GG’s 2024
Game of the
Year: Off
the Grid
GG’s 2024 Game of the Year: Off the Grid
Off the Grid forced the industry to take crypto gaming seriously after making
a big splash in early access. Gunzilla shares what's next.
By Ryan S. Gladwin
Dec 25, 2024 Dec 25, 2024
9 min read
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Off the Grid is GG's 2024 Game of the Year.
Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub.
Discover SCENE
Off the Grid has only been available for a couple months, but it's by far
the best crypto game of the year—and it’s not even really close.
If we're talking pure numbers, then Hamster Kombat blew most games out of
the water by racking up 300 million players this summer. But the monotonous
tap-to-earn mini app ultimately felt like a financialized gimmick thinly
veiled as a game, and the resulting airdrop hardly justified the hype .
As for Off the Grid , the game impressed both Web2 and Web3-native gamers by
offering up a legitimately great competitive shooter that rivals other AAA
entries in the battle royale genre.
In doing so, it not only caught the attention of the livestreaming elite, but
also opened their eyes to how the blockchain• Информационные технологии » Информационно-коммуникационные технологии » Информационные технологии и телекоммуникации » Базы данных » Публичная база транзакций » Блокчейн
• Высокие технологии » Информационные технологии и телекоммуникации » Базы данных » Публичная база транзакций » Блокчейн can improve gaming. That’s why
Off the Grid is GG’s Game of the Year for 2024.
OFF THE GRID IS SICK ð¥ð¥ pic.twitter.com/h7T35fby4O
— timthetatmanð (@timthetatman) October 8, 2024
How did it do this? In many ways, it was accomplished by going against what
the crypto gaming industry had come to expect, by not developing in public and
gradually iterating from a very early stage. Instead, Gunzilla Games followed
a more traditional “AAA” model of doing the bulk of the work away from prying
eyes, only showcasing the game once it was mostly sharpened.
“You want to put your best foot forward—because if you burn that bridge,
it's gone,” Gunzilla Games Director of Web3 Theodore Agranat told Decrypt
. “First impressions matter all throughout life, in everything.”
This helped its October early access launch make a huge splash and reach
mainstream players, in a way unlike any crypto game launch we’ve seen. Its
interesting blend of extraction elements within the tried-and-true battle
royale genre, set in a dystopian reality TV show setting envisioned by
“District 9” film director Neill Blomkamp , created the perfect storm.
As a result, famously brutal crypto game reviewer Jauwn called it one of the
best (if not the best) crypto games he’s played. It also garnered plaudits
from Web2 content creators like Warzone specialist IceManIsaac, who said it
was “ by far the most fun ” he’d had playing a battle royale, while YouTuber
Tomographic said he prefers Off the Grid to established hits like Apex Legends
and Call of Duty: Warzone.
“The launch of the early access was extremely hype,” crypto gaming content
creator Kyroh told Decrypt . “It was great seeing so many of the big streamers
getting involved like Ninja, TimtheTatman, Scump, and more.”
Part of what fueled these positive reviews is the game’s unique cyberlimb
mechanic, which allows players to swap out their arms, legs, and backpacks for
robotic ones with special abilities. This has created tons of exciting viral
clips , with players finding joy pushing the boundaries of the game or
laughing when their cyberlimb is shot off—forcing them to crawl across the
map.
“It's one of the first Web3 games that has truly innovated on the battle
royale genre, and I think people took notice of that,” Kyroh added. “I think
it has the legs to become one of the best battle royales out there, given
enough time to cook.”
going "no legs" in Off The Grid is massively OP... pic.twitter.com/wQm4QOV7Fv
— 'Stache (@CryptoStache) October 9, 2024
Keeping crypto fair
Even with a sensational launch, some players have concerns about what will
happen once the game’s crypto elements come to the surface—including the likes
of Jauwn, IceManIsaac, and Tomographic. But Gunzilla says there’s nothing to
worry about there, as the features are already baked into the game and running
behind the scenes.
“Well, I’m happy to tell you that everything is already implemented. People
just don’t openly see it,” Agranat explained. “It's not like we're
hiding it. It's just that it's irrelevant.”
In its current state, the game is running on the GUNZ testnet—essentially a
practice run of the real thing. New players have wallet addresses seamlessly
made for them, extracted hexes are minted on-chain, in-game GUN tokens are
actual crypto tokens, and items are transferred as NFTs between wallets when
traded on the in-game marketplace—albeit, all on a testnet.
To some, this was enough to open their eyes to the possibility of blockchain• Информационные технологии » Информационно-коммуникационные технологии » Информационные технологии и телекоммуникации » Базы данных » Публичная база транзакций » Блокчейн
• Высокие технологии » Информационные технологии и телекоммуникации » Базы данных » Публичная база транзакций » Блокчейн
gaming not being so bad—after years of crypto being vilified by many gamers.
Most notably, former Counter-Strike pro player Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek said
that tokenized, tradable items was a “pretty straightforward” concept,
comparing it to Valve’s Steam marketplace, that he was surprised hadn't
caught on already.
Top streamer @shroud points out how obvious crypto gaming is live on stream.
First of many dominosðº
pic.twitter.com/gS7srvdFPT
— Avery9000 (@avedarave_) October 13, 2024
It’s the next step that scares a lot of gamers. In Q1 2025 (estimated), the
GUNZ network, built as a dedicated L1 on the Avalanche blockchain• Информационные технологии » Информационно-коммуникационные технологии » Информационные технологии и телекоммуникации » Базы данных » Публичная база транзакций » Блокчейн
• Высокие технологии » Информационные технологии и телекоммуникации » Базы данных » Публичная база транзакций » Блокчейн, will move
to mainnet and the GUN token will be freely tradable. Testnet GUN balances
will be wiped, but unique assets will be kept.
In theory, this means that anyone could invest real money to obtain GUN tokens
and buy up all of the powerful weapons, preventing real players from using
them. But Gunzilla has a plan.
In the case that a particular weapon is being hoarded by a single player• Отдых, развлечения » Развлекательные игры » Компьютерная игра » Однопользовательская игра
• Отдых, развлечения » Развлекательные игры » Однопользовательская игра, a
new variation of the asset—with a cosmetic change, not a statistical power
difference—will be entered into the game to combat this.
“Guess who decides which items drop on the island in the various different
hexes, in the various loot boxes, right? It's us, of course,” Agranat
told Decrypt . “Nobody benefits at all from just deploying a million bucks
into the marketplace.”
He explained that ultimately, all weapons available to purchase in the
marketplace can be scavenged on the map. Even if you buy the weapons and
cyberlimbs on the marketplace, you must still get enough in-game cash to
purchase a loadout, which Agranat suggests could have led you to finding your
desired weapons anyway.
However, some players would dispute this by saying that finding the funds for
a loadout is too easy. This then becomes the key balancing challenge—rather
than fighting marketplace whales.
“No pay-to-win ever, ever, ever,” he said, definitively.
That said, by getting the battle pass via the $11.99 monthly OTG Pro
subscription, you’re able to trade your items and earn GUN tokens at a faster
rate. This is clearly an advantage; Agranat admits as much.
the new Off the Grid Trump x Kamala skin pack is hilarious
pic.twitter.com/iI7YK30trB
— apixð® (@apixtwts) November 3, 2024
But is it much more of an advantage than purchasing the latest Call of Duty
game for $69.99 , plus their seasonal battle pass offers for $9.99, to unlock
weapons for Warzone?
“It does not give you any special privileges in the game. It does not give you
a weapon that's stronger than any other weapon,” Agranat explained. “Any
weapon that exists in the game, in the whole universe—in terms of
functionality of the weapon—you can find for free in an in-game session.”
For all of its strengths, Off the Grid still hasn’t solved the age-old crypto
gaming problem of launching on consoles, as PlayStation• Отдых, развлечения » Развлекательные игры » Компьютерная игра » Игровые приставки » PlayStation
• Объект организация » Организации по алфавиту » Организации на So » Sony Corporation » PlayStation and Xbox• Отдых, развлечения » Развлекательные игры » Компьютерная игра » Игровые приставки » Xbox still haven’t
embraced blockchain• Информационные технологии » Информационно-коммуникационные технологии » Информационные технологии и телекоммуникации » Базы данных » Публичная база транзакций » Блокчейн
• Высокие технологии » Информационные технологии и телекоммуникации » Базы данных » Публичная база транзакций » Блокчейн gaming. Ethereum• Экономика » Финансы » Платежные средства » Платежные системы интернета » Криптовалюта » Ethereum battler Moonray recently revealed plans
to launch on PlayStation• Отдых, развлечения » Развлекательные игры » Компьютерная игра » Игровые приставки » PlayStation
• Объект организация » Организации по алфавиту » Организации на So » Sony Corporation » PlayStation 5, but will completely remove any blockchain• Информационные технологии » Информационно-коммуникационные технологии » Информационные технологии и телекоммуникации » Базы данных » Публичная база транзакций » Блокчейн
• Высокие технологии » Информационные технологии и телекоммуникации » Базы данных » Публичная база транзакций » Блокчейн elements
, at least at launch .
Agranat confirmed to Decrypt that the game’s crypto elements will have to be
“handled differently” and that more information will be released around
mainnet launch. Ultimately, however, he confirmed that the console• Отдых, развлечения » Развлекательные игры » Компьютерная игра » Игровые приставки » PlayStation
• Объект организация » Организации по алфавиту » Организации на So » Sony Corporation » PlayStation games will
still be powered by the GUNZ network on the back end, even if user
interactions with crypto might be different than on PC.
What's next?
There is a lot that Gunzilla Games wants to have in place for Off the Grid and
GUNZ before the mainnet launch early next year.
Agranat explained the game is set to launch a ranked mode and solo queue mode,
and open up the remaining 80% of the map in a new battle royale mode while
kicking off the storyline. Not only do they want these features live, but to
be “top, top notch.”
That’s not to mention plans to onboard third-party developers to deploy other
games on the GUNZ network, fueling a gaming ecosystem powered by the GUN
token.
In a year in which crypto gaming was dominated by Telegram tapping games, it’s
refreshing that Gunzilla Games is dedicated to making the industry respected
by gamers. Tap-to-earn giant Hamster Kombat may have attracted hundreds of
millions of players, but few appeared to be very happy by the time the token
finally launched.
“I'm not taking credit away from the fact that they have definitely
tapped into the current zeitgeist of people wanting quick things, social
things, and something where they don't need to think,” Agranat said. “But
beyond that, it’s quite hilarious that 300 million people just tapped on
something.”
Still, Gunzilla is willing to learn a lesson from this, with the studio
considering creating its own Telegram mini app as a way to onboard people into
the growing ecosystem. Agranat said this is “absolutely” on Gunzilla’s roadmap
as a user acquisition funnel.
“We already are establishing best practices,” he said, in reference to the
entire game rollout and developing strategies. “We want all of the games
launching in our ecosystem to use these best practices, so that we are known
for the chain that only has good, fun, and sustainable games.”
Perhaps in 2025, we’ll be hailing the next game launched on the GUNZ network,
following those very same practices. Given how well Off the Grid landed• Музыка » Психоделическая музыка » Альбомы психоделического рока » Landed, we
can only hope.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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