NFT game “Axie Infinity” – now it’s time to collect monsters

Axie Infinity is a game on the Ethereum blockchain where players breed monsters and compete against each other. These “Axies” are unique “Non Fungible Tokens” (NFTs). In other words, each monster is unique with its own genetic code. So it’s not just a pure copy of Pókemon. The game takes advantage of the blockchain and NFTs. And with success: there are now also numerous Axie players in the USA or England.

The success story of the blockchain game

In 2019, Sky Mavis, the company behind the NFT Game, was able to raise $1.465 million in funding. The developers had probably invested the money well. Quickly, the game around the little monsters morphed into the most popular blockchain game. At that point, the game had sold $1,100,000 worth of digital assets. It had also generated $1,800,000 in trading volume.

What is the role of Sky Mavis Axie Infinity?

Sky Mavis invented Axie. It is a Vietnamese startup focused on blockchain gaming. The company emerged in 2018 and is based in Ho Chi Minh City. Founders are Trung Nguyen, Aleksander Leonard, and Jeffrey Zirlin. The startup got off the ground with a $7.5 million funding round. This marked the completion of “Sky Mavis Series A,” the first round of funding. Josh Chapman, a partner at Konvoy, commented, “Axie Infinity is one of the most intriguing and ambitious projects in the world. It combines digital play, ownership and the future of work.”

In its second round of funding, Sky Mavis Series B, the startup raised $152 million. The money will be used to create “The Mavis Hub,” a platform for developing new dApps, among other things. Axie Infinity is Sky Mavis’ only game so far. The year 2021 should become a record year. In February, players sold a plot of land (more on that later) for 888.25 ETH. At the time, that equated to a price of $1.5 million.

Axie: over 50 million players

Currently, the game’s trading volume stands at $52.89 million with 85,480 active players (as of the end of October 2021) according to DappRadar. A total of $4.91 trillion worth of Ethereum is stored in the game’s smart contracts. The project has two tokens: AXS and SLP. The AXS is currently trading at $109.84 with a market cap of $6,690,211,747. The Smooth Love Potion token (SLP) is currently priced at $0.055 with a market cap of $118,539,631. The creators of other NFT games, such as Sorare, are also counting on more and more players.

Axie Infinity is one of the most fascinating and ambitious projects in the world. It combines digital play, property rights and the future of work.

Josh Chapman, Managing Partner at Konvoy Ventures

What is the gameplay of Axie Infinity?

The focus is on the Axies, the monsters and virtual creatures. These are remotely based on axolotls. Every single monster is an NFT and therefore unique. Before you can start playing, the following preparation is needed:

• First, you need to get at least three of these monsters.
• In order to grow a monster, you first need SLP. Thus, the game is not entirely free to play.
• These creatures can also be traded and sold. This is where the “Play to Earn” principle comes into play.
• Apart from that, there are still items and properties that can be gained, traded and sold as NFTs. All of Axie Infinity’s Non-fungible Tokens are ERC721 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.

Monsters have special properties

Axies can be divided into different classes such as water, beetle, bird or plant. These determine different combat characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. The comparison to Pókemon is not far-fetched. Thus, certain classes do better against others. In addition, each monster has very individual characteristics that it passes on to its offspring. It is these characteristics that make individual Axies so special. In the battles, the monsters compete against each other. As a reward for winning duels, owners receive AXS, the governance token of Axie Infinity, and the Smooth Love Potion (SLP) token.

AXS and SLP – the two important tokens

• Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) is the name of Axie Infinity’s governance token. It gives users the right to vote in elections. This is not an ERC721 token, but an ERC20 token. The token can be staked to earn a passive return. The number of tokens is limited to 270 million. AXS can be purchased on various exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase or Bithumb.

• Smooth Love Potion (SLP) is needed to grow monsters. The first axie costs 100 SLP, the second cross 200 SLP, the third 300 SLP and so on. So it gets more and more expensive. A monster can only be crossed a maximum of seven times, after which it becomes sterile. This is the developers’ way of limiting the number of axies available. SLP can be earned through battles against other players or in “Adventure Mode”. A complex system decides which properties an Axie passes on to its offspring.

Lunacia – digital land in Axie Infinity

A special position is occupied by the “land”. The world of the NFT Game is called “Lunacia” and is divided into plots. The limited space is available for sale as NFTs. These digital plots can be purchased and managed. Players can upgrade the land to earn more resources, the game even made it to the list of craziest NFTs. In addition, there is a possibility for land owners to find AXS tokens in their soil. In total, Lunacia consists of 90,601 parcels of land. This is sold piecemeal, the world grows over time.

The creators of the NFT Game want to involve the community in the growth process of the world. “Lunacia SDK” is the name of a map editor that allows users to create their own games and other scenarios. These are then converted to NFTs and can be traded on the marketplace. The developers aim to let the game world grow decentrally.

The “Play to Earn” principle and the Philippines

“Play to Earn” means that players can earn extra money while playing. In Axie Infinity, this is definitely possible. If you understand the game mechanics and act wisely, you can breed more and more powerful Axies over time. Their valuable genetic material can later be sold again for Ethereum. The example of the Philippines shows that this can even become a job. A mini-documentary sheds light on the everyday lives of several Filipinos who do nothing but play Axie Infinity full-time. The island nation was hit hard by the Corona Crisis. Lockdowns had put large parts of the population out of work. But in the NFT game, players are offered their own marketplace with its own rules. A mother in the documentary tells how her family survived the crisis. They used the profits from the game to pay their bills, debts and daily expenses.

How do I play Axie Infinity?

To play the NFT Game, it takes some preparation. You will need some Ether for the first Axies and you will have to set up the game properly first. A PC, tablet or smartphone is enough, a console is not necessary. Basically, anyone can sign up, purchase the first monsters and fight the first battles. You can find out exactly how to do that in this axie guide.

How do I play Axie Infinity?
In order to play the NFT Game, you need some preparation. You'll need some Ether for the first Axies and you'll have to set up the game properly first. A PC, tablet or smartphone is enough, a console is not necessary. Basically, anyone can sign up, get the first monsters and start fighting the first battles.

Instructions - how to play Axie?

What are Smart Contracts?
Smart contracts are intelligent, programmed contracts. They are critical to blockchains like Ethereum. They perform the tasks written down in them autonomously. Human intervention is largely dispensed with in the process. As a result, the blockchain can automatically execute a wide variety of functions efficiently.

Smart Contracts - read more in our info article

Film – how Axie Infinity works

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions