The intersection of blockchain technology and gaming has been a topic of discussion for several years now. With the increasing popularity of web3 gaming, it’s not surprising to see established figures from the gaming industry exploring this space. The latest addition to this trend is the collaboration of Trip Hawkins, the founder of Electronic Arts, and Manel Sort, the Vice President of King, which created the wildly popular game Candy Crush Saga.
The duo has established Games For A Living (GFAL), a web3 studio that aims to build its own gaming ecosystem and introduce a new token, $GFAL. The studio’s first game, Elemental Raiders, is a turn-based strategy game that combines elements of different genres, including PvP mode. Early reviews of the game have been mostly positive, although some have criticized the presence of microtransactions and loot crates.
What sets Elemental Raiders apart is the incorporation of blockchain technology. The game is set to launch on app stores in April this year, but the mint of initial Elemental Raiders NFTs is coming on March 16th, 2023, with a limited supply of 3,333. Players who complete all the regular pass tiers and engage with bonus quests and rewards will receive an elemental vial. Upon cracking the vial, they will be granted one of six randomly generated Runarian elements that they can apply to a Raider Skin of their choice, one of 3333 limited auras that will ever exist in this massively adopted game.
GFAL’s co-founder, Trip Hawkins, has a long and impressive career in the gaming industry. He founded Electronic Arts in 1982 and led the company through its pioneering first decade, focusing on sports games that made the company a publishing giant. After a successful stint in casual gaming with Digital Chocolate, Hawkins is back in the industry, this time as the co-founder and strategy chief of a web3 startup.
Hawkins has gushed about how he is excited about web3 technology and how it may transform gaming.
He said in a Reuters interview that the “economy of the metaverse has to be more like the actual world” since Web3 is the “bridge to the metaverse.”
Manel Sort, the second co-founder of GFAL, is an experienced veteran of the gaming sector.
He was the vice president of King, the maker of Candy Crush Saga, one of the most popular mobile games ever.
The ambitious aspirations of GFAL to develop a sophisticated web3 studio with its own currency, $GFAL, show their faith in the ability of blockchain technology to revolutionize the game sector.
Though unregulated, investing in crypto assets may not be suited for all investors, so keep that in mind.
In conclusion, the collaboration of Trip Hawkins and Manel Sort in creating GFAL demonstrates the increasing interest in web3 gaming and blockchain technology. Their experience in the gaming industry, combined with their enthusiasm for web3 technology, bodes well for the future of web3 gaming. The success of Elemental Raiders and GFAL’s other upcoming games will be crucial in determining the viability of blockchain technology in gaming.