Web3 Gaming: Arbitrum

TL;DR
The Arbitrum ecosystem is becoming a hub for Web3 gaming, with many new projects and platforms in development. Central to Arbitrum’s gaming network there is Treasure DAO, a Layer 3 called Xai is gaining attention, and titles such as Kuroro Beasts, Farcana, and AI Arena are incorporating NFTs and token airdrops, bringing in engagement as Arbitrum itself also registers significant gains.

Arbitrum has been making sharp price gains since the middle of December, its key metrics–including TVL, active addresses, and transaction numbers–showed steadily solid growth in 2023, and it’s becoming clear that Web3 gaming and NFTs are key parts of its ecosystem.

What Is Arbitrum?

Arbitrum is a Layer 2 solution for Ethereum that launched in 2021 and has since expanded to include two networks: Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova. Of those, Arbitrum Nova, is for products that prioritize high throughput over decentralization, and is where many Web3 games developers are opting to build.

Arbitrum has also introduced Orbit chains, which are–like Subnets on Avalanche, and other app chains–a way for projects to enable their own dedicated, custom chains, which can be deployed on either Arbitrum One or Arbitrum Nova.

When it comes to resources, Arbitrum Portal is a central hub for all things Arbitrum-related, bringing together documents and learning materials, and including a gaming section, which is a great place from which to start exploring.

Treasure DAO

A key platform in the Arbitrum ecosystem, Treasure DAO (which runs on Arbitrum One rather than Arbitrum Nova), is a decentralized gaming network powering a range of big titles. It includes an NFT marketplace, a dedicated AMM exchange called Magicswap, and has its own native token, MAGIC.

Xai

Deployed by Offchain Labs (the company that created Arbitrum), Xai is a hyped-up new Layer 3 gaming network built as an Orbit chain and deployed on Arbitrum Nova. Xai has a new token (also called XAI), and just announced a partnership with Arbitrum DEX Camelot (native token GRAIL), which is to deploy on Xai and will provide liquidity infrastructure to facilitate the trading of in-game assets.

The big games coming up first on Xai are trading card battler Final Form, and cute-looking shooter Lamo, which promises to incorporate “physically backed digital collectibles.” Both of these titles are being developed by Web3 gaming studio Ex Populus, which–like Xai itself–is backed by the prolific Animoca Brands.

Notable Games Building on Arbitrum

There are a lot of titles in development on Arbitrum, and no guarantees about how well they’ll perform, but in the race to produce a truly standout Web3 game, here are some that are gaining traction and have strong potential.

Kuroro Beasts

This RPG ecosystem actually contains several games, some of which are playable now, and although it was originally being developed on Polygon, it has since made the switch over to the Treasure platform on Arbitrum.

A key aspect of Kuroro Beasts, especially if you’re looking for potential profit, is that it’s using a play-to-airdrop mechanism, which basically means that by playing the games, you can earn a share of the KURO token, which is set to be airdropped later this year. Kuroro Beast also has in-game NFT collections trading on the Treasure marketplace.

Pirate Nation

Deployed on Arbitrum Nova by gaming studio Proof of Play (after also moving from Polygon), Pirate Nation is playable now and has a large following. It has a minecraft-like aesthetic, and in terms of gameplay, it’s an RPG based around exploration and sea battles.

The Proof of Play studio itself is very highly credentialed, with team members whose experience takes in the likes of Zynga (Proof of Play CEO Amitt Mahajan co-created FarmVille), EA and Activision, and there are rumors (but only rumors at the moment) of a possible Pirate Nation token launch, as there’s already an in-game currency.

Tales of Elleria

Battling monsters in RPG game Tales of Elleria can earn players the ELM token, along with functional NFT items called Relics, and last month, Tales of Elleria picked up a lot of attention through a cross-chain collaboration with the more long-running DeFi Kingdoms project, which is built on an Avalanche Subnet.

This collaboration event had a prize pool of over $35,000, and it will be interesting to see how Tales of Elleria builds from here, and whether there will be similar events in future.

Farcana

Although this is a multichain release, building is taking place on Arbitrum, and there’s a lot of interest around the game as it looks like a high quality third-person shooter.

Farcana is backed by Animoca Brands and the Seedify Web3 launchpad, so it has very strong foundations, and–driving interest along with the fact that the gameplay looks solid–there is a token airdrop incoming. The token is called FAR, and it can be earned through playing the game and completing missions.

The Beacon

This free-to-play, retro-looking RPG revolves around dungeon-based adventure, it’s being built on Treasure, and it’s picking up an enthusiastically supportive community.

While a lot of Web3 attention is focused on showcasing AAA titles, there’ll always be indie projects that outperform, and The Beacon looks like a strong contender in the more DIY niche. Several NFT items from The Beacon are trading now on Treasure.

AI Arena

Backed by investment firms Paradigm and Framework Ventures, one on one fighting game AI Arena promises to combine gaming, crypto and AI, which sounds like a very hype-savvy combination for 2024. The idea is that you train your AI fighter to defeat opponents, and there is an incoming token called NRN.

There are 420 AI Arena Mint Pass NFTs–which will entitle holders to a Fighter NFT when the game launches–currently listed on secondary from a 3.4 ETH floor price, indicating that this one has already built up very high expectations.