With the release of the new version, can Axie Infinity return to its glory days?

Written by: Honeypot Finance News

Once the leader in blockchain gaming, Axie Infinity has lost its former glory. In the past few months, it has faced challenges such as a sharp decline in game tokens and theft of on-chain assets, with daily active users dropping from a peak of over a million to tens of thousands.

In this dark moment, the Axie Infinity development team acknowledges that the decline in the game's popularity is related to flaws in the token economic model and insufficient playability. How will Axie Infinity address these issues? Recently, it officially launched a new version of the game called Origin. This version features a completely new interface, combat mechanics, visual effects, and storyline, carrying the mission of bringing Axie Infinity back to its former glory.

Compared to previous versions, the Origin version enhances strategic gameplay, requiring players to select cards from a deck based on the combat situation; at the same time, the new version emphasizes the free-to-play aspect, allowing all new players to receive three initial Axies for free to lower the entry barrier. On July 1, Axie Infinity also launched a virtual land staking feature, with 92% of virtual land currently staked.

According to data from CryptoSlam on July 12, the sales of Axie Infinity NFTs increased by nearly 198% in the past week compared to the previous seven days, reaching $1.38 million. Although this figure is insignificant compared to the hundreds of millions in weekly sales during its peak, the increase in numbers indicates that Axie Infinity's revamp is proving effective.

According to the plan, the new version of Axie Infinity will enter a formal season after undergoing multiple stages of iteration. The positioning of the game will also change. According to Philip La, the official product manager, Axie Infinity will evolve from a "play-to-earn game" to a "play-and-earn game." His stance is clear—he hopes users will experience the joy of gaming rather than just focusing on making money.

Axie Infinity Launches Free Version to Lower Entry Barriers

After experiencing the ups and downs of the crypto market and the cross-chain bridge theft incident, the once-popular blockchain game leader Axie Infinity has also fallen into a trough. During its peak in August last year, Axie Infinity had over a million daily active users, but this number now hovers around tens of thousands.

The fall from peak to trough has led some industry insiders to believe that Axie Infinity is inevitably heading towards decline, which aligns with the trends in the broader gaming industry. However, recent data shows that Axie Infinity, in its darkest hour, is showing signs of revival.

According to data from CryptoSlam on July 12, the sales of Axie Infinity NFTs increased by nearly 198% in the past week compared to the previous seven days, reaching $1.38 million. Although this figure is trivial compared to its peak weekly sales of hundreds of millions, the growth in numbers indicates that Axie Infinity is emerging from its low point.

The increase in revenue is related to the game's iteration and the launch of the "Axie Infinity: Origin" new version, which focuses on "free-to-play" to attract new user traffic, along with the introduction of the virtual land staking feature.

"Axie Infinity: Origin" is currently available for download via Mavis Hub, with the beta version compatible with Android and iOS devices. The app showcases a completely new interface, with changes in combat mechanics, visual effects, and storyline. In contrast to previous game versions, the statistics of Axies (little spirits) are no longer related to indicators such as "health, speed, skill, and morale." All Axies have the same base health, and there are no advantages or disadvantages based on type.

Axie Infinity Origin version game interface

In the Origin version, players primarily use cards for combat, with each player deploying three little spirits, each of which can be paired with runes and upgraded. During combat, players will receive a deck of 18 cards, drawing five cards each turn, with each card having different functions. Ultimately, players rely on their card-playing strategy and the strength of their little spirits to achieve victory.

The combat modes available to players have also increased compared to before. The new game version includes adventure mode, ranked matches, and tournaments. Adventure mode allows players to practice by clearing levels on their own, while ranked matches track scores for ranking, with top players receiving AXS token rewards. Tournaments will also be organized regularly.

Compared to the Axie Infinity Classical game version, the new version emphasizes the "free" aspect. All "beginners" can receive three initial Axie little spirits for free upon logging into the game, and as they progress in adventure mode, players can unlock more little spirits at no cost. This means that new players no longer need to recharge crypto assets to purchase little spirits to play, significantly lowering the entry barrier.

Of course, the initial Axies provided by the system have certain limitations. The initial Axies are not NFTs, cannot be traded or used to earn SLP tokens, and their upgrading capabilities are weaker than those of paid Axies.

This change has attracted many new players. According to data released by Axie Infinity, since the launch of the Origin version, over 600,000 new accounts have registered.

In addition to launching the "free-to-play" version, Axie Infinity also introduced the virtual land staking feature on July 1, allowing landowners within the game ecosystem to stake their land to earn AXS income. According to data from the Ronin blockchain where Axie Infinity is located, there are currently 15,330 plots of land staked, accounting for 92% of the total.

Axie Infinity Transitions from "Play-to-Earn" to "Play-and-Earn"

"Axie Infinity is at a crucial transitional period as we evolve into a more sustainable model and narrative throughout the game," said Philip La, the game product manager at Sky Mavis, the developer behind Axie Infinity.

In recent months, Axie Infinity has faced severe setbacks, and the voices in the market questioning the game's "sustainability" have grown louder.

On one hand, with the arrival of the crypto bear market and the continuous issuance of the two main in-game tokens, AXS and SLP, the values of these assets, which are the primary income sources for players, have plummeted.

According to CoinMarketCap data, AXS is currently priced at around $13, down 92% from its peak price of nearly $165 in November last year. Meanwhile, SLP is valued at $0.00367, a drop of over 99% compared to its peak of nearly $0.4 in July 2021.

The decline in token prices has led to a sharp decrease in "gold farming" income, which is the main reason for the massive loss of Axie Infinity users. According to a report released by blockchain analytics firm Nansen in March this year, after the market heat declined, the active users of Axie Infinity dropped by 70% from their peak, and the sales of Axie Infinity NFTs on the Ronin chain also fell to low levels.

On the other hand, in March this year, the cross-chain bridge connecting Ronin to Ethereum was hacked, resulting in a loss of $625 million worth of crypto assets. This incident affected a large number of Axie Infinity players, and deposits and withdrawals within the game were temporarily suspended. Although Axie Infinity later reopened withdrawal channels with the help of platforms like Binance, many players withdrew their funds from the Ronin chain due to security concerns.

These consecutive challenges have compounded the difficulties faced by Axie Infinity. According to BeInCrypto Research data, Axie Infinity's sales plummeted by $816 million in March, with sales of about $31 million, a 61% decrease compared to February. In contrast, it generated up to $1.3 billion in revenue over the past year.

Axie Infinity's officials later admitted that there were issues with the economic model design of in-game tokens and that there was room for improvement in gameplay. The recently launched Origin version is a fresh start for the game after a review and improvement process, and in some ways, it carries the mission of bringing Axie Infinity back to its former glory.

To be precise, the current Origin version is still a prototype. According to Axie Infinity's development plan, this game version has four more iteration stages. The first stage is to increase the number of decisions within the game to make it more interesting; the second stage will mainly reset game progress and distribute a small amount of AXS rewards to top-ranked players; the third stage will increase SLP output and consumption; finally, Axie Infinity will launch its first official season.

Currently, Axie Infinity has entered the second stage. On social media, many users have shared their gaming experiences in Axie Infinity. Although the rewards provided in the game are not abundant at present, many users have reported that the new card battle mechanics have significantly improved the game's playability. "Compared to before, where battles heavily relied on the attributes and levels of Axie spirits, the current game focuses more on strategic competition."

Further enhancing playability is a major goal for Axie Infinity, indicating a shift in its game positioning. Philip La stated in a recent blog that Axie Infinity is evolving from a "play-to-earn" game to a "play-and-earn" game. His stance is clear—he hopes users will experience the joy of gaming rather than just focusing on making money.

It has been revealed that Axie Infinity will also develop "asymmetric land gameplay" in the future. This means designing two sets of gameplay mechanics for players who own land and those who do not, allowing every character to actively participate and gain value.

Although Axie Infinity is still far from its peak, after the release of the Origin version, this on-chain game has finally halted the overall decline in data. On July 7, Jeff Zirlin, co-founder of Sky Mavis, disclosed that approximately 22,000 Axies were sold in the past 24 hours, an increase from the 7,000 sold in the previous weeks.

Axie Infinity's recent sales data shows signs of recovery

In response to various doubts about Axie Infinity from the outside world, Philip La confidently stated that the game still exists and regularly introduces significant improvements, "We will continue to launch more games, applying all the knowledge we have learned over time."

As a flagship project in the blockchain gaming field, whether Axie Infinity can maintain its growth momentum through model changes is a key focus of the industry. It is worth noting that even in a bear market, many blockchain games are still in development, and as new games gradually enter the market, the flagship will face competitive challenges.