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Blockchain games will never reach mass adoption without Xbox and PlayStation, claims Moonray Studios CEO Rodrigo Etcheto.
“The majority of gamers are found on platforms such as Playstation, Xbox and Steam. To onboard gamers to Web3, you need to go where they are,” Etcheto tells Web3 Gamer.
Without these platforms and meeting players “on their terms”, blockchain games will never be able to reach “gamers at scale.”
Moonray Studios’ Ethereum-based multiplayer battle arena game Moonray has been available on PC through the Epic Games Store since last July. It’s headed to Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 later this year. The release dates aren’t locked in yet, but the porting process is already underway, and the team expects to start playtests in the second half of 2025.
Moonray is the second Web3 game to break into mainstream consoles, following the early-access launch of the first-person shooter Off The Grid on Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 in October.
Etcheto thinks Moonray has found the right balance between cross-play across platforms to reach as many gamers as possible, all while sticking to each platform’s terms and conditions.
It hasn’t been easy for crypto games to play within the rules of traditional platforms. In October 2021, Valve, the firm behind Steam, removed blockchain-based games from its platform and advised users not to publish content on crypto or NFTs.
Don’t use AI as a gimmick says ArenaX Labs CEO
AI won’t ruin gaming for hardcore players, but throwing it in as a pointless gimmick just might, says ArenaX Labs CEO Brandon Da Silva.
“The real risk isn’t AI scaring off gamers — it’s developers implementing AI in ways that feel cheap, predatory or uninspired,” Da Silva tells Web3 Gamer.
Da Silva explains that if game developers view AI as just another tool to extract more money from players rather than create better experiences, “then yes, people will disengage.” And unsophisticated AI use “diminishes the gaming experience” because of poor quality matchmaking.
“One major issue in online gaming is player liquidity — long queue times, the need to coordinate with friends or teammates, and unpredictable skill matchups,” he says while explaining that high-quality AI-powered agents can fix this problem, ensuring that players always have “balanced and engaging opponents.”
ArenaX Labs announced on Jan. 28 that its R&D lab and factory that is producing AI agents, NRN Agents, is bringing them to games across the Ronin Network.
Da Silva says this “will add a new dimension for players who love strategy, optimization, and competition.”
He says AI vs. AI competition, where players train, coach, and fine-tune AI agents to battle each other, opens up a “fresh way to experience games.”
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“It’s not just about playing against AI — it’s about shaping and evolving AI competitors to see how they perform in a complex, evolving meta,” Da Silva explains.
ArenaX Labs’ flagship game, AI Arena, is also about to launch a campaign to give the Ronin community a chance to contribute to the training of sophisticated AI.
According to a recent survey published by a16z Games, 73% of game studios already use AI in their processes, and 88% plan to do so in the future.
Hot Take: Blast Royale
If you’re into mini-shooters where there’s no second place, and only one player walks away as the last one standing, Blast Royale might be the crypto game for you.
Built on the Polygon blockchain and backed by gaming heavyweights like Animoca Brands and Dragonfly Capital, the latest game from First Light Games throws you into a battlefield with up to 29 other players, where it’s kill or be killed.
The survival game is packed with weapons, ammo, health kits, and other gear scattered throughout the maps for you to grab.
Since it’s a mobile game, things can get pretty chaotic with the number of players, but it’s a fun little pocket game that even lets you earn NOOB tokens along the way as you pass levels and win tournaments.
The matchmaking is pretty solid compared to other crypto games. I’ve only had to wait a minute or so max to get into a game — way better than other crypto games where you’re stuck waiting three minutes before it times out.
However, there is one thing that really irks me about the game — the shooting controls.
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Instead of a button to shoot in Blast Royale, you have to hold down the area of the screen you want to shoot, and the gun fires accordingly. Many shooter games have started using this setup in recent times, maybe to save space on the screen or something.
Frustrating, I know…
The problem is that when you want to move fast or shoot multiple people at once, you don’t have the flexibility to swipe around the screen while still shooting. You must stop shooting to adjust your position, which can be annoying (and puts your life at risk).
Overall, if you’re into Call of Duty or Battlefield, this cartoonish take on those games could be a fun addition to your gaming collection. It’s definitely worth giving it a go — and you might end up with some extra crypto to stash, too.
Other News
— Metaverse Filipino Worker, a follow-up to the viral 2021 mini-documentary Play-to-Earn: NFT Gaming in the Philippines, is now live on YouTube. Since the original doco, the play-to-earn gaming scene has gone through major changes, facing scrutiny, ridicule and being abandoned by many. This new documentary shows how Filipinos have adapted to the changing industry.
— Paradise Tycoon dropped its 2025 roadmap, with big updates coming in Q1 and Q2. Then, in Q3 2025, the game will expand with a new outworld area and the ability to mint an AI companion.
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This article first appeared at Cointelegraph.com News
