
The interview rooms at Token2049 in Singapore earlier this month had adjustable stools that sank lower the longer you sat on them. Thanks to tight security at the conference, I was late for the meeting. Aleks Larsen, the chair of Sky Mavis, was practically on the floor.
A better writer might be able to spin this into some sort of metaphor. Is there a quip about the value of s' two tokens? What about his perceived slow decline over time into irrelevance?
The game publisher Sky Mavis, a Vietnam-based game company, pioneered play-to-earn gaming. It attracted millions of players - some of whom played it for a living - then its token collapsed, its token collapsed, and the industry dismissed it as little more than a scam.
Even so, Larsen, the chairman and co-founder of Sky Mavis, says it's not done yet. Axie' made this industry happen, he tells DL News as we attempt to stop our chairs from sinking.
Web3 games aim to challenge their web2 rivals. Many projects promise graphics and gameplay on par with the industry's top AAA games, including big-budget studio games like and Think the production values of plus web3.
As web3 develops, Larsen is worried about games not effectively exploiting the advantages of web3 technology, and those that call themselves AAA games.
Reessentially competing with the AAA games of web2 without the benefits of web3 in any real tangible way, he warns.
The AAA games label, Larsen said, has devolved into a marketing gimmick. Teams are driven by metrics such as NFT floor prices or the number of developers they employ.
And not every good game is AAA. On Steam, you'll see that indie games are well-represented.
Gamers are not a forgiving bunch. A former employee of Steam said they used to prank players by posting about updates and not changing anything, and players would still complain about the new 'changes'. While they will frequently opt for captivating lore, world building, and fascinating concepts over slick graphics, they will frequently opt for engaging lore, world building, and interesting premises over slick graphics.
Games such as and have traded insults over whether the other team is big or experienced enough to actually produce the game they promise. Larsen says too many cooks can spoil the brew, particularly if they're seconded from other studios.
The initial versions of the product were very simple and incredibly low quality, he said.
However, the industry is grappling with delays that under-deliver, and some are s' biggest contractors.
As such, he sees the criticisms, especially from those who haven't produced tangible contributions, as harmful to the industry's collaborative growth.
In the height of hype, culture became a cultural phenomenon, especially in places like the Philippines. Gabby Dizon, the founder of Yield Guild Games, said he once told me several generations of his family played it. The world's biggest breeder, Dizon, succeeded in becoming one of the world's biggest breeders.
A company developed an app that allowed people to pay utility bills using the game's Smooth Love Potion token.
The original game's idea was simple. To get began, players needed to purchase three axies - think colourful, chubby axolotl-type creatures - to use in player-versus-player battles.
The strengths and weaknesses of different axies were different. Who won the match would receive a token called Smooth Love Potion.
AXS and SLP were used as two tokens. At their all time highs, they had a combined market cap of $11 billion.
Today, SLP has lost 97% of its value and SLP is down 99%. In March 2022, North Koreans hacked the chain it had built on, Ronin, in one of the biggest cyber-heists in the world. The defendants, who owe more than $600 million, made off with a net worth of more than $600 million.
It's rather exceptional that someone survived the damage, she said. The gaming industry and the crypto industry were forgetting the one-time juggernaut. Despite the loss, the 270 employees of Sky Mavis have soldiered on.
Will the same trajectory be followed as most of Crypto and eventually surge back to something close to its zenith? Is it doomed to be a vestige of its former self for the foreseeable future?
Last week, I revisited to check out the gameplay.
This is one of only two web3 games I've played for weeks at a time and actually gotten into. My boyfriend couldn't stand my age in early 2022. He would roll his eyes every time he heard the soundtrack coming from my laptop.
My original axis have vanished in some wallet I can't remember, consigned to the that part of my mind I try to repress, where my starving Neopet and abandoned Tamagotchi also live.
I bought a few and re-downloaded the Sky Mavis hub. It's still cute. And unlike many of its critics who make big promises that never happen, it actually exists.
The original version of this story misidentified Aleks Larsen as the CEO of Sky Mavis. He is the co-founder and chair of the company.