, this is the case.
Regarding the forthcoming Arbitrum dark fantasy ARPG Seraph: In the Darkness, he informed Cointelegraph that the company has incurred development expenses exceeding $10 million.
“Our project was initially self-funded and self-developed.” We have recently initiated our initial external fundraising campaign, which has already concluded. An official announcement will be issued shortly.
Compared to their Web2 counterparts, Web3 blockchain games actually offer Yezi substantial advantages. He stated that “Web3 games foster a more profound sense of promotion and co-creation among players.”
“The interaction between Web2 and Web3 players generates an exclusive chemistry that stimulates market transactions and draws in additional participants.”
Nevertheless, the blockchain developer also underscored the necessity for newer GameFi projects to offer a superior gaming experience to players in addition to high-quality tokenomics.
“Gamers are no longer content with straightforward profit-calculating models, such as those found in the previous games of Axies Infinity and StepN,” he stated.
The preliminary launch of Seraph: In the Darkness was recently conducted, as Yezi elucidates, and it was met with significant engagement.
“Over 60,000 players participated, with more than 30,000 owning advanced game characters and over 10,000 users making purchases. During this test phase, we achieved fiat revenues of $3 million, and we were able to allocate over $1 million for token buybacks according to the clause of our white paper.
“This test phase preliminarily achieved the payment and conversion of traditional users to the Web3 domain, especially through veteran players’ livestreams,” said the researcher.
The game is expected to be released later this year. It will be available in both a free-to-play and a paid version, with the latter being available to players who desire to engage in trading and monetization.
The in-game transactions market is accessible for a $50 entry fee, and the floor pricing of NFT equipment is currently 0.2 Ether.
“At present, Seraph Studio has no plans to release any additional games.” Nevertheless, our in-house developed custodial wallet ActPass will soon transform into a gaming asset issuance platform, and we will be able to release a greater number of high-quality games through investments or partnerships,” Yezi stated.
Cointelegraph reported last month that Web2 players have spent hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of dollars on in-game purchases that are purportedly theirs to retain.
However, they frequently end up with nothing that is enduring. However, blockchain operability has at least partially resolved the issue by enabling players to acquire, dispose of, and possess their immutable in-game assets.
