A major step forward in the blockchain gaming industry has been taken with the PlayStation 4’s release of “Plague Hunters.”
Boosting Video Game Technology
Arcade Distillery – the company behind the game’s development – has established several titles for the PS Vita, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch systems. Representatives of the company say that the game has been built via the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain.
Per the game’s description on the Arcade Distillery website, “Plague Hunters” is a single-player role-playing game (RPG) with some PvP elements. The game is also a sequel to the highly successful “Plague Road” released in May of last year.
What Can Players Look Forward To?
The website reads:
Build your army of hunters. Train them and prepare them for battle. Trade your hunters on the blockchain-based marketplace with other players.
“Plague Hunters” will be free to play and will feature a marketplace for peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions. The game has passed the Sony review process with flying colors and satisfies all of PlayStation’s present terms and conditions regardless of its varied blockchain elements. It is the first blockchain game to garner such approval.
Like other blockchain-based games, the assets in “Plague Hunters,” including weapons, outfits and other items, can be purchased with non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The game is slated for release in quarter one of 2019, and the PC and Nintendo Switch versions are currently in development. The company has also stated that it is examining the possibilities of both mobile and Xbox One releases.
Blockchain and Gaming – The Perfect Partnership
Other examples of blockchain-based games we’ve witnessed in recent months include “Gods Unchained,” which is set to begin its beta phase in the coming weeks. The game had been hit with several scalability issues since the early days of its development, which prevented the game from functioning appropriately while directly on the blockchain and thus delaying its release.
In addition, we’ve also witnessed the rise of “Hash Rush,” a game built on the Ethereum blockchain that uses on-chain transactions and the NFT model for exchanging in-game assets while gameplay is processed off-chain. The game’s developer Mythical Games has now garnered a further $16 million in Series A funding to build a user-generated content game on the competing EOS blockchain. EOS is labeled the fifth-largest cryptocurrency in the world by market cap.
Recently, ConsenSys and Ubisoft – the developer behind the popular “Assassin’s Creed” and “Far Cry” titles – joined hands to form what’s known as the Blockchain Game Alliance to boost the presence of blockchain in future game titles.
Does “Plague Hunters” sound like something you’d try? Why or why not? Post your comments below.
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