Ethereum, EOSIO Blockchain Platforms Set For Game Launches, Get A Boost

It seems like one of the possible applications of blockchain technology is gaining more traction — video games. Game developer Arcade Distillery is preparing to launch a new game for Sony's PlayStation 4 that would be built around the ethereum blockchain. Mythical Games, a startup that received $16 million in funding, is developing a line of console games on the EOSIO blockchain.

The game Arcade Distillery is developing is called Plague Hunters, and it has already gone through the official Sony review process and cleared, Sludge Feed reported Sunday. It is a sequel to an earlier title, Plague Road — a turn-based role-playing game, designed for single players. Plague Hunters would be built using ethereum blockchain, which means, players would have full ownership of any game assets. The free-to-play game is scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2019.

"You own the assets [such as units and weapons] that you play with and as soon as you connect them with the blockchain, no one can take them from you. Build your army of hunters. Train them and prepare them or battle. Trade your hunters on the blockchain-based marketplace with other players," the description of Plague Hunters reads on the Arcade Distillery website. Players can trade their assets with others. It’s the first time that a blockchain-based marketplace system has won Sony’s approval.

Mythical Games, a gaming startup, would use the money it has raised to develop a number of games with “player-owned economies" — where players own the assets they develop or acquire in the game as opposed to managed digital ownership backed by centralized servers. It hasn't announced the names of its titles or when they could be released, but in a press release Friday, it said it also plans to make its platform available to other game developers.

The press release read: “The team looks to innovate through providing their proprietary Mythical platform to top developers to help build player-owned economies on popular blockchains initially focused on the EOSIO blockchain. They will also focus on producing new tools for content creators and brands to customize and provide ownership of game assets.”

Michael Novogratz, the CEO and founder of Galaxy Digital and an ex-hedge fund manager, in the press release said: “We believe that gaming - and specifically players’ interaction with in-game economies and virtual goods – will play a key role in how the masses first discover the true potential of the blockchain. Mythical’s experience building rich and immersive game worlds will be invaluable to this mission.”

The new blockchain-based gaming projects are likely to open the gates to further blockchain-based games for consoles that are rumored to be in development from companies like Epic Games and Dapper Labs. But none of these would not be the first games of their kind — Cryptokitties, built on ethereum blockchain, was released by Axiom Zen in November 2017, and there have been other lesser-known titles in the space too.